Beating on Bourbon Street

Beating on Bourbon Street

I viewed the video and read the articles from three different sources, MSNBC, FOX, and ABC. All three of the divulged the same information and gave the same facts. MSNBC showed a little bit more information in regards to the police officers involved such as their names, and what actions were being taken against them for this incident.

A summary of the incident is as follows: Not to long ago on Saturday night, Oct.15 2005, an elderly man was arrested after being brutally beaten by New Orleans police officers. Robert Davis is a 64 year old man from Atlanta, Georgia. He is a retired elementary school teacher and was in New Orleans to inspect 6 properties owned by members of his family that were affected by Katrina. Davis was walking down the streets of New Orleans on Saturday night standing on the corner of Bourbon and Conti Street, when he noticed it was getting late. He approached a mounted officer to check on the curfew in the city. The officer was African- American as well as Mr. Davis. While asking, another officer interrupted. Davis told that officer he shouldn't have done that and that he wasn't talking to him. Then Davis started walking away when all of a sudden he was lying on the cement getting beat by at least 3 different officers. The officers administering the beating were all Caucasian. But they are saying that race was not the issue. Davis got punched in the eye, hit numerous times in the head, kneed and pushed to the sidewalk. While all this was happening, it was being captured on tape by ATPN (Associated Press Television News), which has been broadcasted across the country. The producer, while filming, got some of the action too. One of the police officers came over to him and told him to stop filming. The producer showed he had permission and the officer then grabbed him, leaned him backwards over a car, jabbed him in the stomach and started cussing at him. The officers thought they were doing a good thing. They said that Davis was intoxicated, slurring his speech and stumbling into the police horse. Once they tried settling him down, Davis refused and that's why they did what they did.

Davis got arrested for being intoxicated and resisting arrest. On January 18, 2006 is when he is set for trial, which he is pleading not guilty.