‘Joker’ Incident Did Not Belong On Front Page

Lauren, you have a valid point. However, the fact is that the PJ is a private company. They are in it to make money, and 'weird' is what sells. Remember, the media is not out for our best interest. They are out to make money. Thats why they jump on the anti-Obama bandwagon in a small town. Dollar signs. I'm not an Obama lover, but I'm smart enough to know that to get ahead in the economy, we need to put partisonship behind us, and embrace a plan that both sides can agree on. Is the PJ this smart? Apparently not. But again. Dollar signs.

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LOL You need a life if that is all your worried about, The story made me laugh, glad i saw it.

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this is a joke, right?

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We need mental health courts.

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You folks seem to be in the business of assuming; thus you would have us believe that you could tell his mental condition from a photo. Quite possibly he was only achieving his 15 seconds in the limelight of history!

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I saw the pic, didn't think much of it but it did make me smile.

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One should wonder: How long before the Joker in question craves attention and goes Postal/Aurora to achieve that attention? Didn't everyone ignore the jokers responsible for huge slaughters?

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Why so serious? Lets put a smile on that face.

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Lauren says "The young man did cause a disturbance but he is mentally ill and didn't deserve to made a spectacle of". What a shame. He was made a spectacle of but mentally ill?? According parts of the article posted below, he was drunk and or stoned. Is that what you call mentally ill? If so, you do a diservice to those that actually are mentally ill.

"Police said Chase, who sat at the bar and wanted to be served, was intoxicated and had no money"..... "The incident was the second in a 24-hour span that led to charges being lodged against Chase. The Jamestown resident on Saturday was cited for unlawful possession of marijuana".

Once again - this individual is not responsible for his actions since he must be mentally ill. Another example of the PC society we now live in!

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Lauren, I think one line in the story tells why it was front page news: " With the recent events in the country you have to take these situations seriously.".

I've not seen anybody else go into a popular, frequented restaurant, drunk and acting bizarre, harassing others and refusing to leave, all while dressed as the Joker. Of course the Joker is the persona the Aurora shooter chose for his mass killing at a Batman premiere.

I agree that this young man needs psychiatric help; I disagree that this was just a typical 'police report' story that the PJ sensationalized with front page coverage. I had friends who saw this guy out and about that evening and were glad to see the night ended safely with his arrest vs another outcome.

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I too was upset with the PJ for that article, but only because they wouldn't let us comment on it. Oh, how I had some good ones.

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Intoxicated or mentally ill, the individual did create a scene. He must be willing to accept the consequences.

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Lauren, Get a life / or job (but please not as an editor! He chose to be a spectacle when he doned the face paint dah.

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If we lived in Texas or Georgia this little prank could easily have led to some gun shots. I am glad the PJ made a story out of it. Mentally ill, a drunk or whatever.. stupid is as stupid does...

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i personally saw him out in public. scared me so much i made a mad dash for the door. with the news reports of all the terrible things going on in the world, who WOULDN'T think of those cases when you see someone dressed the same as the man who opened fire in a crowded theater. front page or not, people needed to know about this. maybe that fool will think twice about doing it again. i hope he gets help.

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All good comments except the one that tries to blame the PJ for reporting local news. At the time of the arrest no one can know the state of mind or if someone such as this is mentally ill, therefore they have to treat it as they would any other disturbance. Maybe a little more so since he was wearing the "warpaint" that he was.

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"Remember, the media is not out for our best interest. They are out to make money. Thats why they jump on the anti-Obama bandwagon in a small town".

Soooo, that must be why the Media in large cities like the NY, Washington D.C., LA, Chicago, Boston, San Fran., and the rest are ON the Obama bandwagon right jamestownfan18?

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The same policy applies to reporting "the joker" on the front page as it does to reporting the police officer and his personal problems...it is a matter of public record. Public awareness is a positive. Citizens will call the police, like they did in this case, which, at the very least, took a nuisance off the street and at the very most, averted a more serious situation.

"Copycats" are why the media needs to be responsible when reporting these incidents, and not make these individuals into legends. Unfortunately, many sick minds crave notoriety. (the PJ's reporting was responsible).

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I was under the impression that NAMI has established a mental health court in the county.

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Lauren, the "Joker" has been stalking a former Classmate of his also . It is good to get his picture out there to the public.

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I agree that a lot of the news reported in the PJ is just trash that wouldn't be included in a larger newspaper. I subscribed to the PJ’s home delivery for many years, and probably still would, if it were not for some of the trash included as news. The PJ puts in all of the police and courts charges, and people are publically judged before they can defend themselves. I’ve seldom seen a listing of dropped charges of people who are not guilty of these petty issues. It is just a way to market the newspaper and appeal to the bored who have nothing more constructive to do than read about locals who have hit hard times. Recently I’ve seen several individuals who have been arrested for stealing food. Did anything appear about hungry people pushed to crime? I’ve seen bull about how the minimum wage is killing capitalism in the letters to the editor, but then that’s a different topic. And then there a people who post comments that are ignorant enough to think that it is a chat room format.

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It needed to be on the front page and known this kind of nonsense is not going to be tolerated any longer.

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What kind of nonsense is the average guy supposed to put up with? Stuff like our country using unmanned machines to kill people, including civilians? Police departments murdering suspects before there is any chance for a trial? Our president keeping an assassination list? Our leadership spending all of our national treasury on illegal and undeclared wars? Just wondering.

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Gio, I know NAMI was trying at one time but then never heard if they did.

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This is serious issue and has to be on the front page. Any news made the national news should be on the front page. I'm just happy he didn't have a gun on him and go on shooting rapage like the other crazies.

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