Columbus police continue to investigate the sale of a video titled "614." The DVD is a compilation of fights among young people that were videotaped around the city. According to the department there's no evidence that the fighting was staged. But police say they want to make sure 614's producers aren't contributing to the violence or causing it to occur.
Scene after scene in 614 shows teens and young adults - males and females - fighting at various Columbus locations. Police Lt. Richard Bash says that the tape itself is not illegal. But he says the department wants to make sure that producers are not inciting some of the violence>
"The one thing that we want to make sure of is that the individuals with the camera aren't trying to get these fights to occur," Bash says. If they start to stage some of these fights, we're certainly going to have a problem."
Even if there's no active involvement by the video's producers Bash says young people might want to fight just to be included in future editions. Attempts to contact the video's producers have not been successful.
Vol. 1 is subtitled "Strictly 4 Da Streets." Most of the people fighting are African Americans. The DVD is being sold as entertainment at several locations along Livingston Ave. on the near east side. But according to Columbus resident Joe Walker there's nothing entertaining about it.
"It don't make no sense the way children carry on like that," Walker says. "Everyone talks about these 614 tapes. Some people get them for jokes; for the fun of it. Ain't no fun in that. People trying to murder and maul each other, that ain't no fun."
There have been rumors that fights in Columbus have been started by people playing a game called "Knock Out," but Lt. Bash says there's no evidence of that. Bash does say that 614's documentary evidence makes the arrest and conviction of assailants captured on tape more likely.
"With this on tape we know that this individual was truly guilty of an assault, and we can file criminal charges. And the civil liabilities are endless."
The DVD is selling for as little as $5.