Two teenage girls were charged in the beating of a mentally disabled man after a video of the attack was posted on Facebook, provoking outrage in the community.
The incident happened about two weeks ago in Caruthersville, Missouri.
The video shows the girls punching Louis Crocker, a man known around town as ‘Cool Breeze’ who is mentally disabled and drinks heavily, according to his family.
They can be heard laughing and joking as one of the girls reign punches and kicks the man’s head.
She then shows her swollen knuckles to the camera to demonstrate how hard she was punching.
The girls are in juvenile custody and were due in court yesterday on undisclosed juvenile charges.
Prosecutors are also considering charges against a man who is seen with the girls in the video clip.
He told KFVS-TV that Crocker threw the first punch, something the homeless man denies.
Crocker told the station the girls simply attacked him.
‘I told her (one of the girls) to leave me alone,’ he said. ‘She’s 15. I said “Baby leave me alone”. I mind my own business, and I sit here and I drink.’
He said he refused to fight back because the attackers were girls.
‘My mama always told me before she died, “You hit a woman you’re not a man”,’ said Crocker.
He said he wasn’t seriously hurt, but he thinks the girls should be punished.
Police Chief Tony Jones said Crocker is well-known in town as an eccentric.
Crocker has been known to dance on people’s porches, but he’s harmless, Jones said.
‘It was horrible, plain out horrible. There’s a lot of angry people,’ Jones said. ‘I am one of them.’
Crocker admitted to the station that he was drunk that day, but his family said that’s no excuse.
‘He didn’t deserve this,’ said Racheal Self, a relative of Crocker’s.
‘They knew he’s not mentally right, and I just want to see justice served and this not happen to anyone else,’ Self said.
