Knock, knock: men involved in Mall "beating" tell their side of the story

Photo: Kiara Redd-Martin, Richard Spears, Kishara Joy Griffin, and Malcolm Stevenson.

In an exclusive interview with the two men arrested and charged with assault in connection with a December 20 altercation on the Downtown Mall, which was initially portrayed as a "knock out" style attack for mere sport and entertainment by the alleged victims in the press and on Facebook, Malcolm Stevenson and Richard Spears offered their account of what happened that night. The interview was facilitated by Kiara Redd-Martin and Kishara Joy Griffin, two young African-American activists (and friends of the men) who say they feel "disappointed and angry" about the way the story was initially portrayed in the press, and encouraged their friends to come forward.

"We believe it was negligent journalism," says Redd-Martin, a 24-year old graduate of Old Dominion University who is now pursuing a graduate degree in administrative justice, talking about the first story about the incident that ran in Cville Weekly