IT WASN’T POLICE BRUTALITY … BUT DID SHERIFF PUT “STOP THE VIOLENCE” VICTIM FIRST?
A leader of South Carolina’s “Stop the Violence” movement was brutally beaten, tasered and robbed earlier this month. The attack was allegedly perpetrated by as many as three private security guards working outside a local nightclub – yet it’s suddenly Richland County sheriff Leon Lott who finds himself facing scrutiny over the incident.
Shuron Malone, the victim, was beaten unconscious outside of the Bliss Ultra Lounge dance club in downtown Columbia, S.C. on March 13. One of his friends was also attacked during the incident.
“While Shuron was going in and out of consciousness the club security stole money from his pockets,” said Chris Sullivan, a spokesman for Malone’s family. “Shuron was also threatened by club security with a gun while being illegally detained.”
According to Sullivan, the beating of Malone was “not the first time this club operator and his security personnel have been in trouble.”
“During the past five years, they have been sued multiple times for unnecessary acts of brutality towards patrons,” he said. “The beating of Shuron is just the latest in a long line of violence.”
Here’s where the story gets interesting, though …
Security at Bliss Ultra Lounge wear uniforms similar to those worn by the Richland County sheriff’s department – which prompted some initial confusion seeing as sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the scene to respond to the incident.
In fact Malone himself – in a statement – said he thought one of his assailants was a law enforcement officer. Social media reports echoed this narrative.
These reports reached Lott, who is said to have panicked (he is currently facing an electoral challenge from an eminently qualified black candidate).
“Sheriff Lott was nervous,” a source familiar with the situation tells us.
Really? Wonder why …
Eventually an investigator concluded – correctly – that Lott’s deputies were not involved in any of the acts of violence perpetrated against any of the injured parties on the date in question. At that point, Lott blasted out a press release informing the public of this important fact – although this statement proceeded to blame the lack of forward motion in the case on a lack of cooperation from the victims.
According to Sullivan, the latter characterization was completely unfair – and inaccurate.
“The statement the RCSD was totally inaccurate and was released before investigators even spoke with any of the victims, including Shuron,” he said.
Sullivan said it took investigators “over a week to respond back to the family.”
Others familiar with the case were more direct in their critique of Lott’s police work – saying he was more interested in protecting his department’s image than getting to the bottom of what happened to Malone.
“Leon could not afford to have the local black ‘Stop the Violence’ leader beaten by his deputies, so he kept everything hush,” one source said. “Once he found out his deputies were not involved, he sends out a ‘fabricated’ press release to cover for his election.”
Supporters of Lott fired back – saying the dust-up over the delayed response was politically-motivated.
“They couldn’t pin the beatdown on him – is this plan ‘B?’ Please,” one told us. “Sheriff Lott’s men were falsely accused of participating in this attack and have been exonerated completely. Someone is stirring up trouble.”
The good news? We’re likely to get a more precise picture regarding the narrative of this attack – and the police response to it – very soon. That’s because Malone’s family has retained an attorney and is pressing for damages from the club.
Stay tuned …
55 comments
Hi Will! Any news on the report of a coverup by RCSD deputies after an eightysomething year old man was reportedly assaulted by a SCDOT worker?
Inquiring minds want to know!
I was just thinking….
The universe has existed for billions of years. The Earth is over 4.5 billion years old. Today, we consider life in relation to the solid, unresponsive universe – that is, rocks, radio waves, visible light, electron beams, the periodic table – things… wait, is the periodic table a thing? .. whatever.
We see ourselves objectively (of course, I use the term loosely) as conscious beings, self-aware, and able to communicate advanced concepts between ourselves. These concepts that we are able to communicate, we assume, at least some of them, are beyond the ability of plants and other animals.. though it is suspected by some that there is some overlap in this area with some in the animal kingdom – great apes, chimpanzees, bonobo, dogs, dolphins, maybe whales.. but the technology behind creating an atom bomb might be beyond even these advanced creatures. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Maybe I used the phrase “beyond the ability” wrong there… but you get the idea… a little philosophical humor there…. very little.
Our connection with these advanced concepts seems rooted in the mammalian brain. Though the experience of thinking seems to spring from some hyper-reality that hinders direct inspection. Attempts to apply scientific analysis to the experience of thinking have produced nothing but weak, unconvincing theories about the fundamental building blocks of this most common of experiences.
I, however, am not so limited. Through constant devotion to elimination of my ego (I am the dean of the university of humility [and I do take paypal]) I have pierced the veil of this hitherto unsatisfactorily defined area of science.
The substance of thought is the common link. It is this substance which holds the key to the understanding of consciousness, and the relationship between life and the material universe.
