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Repeated fights on Baton Rouge's 3rd Street push bar owners to seek solutions
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BATON ROUGE — A street fight outside bars and nightclubs on Third Street went viral on social media this weekend, and now business owners along the strip are calling for change.
Police are still investigating, and no arrests have been made.
Video circulating on social media shows a group of women fighting in front of nightclubs and bars on Third Street. A second video shows the aftermath, with police walking one woman away from the scene outside a nightclub.
Anti-violence advocate Tonja Miles described her reaction after seeing the footage. At first she didn't believe what the video showed was even real.
"To be honest, I thought it was A.I., and then when I looked closely, I thought maybe it was happening somewhere else, and when I saw it was happening here, I was just shocked, and I was sad," Miles said.
David Facey, who runs Violet Nightclub, said the fight started between women and moved up the street.
"We think it definitely had contagion and it spread out, that more people got involved, but BRPD was able to handle it for us before it got bigger and more dangerous," Facey said.
Several bars line Third Street and a police substation sits just across from them. Even so, people at neighboring bars say fights like this have been happening too often, with some businesses forced to close early.
"Because something is either happening there or the roads are blocked off because they have a lot of people, just loitering in the streets. We cannot sustain any business," said Daniel Unda of Somewhere Neighborhood Bar.
Facey said he manages the situation by hiring extra duty police officers and security guards, but neighboring businesses say that is not enough.
"We are so close to football season, which is our bread and butter. We cannot have this," Unda said.
Facey said he believes being proactive is key, especially with increased tourism in the area.
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