Do cops take "Knockout" assaults seriously?

If you've been looking at all these "Knockout Game" assaults on YouTube and in the paper, and wondering if the cops are taking this stuff seriously, wonder no more my friends.

No. They don't.

Charlottesville Police have arrested two men in association with the December 20 assault on the Downtown Mall.

Malcolm James Stevenson, 25, and Richard Bernard Spears, 23, surrendered on Wednesday, January 8, according to Police Chief Tim Longo, who announced the arrests at a same-day press conference. Each has been charged with misdemeanor assault.
...
Longo also addressed concerns that the department was slow to respond to the report. He said that an investigation did commence immediately and that the officers who'd taken the report had been following up, but acknowledged that it should have been assigned to a detective earlier. He first saw the file and assigned it to the investigative unit, he said, when he returned to work after the holidays on December 30.
...
Stevenson and Spears have been released on their own recognizance and are scheduled to appear in Charlottesville District Court on February 5. Longo said the current misdemeanor charges could be raised to something more serious if Adams provides additional documentation of his injuries. Currently, Longo said, police only have documentation of a lost tooth and soft tissue damage. [emphasis mine]

Because beating the shit out of some guy and his girlfriend completely at random and for no reason at all is, you know, not a big deal.

Meanwhile, the drumbeat to disarm regular folk continues. Because its those pesky rednecks that are the real problem, right?

Just so you know what you're dealing with, my American friends.

The Phantom