The use of thought itself has blinded us to its essence. Well, of course, not me, because I’m here explaining it. Did I mention I take paypal?
What is thought made of? If this sounds like a silly question, then this article is not for you.
The reason that the description of the substance of thought has eluded our greatest minds thus far, is simple. The substance of thought is perfect. We are not. Well, there I go again… not me, because I’m here explaining it.
Ok, maybe I exaggerated that last part a little bit.
Anyway, thought isn’t me. I begrudgingly admit I’m not perfect. There, I said it. I told you I was humble.
Our ideas are composed of thoughts, and thoughts are made of this stuff that I’m talking about that you are using to decode this message. One way of observing this for yourself is to consider what it is that encloses, that encapsulates, that contains you as you “think.”
This is the key, and the avenue for the inspection of the actual building block that life is made out of.
Let’s look at it together, shall we? If you are frustrated at this point in the article by the silliness of some or all of the foregoing… this article is not for you.
If there’s anyone left still reading, it is odorless, colorless, and seemingly inert. Within this canopy, ideas appear like fireworks in the night sky. In this singular case, however, we aren’t concerned with the ideas themselves, or the concepts that they are composed of, but the substance – the most basic element from which our concepts and ideas spring forth.
Each of us has this shared experience of thought, whether we choose to consider its genesis or not. Shifting our attention to the substance of thought must be a conscious choice. But in order for you to choose to do this, it must first seem to be interesting, or at least possible. I’m going to stop checking to see if you’re reading now.. I’m sure you aren’t. But don’t let that stop you.
Since each of us share this common experience, there, in the existence of the substance of thought, is perfection itself – the higher plane of existence. Extra credit for the attentive student is to consider the perfection that existence itself implies.
Perfection. What a concept. Literally. And I’m using the word “literally” as it was intended to be used.. whether it was coined that way or not.
This is not public domain, by the way… I have submitted a patent, and have claimed this discovery for myself. Anyone using my intellectual property must send me a royalty on any income that is generated by its use.
I’m sure by now I mentioned that I take paypal.
For the religious among you, this is the meaning of “the kingdom of heaven is within you” and “ye are gods” and “let us make man in our image.” – it also explains how God can be “perfect,” “everywhere at one time,” “all knowing,” and “observes us all” – and of course, since it is the source of life, and seeks nothing for itself, “God loves us all.” – well, except for Republicans.
LMAO!!!! Euwe, I have to give you credit, you kept me reading.
BTW, you do know that Leon Lott is a Democrat, don’t you?
:-D
max,
Does this mean you will no longer lick my balls, perfectly?
did I mention.. Republicans are scum?
lets make scum great again, trump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
…Trump’s progenitor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0NJXoWATcM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gFqWwoipGs
Did you know Lott is a big time democrap? He and Biden are BFFs.
‘I was just thinking….’
That was when I knew…
I’ll bite. The coffee I’m ingesting is giving me awesome dative covalent bonding. I am a student of chemistry. The answer of what is thought lies in Cheerios.
With me so far?
Clue- “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
To make a long story short, Lewis acid is a chemical species that reacts with a Lewis base to form a Lewis adduct. A Lewis base, then, is any species that donates a pair of electrons to a Lewis acid to form a Lewis adduct. Classically, the term “Lewis acid” is restricted to trigonal planar species with an empty p orbital. Again, the description of a Lewis acid is often used loosely. For example, in solution, bare protons do not exist. But, and this is a big but, Most compounds considered to be Lewis acids require an activation step prior to formation of the adduct with the Lewis base.
A Lewis base is an atomic or molecular species where the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) is highly localized. Typical Lewis bases are conventional amines such as ammonia and alkyl amines. Other common Lewis bases include pyridine and its derivatives.
Now for the clincher.
The HSAB concept is an initialism for “hard and soft (Lewis) acids and bases”. Also known as the Pearson acid base concept, HSAB is widely used in chemistry for explaining stability of compounds, reaction mechanisms and pathways. Think Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).
Three types of chemicals make up the building blocks for nucleic acids.
Phosphates, Sugars, and Organic Bases. The gist of this theory is that soft acids react faster and form stronger bonds with soft bases, whereas hard acids react faster and form stronger bonds with hard bases, all other factors being equal.
So to answer your inquiry, thought is the Drago–Wayland two-parameter equation or Cheerios in the morning. Patent pending
no wonder so many people are creationalist, you two fuckers are giving me a headache.
That ‘s odd! This morning, as I was shaving, I had the exact same thought.
GMTA!
Do you take Paypal?
why, yes… yes… as a matter of fact I do take paypal!
Do you take Paypal?
“God loves us all.” – well, except for Republicans.
