Police: LSU players delay meeting about bar fight
Published 12:40 am Monday, August 22, 2011
\BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Four LSU football players hired a defense attorney and put off a meeting with police about a bar fight that started when a patron honked at a crowd blocking his exit from a parking lot, Baton Rouge police said Sunday.
Quarterback Jordan Jefferson, offensive lineman Chris Davenport, defensive lineman Josh Johns and receiver Jarvis Landry had been asked to give their side of the story at police headquarters Monday, but attorney Nathan Fisher asked for a delay, Sgt. Donald Stone said.
Fisher requested “a 24 hour postponement so that he can meet with the players and get a better understanding of the incident,” he wrote in a news release. He said police would speak with Fisher on Monday to arrange the interviews.
Earlier, he said that the fight began when a driver honked his horn at a crowd blocking his way out of the bar’s parking lot. The driver was one of four people injured in the fight outside Shady’s Bar, according to a news release from Stone.
The football players weren’t asked to turn themselves in, Stone said in a telephone interview.
“They were asked to come in so they can be interviewed and tell their side of the story,” he said. The investigation will continue after that, and police may talk to other players, he said.
Stone said police interviewed four people who were treated and released — three for minor injuries and a fourth for a more serious injury that could bring a felony charge of second-degree battery. Some witnesses also have talked to police, he said.
On Saturday, coach Les Miles apologized for the fight, which he said occurred after the entire team checked in at Thursday’s 10:30 p.m. curfew.
He said that a “relatively large group” was involved and that he won’t punish specific players until details are collected and revealed.
“We’ve started disciplining our team because this was a team violation,” Miles said. “This was not just a guy. This was the team. “
The 4th-ranked Tigers start the season playing No. 3 Oregon on Sept. 3 at Cowboys Stadium.