The title picture for this episode is misleading but it’s the regular BCT pic so I used it anyway. Please forgive me, but I have to promote the brand. 😉
Here’s a formula for you courtesy of the Barack Obama administration:
A black man gets shot.
Police are present on the scene.
Given these two facts, liberals immediately accuse the police of cold-bloodedly executing an unarmed church-going angel on his way to donate his life savings to St. Jude’s Hospital or some other such noble cause.
We’ve seen it over and over again ad nauseum.
Here we have essentially the same situation with an interesting twist. Yes, a black man was shot and killed. Yes, police were present. But no, the cops didn’t shoot him. In fact, they didn’t even fire their weapons! Yet that doesn’t matter. Police were accused using the same old Obama formula and calls for them to be murdered in revenge began appearing on social media.
Via the Chattanooga Times Free Press
One killed in third fatal shooting at or near Coyote Jack’s; police release body cam footage
Chattanooga police released body camera footage of officers’ response to a Sunday morning fatal shooting outside a downtown nightclub after several social media posts accused police of shooting the victim and called for the killing of police officers.
Nineteen-year-old Brandon Rogers was shot on the patio of Coyote Jack’s nightclub in the 1400 block of Cowart Street at around 2:22 a.m. He was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. It was the first of two shootings Sunday morning.
Here’s a photo of young Brandon:
Gee, that’s not very flattering. Perhaps this one does him more justice:
Maybe not.
I hate to judge a book by its cover, but I’d say based on his appearance that he was a thug and didn’t really have a long life to look forward to. I’m reminded of a quote from ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.’ “Your times is over and you’re gonna die bloody, and all you can do is choose where.” That place was the local slaughterhouse called ‘Coyote Jack’s.’
Police were already on the scene for crowd control after fire marshals had begun to shut an event down, police said.
Facebook live video shows a large crowd gathered outside the club when two loud pops are heard before people begin screaming. Police are seen running to aid Rogers and begin life-saving measures while other officers attempt to keep the crowd at bay.
“Back up! Back it up!” officers are heard yelling, their voices breaking, as people continue to approach the scene.
“We’re not able to help him because we’re dealing with you!” another officer is heard yelling.
Here’s four separate videos of this mess which almost became a riot and shows that the police had nothing to do with it except for trying to save the victim.
Several people have been detained for questioning, police spokesman Trevor Tomas said. No suspect has been confirmed.
Social media posts stating police shot the victim are incorrect, police Chief David Roddy said before releasing responding officers’ body camera footage.
He said the department wanted to release the video quickly, as it was in the best interest of the community and the department “to get in front of that narrative” and stop it before it continued to spread.
Body camera footage shows police attempting to apply pressure to the victim’s gunshot wound while being repeatedly interrupted by a crowd of people approaching Rogers’ body despite being told to back away several times.
Police officers with the department’s regulatory unit were checking on several late-night events in the area — something they regularly do on weekends — and found Coyote Jack’s had exceeded its maximum occupancy early Sunday morning, Roddy said. It was shut down by police and fire marshals.
The officers asked for more patrol units to help with the expected increase in pedestrian and vehicle traffic as people left the nightclub.
As patrons filed out, police were alerted to an altercation just outside the club. Officers went toward the fight when two shots were fired. At least one bullet struck Rogers, who was standing near multiple officers on the club’s patio.
“Unfortunately, their proximity didn’t [stop the violence],” Roddy said. “But they also immediately took action to try to save [Rogers’] life.”
Yet, “for some reason, individuals felt the need to spread this story or this rumor” that police officers shot Rogers, he said.
That reason being that they are ignorant assholes.
Police hope that the same “energy, the passion that we’ve seen in individuals believing that a Chattanooga police officer did this, maybe they’ll redirect that energy and help us figure out who did it,” Roddy said.
Some already are.
“SPEAK UP AND SPEAK OUT,” one Facebook post reads. “JUSTICE NEED TO BE SERVE NO MATTER WHO THE SHOOTER IS. WE ARE TO TOO MANY LOSES.”
Incoherent, yes. But the intentions are good.
Also on Sunday, an unrelated shooting was reported an hour later at 2:42 a.m. in the parking lot of 6925 Shallowford Road.