Wrong , Suh!
Benjamin Franklin said:
“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
TBG says:
“Donald Trump is proof that God loves us and wants us to be entertained. He (Trump) will also [Feel free to use either Samuel L Jackson’s or Charlton Heston’s voice for the remainder] SMITE DOWN THE GOP ESTABLISHMENT and SLAKE HIS THIRST ON THE BLOOD OF THE CLINTON MACHINE!!!”
Holy shit, man. I did my dead level best to read all that, and not just skim it. Swear to Pime Mover I did. I’ve slogged my way through Ulysses, Finnegan’s Wake, and over two-thirds of War and Peace (will finish as bucket list item), after all. So ponderous amounts of verbiage, coupled with “deep thoughts” is not a deal-breaker when in comes to what I will read.
However, about half-way through, my eyes started to glaze over, and I had to break away to resume my current binge-watching activity. No new Doctor Who, and I’m behind on Arrow and The Flash in terms of continuity without buying DVDs. No new House of Cards. Gotham bores me silly. Can’t find Orphan Black, streaming. So it’s American Horror Story for me. Watched an eppi of that delightfully sick shit. Now I’m back.
Because you write well and are obviously far more intelligent than your average brown bear that shits in the deep woods of FITS comments, I shall try again to reach the penultimate word in the above tome, and comprehend the import of same. I shall persevere in this pursuit, against all odds. I know there’s a goddamned pony in there somewhere.
Or not?
uh… “life begins at conception?”
“From all eternity God lies on a maternity bed giving birth.”
– Meister Eckhart
Too busy to get deeply involved in our piddly shit, in other words.
…and Leon is getting laaaaarger!
He’s growing??? Did he start out the size of a Ken doll?
it’s an airplane joke… nm.
I can’t help but wonder what ( if anything) Mr Malone did to provoke security at the club. I have been in proximity to the security groups frequently hired at some clubs and admittedly, they can be a bit “over the top” with their responses. Conversely, the clientele in some of these clubs are frequently “over the top” in their behavior and occasionally, a Tonton Macoutes response may be warranted.
Not saying that Mr Malone started it, just wondering. If items belonging to him were stolen by security, of course there is no excuse for that.
Is that him in the pic? If so, I hope he recovers quickly.
Read the sworn statement linked above. He wasn’t doing anything…
Lott’s days are numbered. Bye Felicia!
Lott pondered for a moment on the possibility that he might have to find a job that isn’t supported by taxpayers.
?????????????????????
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I was transported to one of the other 8 dimensions against my will when I read “e stomer”…. I returned just in time to catch “but law enorceen”
How long was I out?
Lott is a hack. He sold Ben Fields down the river entirely to protect his own political career. I hope he gets his ass kicked in November.
Ben fields got what he deserved he as crooked as. All these other cops smh… They don’t win a help just fuck us over…!!!!
I’m usually a big fan of the reporting here but, damn, I have a hard time following the story here. A guy gets beaten by thug security at a badass “club” and somehow it is Leon Lott’s fault?
Did you even bother reading the story? The bouncers wore uniforms very similar to the ones Lott’s deputies wear. Dumbass was beat senseless by the bouncers who were thought to be Lott’s deputies. Lott got word, panicked and tried to cover it up until he found out the truth then put out a story after the fact. The part you need to be concerned with is the “tried to cover it up” part. Sheriff Shorty needs to go, he’s been in office way too long.
Yes it is Leon lott’s fault! His job is to deter this from happening by offering fair treatment to the citizens, but instead he is too worried about holding press conferences over 10 cent tape. Leon Lott is sadly treating the black people of Richland county as though they are uneducated and unable to see the smoke and mirror tricks he his pulling. Leon’s plan is to parade white deputies in front of the news media like incidents of 10 cent tape in hopes to show that at election time that he is more harder on white people than he is on black individuals. Now that this has been brought to light, there will be arrest made in the club beating, but not for the right reasons.
Leon Lott is a 10 cent sheriff that got lucky when Alan Sloan said something racist to a reporter but he is no different. We need a sheriff who really cares about all people in the county he serves and employes 365 days a year and not just at election time.
A Stop the Violence leader was beaten at Bliss Ultra Lounge, irony level 10!
I know Will no longer lives in Columbia, but can someone please tell him that Two Notch Road is NOT downtown Columbia?
Wanna bet, you stupid ass wipe??? Eat shit and die!
Sure, what are you putting up?
This is Leon lott’s weekness. He is only concerned about he looks and has always been. He only shows support for citizens and his deputies only when it benifits him. Leon looks at for one person and that his him. Leon has a department of over 800 people that he can throw under the bus and does when he has to take responsibility for his lack of compassion and leadership.
