Brian Downing, Alabama fan wanted in post-BCS sexual assault on LSU fan arrested in New Orleans
Published: Friday, January 20, 2012, 4:20 AM Updated: Friday, January 20, 2012, 6:03 AM
Brian Downing, identified as the Alabama fan who pressed his testicles on the neck of an unconscious LSU fan in a Bourbon Street burger joint after the BCS Championship Game, was arrested by New Orleans police Thursday night after driving to meet police. Downing, of Smiths Station, Ala., was taken into custody by New Orleans police about 10 p.m.
Detectives met Downing, 32, at his attorney's office in Mid-City and then took him to Central Lock-Up, where he was booked with one count of sexual battery and one count of obscenity.
Earlier in the day, Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor, who said he is a second cousin to Downing, said he personally spoke with the NOPD sex crimes detective handling the case about whether to arrest the man or send him to New Orleans for questioning.
Although he'd heard about the video -- which has created a firestorm on the Internet -- for a couple days, Taylor said he watched it Thursday morning at the prompting of other people who suggested the University of Alabama fan was his relative. The man in the video indeed appeared to be Downing, he said.
"So then I went out there and looked at it and was, like, you have to be kidding me," Taylor said. At that point, he called Downing's father and told him to bring his son to the sheriff's office.
Downing and a lawyer came in, but left after the NOPD detective instructed Taylor that his cousin should come to New Orleans. Taylor said he did not question Downing, nor did any of his deputies.
"It is a shock that it happened as an Alabama fan. It is a shocker that it is my family. It is out of character for Brian," Taylor said. "I would never in a million years have dreamed he would have done that, period. I assume, like everybody else does, it is not a Photoshopped picture of him."
Downing was initially identified by two sports websites, Deadspin and Out Kick The Coverage. Deadspin at first identified the man only by first name, while also posting photographs found on the Internet. The Columbus, Ga., newspaper subsequently posted an online story quoting Taylor, who identified Downing as the Alabama fan.
The video of the incident has sparked a media firestorm across the Gulf Coast. The recording, taken shortly before midnight on Jan. 9, shows a man clad in Alabama crimson, thrusting his testicles onto the neck of an unconscious LSU fan at the Krystal Burger on Bourbon Street. The LSU fan sits in a chair, with his head down on the counter. Nobody makes any effort to stop the assault.
Before the man in the video exposed himself, other Alabama fans crowded around the unconscious man in LSU purple and gold, putting fast-food cartons on his head and back, jeering and posing for pictures. The man who eventually exposes himself initially puts his fingers in the LSU fan's nose and ear.
Earlier this week, police said the NOPD's Sex Crimes Unit had reviewed the video, but said a thorough investigation would hinge on the victim's cooperation. On Wednesday, however, police issued a news release asking for help identifying the perpetrator. Police did not say whether the victim had come forward.
In the NOPD release, police categorized the assault as sexual battery, which under state law includes "the touching of the ... genitals of the offender by the victim" without the victim's consent. A victim who is incapacitated or unconscious is generally viewed as not having given consent.
Both Deadspin and Out Kick The Coverage reported that Downing worked at a Hibbett sporting goods store in Columbus, which is on the Alabama border.
A vice president with Hibbett Sports would not confirm that Downing worked for the company, but he said the company learned Wednesday that the person in the video was a company employee. By 5:00 p.m., Hibbett had made the decision to fire the man, said Scott Myers, vice president of loss prevention and human resources.
"We felt comfortable to terminate employment of the person in the video," Myers said. "We don't support or condone these activities and it is certainly nothing we are about."
