Criminal charges are expected to be filed Wednesday in Orlando, Florida, in the suspected hazing death of Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion, a law enforcement source close to the investigation told CNN.
Some FAMU band members have said Champion died last November after taking part in an annual rite of passage called “Crossing Bus C.”
The crossing the bus ritual is an initiation process in which pledges attempt to run down the center aisle from the front door of the bus to the back while being punched, kicked and assaulted by senior members, band members have said.
Champion collapsed in Orlando on the bus, which was carrying members of FAMU’s Marching 100 after a November football game that included a halftime performance by the group.
The medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide and said Champion “collapsed and died within an hour of a hazing incident during which he suffered multiple blunt trauma blows to his body.”
An autopsy found “extensive contusions of his chest, arms, shoulder and back,” as well as “evidence of crushing of areas of subcutaneous fat,” which is the fatty tissue directly under the skin.
The death prompted the FAMU board of trustees to approve a new three-part anti-hazing plan, which includes an independent panel of experts to investigate.
Source: CNN
May 4, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Need more info.. Were his fellow bandmates Black, white or a combination? For this to be classified a homicide it’s likely the hazers were themselves Black. Just how these things work.
Need more info tho..