Mobile police chief: No more negro mob arrests expected in Matthew Owens beating (video)

[Where Is Al Sharpton]

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MOBILE, Alabama -- Barring new information, police do not expect
to make any more arrests the widely publicized beating of a man
in the city's Pleasant Valley community, Police Chief Micheal
Williams said today.

The beating, which left Matthew Owens in the hospital in
critical condition, caused a sensation that reverberated across
the nation because the victim is white and the large group of
men, women and children who confronted him are black.

But Williams disputed key elements of the narrative offered by
Owens' sister and other witnesses interviewed by the Press-
Register. Contrary to reports that it was a mob-beating, the
chief said investigators could only confirm that one person --
Terry Rawls -- actually assaulted the victim. And Williams said
Owens’ wounds and other physical evidence do not support reports
that a host of objects, from law furniture to a paint can, were
used in the attack.

“As far as we can tell at this point, there were 3 people in
very close proximity, but only one at this point, we have
evidence on only one, Terry Rawls, that he actually hit Mr.
Owens,” he said.

Owens’ sister, Ashley Parker, said she has no confidence in the
Police Department’s handling of the case.

“I’m very frustrated, and I think this is all political,” she
said.

Parker, who saw the assault from across the street, said
multiple people were involved. And even the people who did not
land blows were responsible, as well, she said.

Alabama would appear to give police some options to charge
others, depending on the facts. For instance, anyone who
voluntarily contributes to a crime — even if he was not present
for the incident — could be charged as an accessory. Another
statute makes it illegal to incite a riot. The law defines that
as anyone who “solicits, incites, or urges another person to
engage in tumultuous and violent conduct“ that is likely to
caused a grave risk of public terror.

“I think they all should be arrested, and I think their children
should be taken away from them, because they brought their
children there,” Parker said.

But Williams said police must deal in what they can prove. Based
on numerous interviews with people in the neighborhood, the
chief said, police concluded that 15 to 30 people walked up the
street from a cookout in the 900 block of Delmar Drive but that
most of them were women and children who merely watched.

“We don’t really care what race the victim or the suspect is,”
he said. “We care about the evidence. We care about what we can
prove. We care about what we can get a warrant signed for.”
Parker, meanwhile, said her brother had staples removed from his
head today and has an appointment with a neurosurgeon to
determine if he needs surgery.

“He’s confused by everything, and a little scared about what is
going to happen to him if he has to have an operation on his
brain,” she said.

In his official account, Williams attempted to address rumors
swirling around the assault. He said it began with a group of
black children between the ages of 9 and 12 playing basketball
in the street. The ball landed in the yard of the home where
Owens had been staying the previous few nights, and he had words
with the children, Williams said.

The chief said both Owens and some of the youths used racist
language. At one point, Owens went in the house and grabbed a
knife in each hand and went back outside.

The children went to the house where the cookout was going on
and told the adults, including Rawls.

“The investigation tells us that Rawls armed himself with a bat
and he and a group of other people started walking in the
direction of the home where Mr. Owens was,” he said.

As the group approached at about 8:30 p.m., Owens dropped the
knives and tried to go back into the house, but the homeowner
had locked the door. Rawls hit Owens repeatedly with the bat.

Williams said the challenge for investigators has been to take
the statements given by numerous witnesses and put them together
to form a complete picture of what happened. While some details
vary, he said, the basic facts are clear — Owens had knives;
Rawls had a bat; Owens suffered an assault.

“The stories are not that different,” he said.

Rawls also gave a statement to investigators, Williams said, but
he declined to divulge was the accused said.

Parker told police that someone in the group that confronted her
brother said the assault was justice for Trayvon Martin, the
unarmed black teenager who was shot to death in February by a
Hispanic man in Sanford, Florida, in a case that has gained
widespread attention across the country.

Williams said police have not talked to any other witness who
heard the remark. The Press-Register has talked to one other
resident who remembers hearing the remark; Parker said she knows
at least 6 witnesses who heard it.

Although police do not anticipate additional arrests, Williams
said that could change if new information comes to light. He
urged anyone with knowledge of the incident to come forward.

“If there’s any other evidence that witnesses have that would
allow us to charge more people, certainly, we want that
information,” he said. “These cases are always open. There may
be some evidence that comes out the day before a trial starts.
We’re always open, and we’re always looking for more
information.”

For now, only Rawls has been charged with a crime. If convicted
of first-degree assault, he could face up to 20 years in prison.