Another Jena 6-type incident? On Long Island?

Mychal Bell, 17, is accused with five others of beating Justin Barker in a school fight.

(Mineola - WABC, September 18, 2007) - On Long Island, there is outrage over an attack caught on tape that some are saying was racially motivated.

The Loving Tree

The chaotic scene took place on June 1 and involved several white men and one black man outside a McDonald's in Oceanside. As only in the Y2K century, caught on video.

Leaders in the black community are now calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate. Several community leaders held a news conference to express their outrage at the Nassau County District Attorney's Office. They say the videotape proves that the DA's Office did not properly investigate the incident.

The video of the violent brawl is at times unclear, but leaders of the black community insist the tape is proof positive that the man accused of assault is, in reality, the victim of a racially motivated attack, Their believe is that 24-year-old Aloysius Staton is being unfairly prosecuted. "This young man is innocent," New York State Senator Eric Adams said. "The videotape shows that he is innocent. He was the victim of a crime."

Last month, Staton and his friend entered the McDonald's when a fight broke out, captured on the restaurant's security camera. Staton and his friend claim they were the victims of a bias attack, and that eight young men instigated the fight, calling them names. "They called me racist names, the N-word and stuff like that," Staton said.

Staton was caught on tape hurling a beer bottle at one of the men. But prior to that, another man is seen swinging a chair at Staton's friend. Attorney Phil Shanahan insists his client was acting in self-defense.

"We need someone that needs to look and see why these men who were truly guilty of the crime were not prosecuted," he said. In the end, Staton was the only person indicted by the Nassau DA. He was charged with assault. "We are all under the law, and the law should apply to everybody equally," the NAACP's Claudia Swansey said.

The DA released a statement saying this is an ongoing investigation and that the videotape is being looked at as evidence. Staton faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.