No Charge

After interviewing the accusers in the Guilford College melee, police have decided not to file charges.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Police have decided not to pursue their own charges in a racially tinged fight between several Guilford College football players and three Palestinian students.

A magistrate judge has charged six players with misdemeanor assault and five of them with ethnic intimidation based on complaints the Palestinian students filed after the campus fight early January 20. Greensboro police, who weren't called to the scene, were not involved in those charges.

"We determined that all of the charges that need to be taken out in this case were already taken out at the magistrate's office," police spokesman Lt. Brian James told the News & Record of Greensboro on Wednesday. "We didn't obtain any further evidence that would allow us to pursue additional charges, which is what we were investigating."

Prosecutors said they would likely wait for the college to complete its investigation before deciding how to proceed.

The accusers - Guilford College students Faris Khader and Osama Sabbah, and Omar Awartani, a student at North Carolina State University in Raleigh - said they were called "terrorists" and other racial slurs as they were beaten by several members of the school's football team, according to court documents.

Parents of three of the accused football players issued a statement last week defending their sons, saying one player was attacked with a belt.

So now the College must complete its investigation before the DA can act? This is a bit unusual. Who is responsible for the chain of custody of the evidence? Who is responsible for witness statements? Who collects the video and photographic evidence? Medical statements from treating physicians? Medical files? etc.

Cross Posted at Classical Values