Eyes of Nation on Shreveport over Sagging

The proposed repeal of the ban on saggy pants is getting lots of national attention.

The Washington Post has just done a detailed story on the proposed repeal.

In the article, the Post spotlights the death of Anthony Childs in February who was approached by police because of his sagging pants.

The report says:

'Hey! Hey!' the officer yelled, according to dash-cam footage of the incident. He could see now that Childs had a gun. “Put the gun down!” he yelled twice. The rest all happened in a matter of seconds. A succession of gunshots rang out. The officer fired eight shots, striking Childs three times as he lay on the ground. But the coroner later ruled that the bullet that killed Childs, 31, was the one he put into his own chest. It was the only shot he fired.

The Washington Post is not the only national publication shining a light on our saggy pants ordinance. The New York Post is also reporting on the death of Childs and the proposed repeal of the saggy pants ordinance.  The New York paper reports:

Officials in a Louisiana city are re-evaluating a 12-year-old ordinance banning “saggy pants” after a man wearing a pair died in a confrontation with police. Anthony Childs, also had three nonlethal wounds from bullets fired from a distance by Officer Traveion Brooks, who had fired a total of eight times, according to the Shreveport Times.

On Tuesday, June 11th, the Shreveport City Council is expected to vote on a possible repeal of the ban. Councilwoman LeVette Fuller is leading the charge to repeal the ban. She expects her measure to pass either 5-2 or 6-1.

KEEL News caught up with former Shreveport Councilman Calvin Lester who proposed the original ban on saggy pants back in 2007.

Of the 726 people cited under Shreveport’s “saggy pants” ordinance since 2007, 98 percent of them were black, according to city data provided to The Post. When it came to juveniles cited under the law, 100 percent were black, Fuller said.