Story Published:
May 21, 2008 at 10:00 PM CDT
Story Updated:
May 22, 2008 at 6:17 PM CDT
BRANSON, Mo. -- Across the country, including here, kids are battered, bruised and bloodied -- and they're doing in for fun. This dangerous form of entertainment is not just in high crime areas; it’s also happened right here in this tourist town.
Teens from all over are using quiet parks and roads and the Internet to show off their fighting skills on the Internet. A click on YouTube finds Murphy Park featured in a clip called B-Town Beatdown. Murphy Park is in the middle of Branson, with houses down one street and apartments overlooking it.
The video shows two teenagers who agreed to fight, for sport, at Murphy Park.
“It doesn't surprise me; it concerns me,” said Police Chief Carroll McCullough.
The fight lasts about a minute and a half. At the end, they shake hands.
“It's my greatest fear, even though they consented to this fight, that someone gets seriously hurt,” said McCullough.
Police are powerless to stop it, even with evidence being viewed worldwide. Missouri doesn’t have a law against these illegal fights, leaving law enforcement with little authority.
“It's not assault because they agreed to fight; it's not disturbance of the peace because someone's peace has to be disturbed; it makes it tough,” the chief said.
It's all over the Internet, and easy to access. It's not just at Murphy Park; more videos pop up from Branson: Caleb's Fight, shot on Branson Landing; a fight in a hotel room in Branson; a rumble lit by headlights titled The Streets of Branson; and one from the third level of the Branson Landing Parking Garage.
In one video, one boy punches the other in the back of the neck while he's down on the ground, defenseless. At the end, one boy checks the other’s condition, as if they were professional, mixed martial arts competitors. This is where the fight ends for the boys.
For Branson police, this is where a new investigation could begin as they take a look into this new form of entertainment for young people.
“It's cool; put it up on YouTube; you see it, friends see it; it's a product of society,” said McCullough. “It's not just this area. It's all over.”
The chief says it's up to someone else to police this activity.
“Parents need to know what's going on after school, on the weekends, what sites they're on,” he said.
The Branson School District is collaborating with police.
“We want to do everything we can,” said Superintendent Doug Hayter. “We're very limited, unless there's follow-up activity at school; then we'll deal with it.”
School administrators gave names of the kids they recognized from the video. Police has since talked with the parents of the Murphy Park fighters.
“They were shocked, but grateful we brought it to their attention,” said McCullough.
Police haven't received any reports of new fights.
A prosecutor says charges are pending for the Murphy Park fight but didn't want to comment on what those charges are during an active investigation. McCullough says, to his knowledge, no one has been seriously hurt in these fights.
In New York, senators are trying to create penalties for anyone caught recording violent acts for the purpose of posting them online. They want it to be a felony with the potential for a prison sentence. This is a new form of violence and New York is the first state to try to create this type of crime.