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| Joseph Menard, Jr. |
Despite an unprovoked, homophobic rant and assault on him and his friends and the fact that a woman three rows away stood up to ask the perp (Joseph Menard, Jr., of Rayne) to stop because she had children with her and despite the fact that the "arrest affidavit does insinuate that it meets all the requirements," Cpl. Paul Mouton told
The IND that Menard's actions did not fully meet all the criteria required by state law to be deemed a hate crime.
Video made by
The Advertiser about the incident is
here.
According to Jamison’s side of the story, as well as the arrest affidavit filed by Lafayette Police officer Shannon Brasseaux, it seems Menard’s actions inside the theater would constitute what state law deems a hate crime.
But that was not the case, and though Menard was booked, it was only for two counts of simple battery.
The reason, Lafayette Police spokesman Cpl. Paul Mouton tells The IND, is because Menard’s actions did not fully meet all the criteria required by state law to be deemed a hate crime.
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| Lafayette PD Cpl. Paul Mouton |
“The arrest affidavit does insinuate that it meets all the requirements,” says Mouton. “But the media doesn’t have the full report. I’ve read the entire report, and no, it doesn’t meet all the requirements. We can’t release that report because this is still an ongoing investigation.”
Mouton says that based on the full report of Sunday’s assault, the one not available for public viewing, officer Brasseaux did his due diligence in not charging Menard with a hate crime.
“An officer can only charge based on the facts, and without eye witnessing the incident, he has to deal with a victim that may say one thing and a suspect saying something else,” says Mouton. “And based on the statements the officer received, he felt all the elements didn’t match up to charge (Menard) with a hate crime. Now, this may get to the prosecutors and they may increase the charges.”
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