Richland county citizens and law enforcement needs a sheriff who cares and supports them and addresses real issues such as crime rate increases and departmental morale. Crime is out of control and law enforment’s morale is at the lowest because of the Leon lotts in law enforcement.
A important message to James flowers. Don’t ever lose sight of compassion toward the deputies that are out there on the front line and what they sacrifice to serve. Good luck to you mr. Flowers, there are a lot of people in the department and citizens that are pulling for you but can’t openly support because of the vendictive retaliation that Leon Lott and his henchmen do to people’s lives.
You got that 100% right, especially the part about deputies that might support Mr Flowers but dare not say anything openly, due to fear of reprisal from Lott.
Over the years, I have observed quite a few long-term Sheriffs in SC and they remind me of third-world African dictators, like Idi Amin. The longer they are in office, the more paranoid they become. It becomes less and less about protecting the public and fighting crime, and more and more about, “who is loyal to me and who is not”. Their paranoia regarding who is or is not loyal to them grows and increases on an almost daily basis. Rather than inspire loyalty with fair treatment, rewards for doing a good job, etc, they act like a petty dictator and look for “disloyal” people to have executed (fired) as an example to everyone else.
It would be comical if it weren’t so scary.
“they remind me of third-world African dictators, like Idi Amin.”
(very old joke – but still a good one)
———————————————-
Caller: May I speak with President Lumumba?
Operator: I’m sorry but the Lumumba you have called is no longer a working Lumumba.
After they covered their asses, have they arrested anyone? Guy was beaten, robbed and the perps brandished a weapon during the commission of a felony…pretty serious if you ask me. The family shouldn’t have to hire an attorney to do the job of law enforcement.
Exactly what I have been thinking. If the “security guards” didn’t get arrested then what the hell is going on there in Columbia?
Shuron was drunk and his friend too. They was cutting the line and they told them to take it to the back. Also Shuron pulled a gun out that’s why they attacked!!! Dont let him fool you shuron USE to do stop the violence when he had cases open to have him jail for a long long time. He used the mayor and the stop the violence foolery to help him out of it which it did. He been stirring up trouble around columbia owing a lot of individuals money and on Facebook talking like he never started stop the violence pertaining owing people money. Like I said DONT LET SHURON FOOL YOU!!!
This doesn’t even make any sense. If he had a gun, he would have been arrested for possession of a weapon and Sheriff Lott would have put him under the jail!!!!!! Smh, think before you speak stupid!!!
And who cares if he was drunk!!!! Anybody that young now and days gets drunk!!! And really dude, are you saying the guy should have gotten beating because he skips the line????
We can tell you work for Bliss or making some money from Bliss. Or last but not least, a ex girlfriend of his lol. Which one?
BTW How do you know he did the stop the violence just for show? Has he been in trouble since then? I really want to know…
Considering that Columbia/Richland County would be my last choice of places to live in SC, I hope that no one in law enforcement is falsely accused for this beating. I have no sympathies for Lott and if I lived in Richland County, I would not vote for him. But no one should be falsely accused of a crime they did not commit. Appears that authorities should shut this “shit hole” club down until the security issues can be resolved.
Charge them all with attempted MURDER and LYNCHING … Do it or the DOJ will come in and arrest a lot more – including Snott himself …. nuff said.
Live by the PC sword and die by the PC sword and with Lott
as others one figgas
No honor among thieves and HONEST citizens believe this is a
thugocracy run by… !!!
https://www.facebook.com/blissultralounge/
There are four expectations when one goes to a place like the bliss ultra lounge
1) I expect to see titties
2) I expect to see pussy
3) I expect to have the opportunity to kick the snot out of someone
4) I expect I may be the one to have the snot kicked out of me
Don’t bitch about the ride, if you willingly buy a ticket and climb aboard
That black candidate is going to have some awful small shoes to fill… lifts included.
“These reports reached Lott, who is said to have panicked (he is currently facing an electoral challenge from an eminently qualified black candidate).” Ok, Will, tell me what makes the “qualified black candidate eminently qualified”? Other than being previously employed at SLED, what qualifications does he have? Does he have any management experience? Has he ever managed a budget? Does he have ANY supervisory experience? If you decide to dig a little deeper, you’ll discover that the answer to all of these questions is no. So, tell me again just what makes him “eminently qualified”?
what makes him “eminently qualified”?
He ain’t Leon
i hear what you’re saying. but if that’s all it takes, why isn’t Alvin Portee running then?
Hes qualified because he is black,and Lott is white and the last white holdout in Richland County (and Columbia) leadership becoming completely black, thus transforming Richland county and Columbia into the truly Detroit or Chiago of the South.