Over the course of that investigation, police determined both the victim, Dewayne Love, 37, and Tevin Davis, 27, were intoxicated, in possession of firearms and had “discharged them in a reckless manner.” They’re both facing criminal charges.
Now let’s examine the history of this establishment that I called a “real life Road House.”
The Coyote Jack’s homicide is at least the third fatal shooting to take place on or near the club’s property.
The downtown nightclub, owned by Ronnie Berke and Tammy Taylor, opened its doors as Bella Vita restaurant in January 2015.
Perhaps they should have named it Bella Morte because check out all the homicides that occur there.
Berke, an attorney at Berke, Berke & Berke, is Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke’s uncle and works in the law firm with Andy Berke’s father, Marvin Berke.
Before its 2016 rebranding, the club had seen two shootings — one of which was fatal.
On March 13, 2016, Reuben Simpson, 35, was shot in the head in the early morning on Cowart Street, near the restaurant. Police said his wounds were considered minor.
Two months later, 40-year-old Johnny Sanders, a security guard, was fatally shot in the upper chest at the location. Andrew Wilson, 31, was arrested in that case and charged with criminal homicide.
By mid-June, the venue announced a complete renovation, though a staff member said at the time that the remodeling had nothing to do with the shootings that happened earlier that year. Bella Vita had been open for just over a year.
So I guess they figured it must be the name that was causing all this violence. Yeah, it HAS the name. So they changed it.
It reopened as Coyote Jack’s Saloon in December 2016.
But for some mysterious reason, nothing changed.
But in May 2017, the club was put on lockdown after a shooting took place outside, according to WRCB-TV Channel 3. Police said a man fired multiple shots into the air, possibly toward a crowd of people and one at the side of the building.
Seven months later in December, a shooting left 22-year-old Sharone Porter dead and his brother, 24-year-old Torrie Porter, injured. A suspect, Roddarius Martin, 24, was charged with criminal homicide, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and felony reckless endangerment.
Then in July 2018, five people were injured in a shooting in the parking lot outside the club just before closing. A video of the incident was widely circulated on social media.
Earlier this year on Feb. 24 Rogers was arrested for firing shots while driving by the club.
Within about a week of the Feb. 24 shots-fired incident, the club announced plans for a second rebranding.
Rebrand all you want to. The lead just keeps on flying.
In a controversial Facebook post, then-general manager Daniel Weaver said the venue is getting a makeover that is a “necessary” change to make the club feel more safe and welcoming for everyone.
In the now-deleted post, Weaver said part of that change would mean that “all forms of urban music” no longer would be played, which some people on social media perceived as racist.
Weaver made a wise decision, but got labeled a racist so backed down. He was right. It’s not the place. It’s the element it attracts.
Weaver no longer works for the venue and directed comments to owners Taylor and Ronnie Berke. They have not returned multiple requests for comment. After previous incidents, management has made a point to distance itself from the violence, claiming the shootings all took place in the parking lot, which does not belong to the club.
“It’s not our fault. We don’t even own the parking lot!” But you DO own the patio.
Sunday’s homicide took place on the club’s patio.
In a statement, Mayor Andy Berke said, “I am concerned any time a life is lost to senseless gun violence and my heart breaks for the victim’s family.”
“The establishment where this incident occurred involves a family member of mine, and as I’ve stated previously, I have explicitly requested to Chief Roddy that I remain recused from any decision making whatsoever to prevent the appearance of favoritism or preferential treatment,” he continued. “As I would with any venue, I have encouraged Chief Roddy to take any action necessary to ensure public safety. The safety of our community and the integrity of [the police department’s] work are my top priorities.”
During a news conference Sunday afternoon, Roddy said the department has begun conversations with the city attorney’s office and the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office to determine what options there are to deal with the “conditions” of Coyote Jack’s.
“We had conversations in 2018 about certain conditions that were supposed to be put forward relative to that location and the surrounding area. Some of that had to do with the increased security presence and cameras,” he said. “And the question is, were those conditions implemented, and were they maintained up to this point, and what are our options moving forward if they weren’t?”
They really have only one real option here. Rename the place ‘The Double Deuce,’ resurrect Patrick Swayze, then hire him and Sam Elliot to clean up the joint. It’s worth a try. I mean it worked in the movie.
