If this assailant had an OUNCE of humanity, and saw the guy hurt, on the ground, and then fled, he is the lowest form of coward there is.
Just as an afterthought, in the "old" days, when someone would be assaulted on the street, EVERY single MAN, and sometimes women would SCREAM/chase down a the perpetrator until they caught him/her for the police. Well, of course I can understand that people might be afraid of being hurt themselves...just sayin'....More pix taking than helping these days. Just an observation.
Reg, did you see that clip where the guy at the bike rentals was saying that this puncher hung around harassing his customers every day? they had video of him doing that.
70s, 80s, 90s. pre internet-ish. My dad was 86 when he chased down a 20 something thug on the subway once. I couldn't believe my eyes. Now, THAT was a dangerous undertaking. And all the riders "clapped"! My dad just responded by impulse, I guess.
'Just as an afterthought, in the "old" days, when someone would be assaulted on the street, EVERY single MAN, and sometimes women would SCREAM/chase down a the perpetrator until they caught him/her for the police.'
I don't know. I get the reluctance to engage someone who just showed a propensity for violence. In fact, I think the people grabbing video do a lot of good in situations like these. I like to think that I'd be the guy who went after the person who threw the punch, but I can't say for sure that I would be.
"Everyone is rushing to blame the victims here, assuming that the police report's phrase "stepping over the dog" implies no threat. But police reports go for a kind of neutral language and can often misrepresent events. "
I don't see that all. In fact from the Joe My God thing and this initial posting, I read it as a gay hate crime. The deeper you look it seems more like a two aggressive @ssholes on a very bad day ( and what appears to be two lazy bystanders).
Again not having much to go on other than the ABC 7 report, it's hard to get context. Something is fishy here though, why would the "victim" follow him or engage him further?
I would have runaway too, that guy had a buddy with him.
^ Of course you don't see it! You seem to be the one blaming the victim.
Admittedly, he could have started this with a shove. I don't know yet, and neither do you. But you seem to have made up your mind about what actually happened, even as you hedge your bets.
"But you seem to have made up your mind about what actually happened, even as you hedge your bets."
Really? This is a fact or it's libel from ABC 7 News:
"The dog owner asked the suspect why he stepped over the dog, and then pushed or shoved him when he tried to walk away. The suspect responded to the shove by punching the victim with his closed right fist."
The Kitty Genovese myth is no joke. I've been in NYC for over a decade and have seen many times incidents were people just stood by. Most recently I had to BEG two teenagers not to go into the subway tracks after a cell phone. We were late to a show and I would not leave until the did. My friends were screaming at me to leave them alone.
I dunno, I'm getting to the point of just walking away too. Apparently there is value in not getting involved. The last thing I would do though is grab my phone to videotape it.
Let's get back on point here, and pray for the victim's recovery, who lies severly injured in a hospital.
(A friend of mine (double the age of this guy), fell accidentally at work after hours last yr, and by the grace of G-d, 1 person noticed what happened and called his wife.
His brain swelled and moved, and he had to have emergency cranial/brain surgery to give him a chance to live. Long story shorter...it is a year later, and he has been through hell, hospitals, rehabs, etc., but has made an ingenious recovery. He could have suffered major brain injury, but only has a slight speech imped., which is getting better daily.)
I, myself fell out of my bed 4 wks ago, did NOT blackout, hit the back of my head on the TV stand. When I felt blood, I called EMS right away. Luckily, I only had to have 8 stitches, and no injury except a laceration.
I tell these stories to get people to realize how serious a head injury can be.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER hit a person or knock them down unless it is a matter of life or death, or the threat of heavy bodily injury. Thanks for listening.
^ You're talking to someone who lost his fiance to a massive brain bleed. There didn't appear to be trauma, so it was most likely an aneurysm, but still...I don't want anyone to have to go through what I did, so yes...don't f*ck around if you've hit your head for whatever reason.
I'm no lawyer--I don't even play one on TV--but I would imagine the police could file charges of second-degree assault against the assailant. I'm not sure that running from police custody at the tunnel could be held against him, but running away from the scene of the crime certainly could.
I don't even watch lawyer TV shows, but I would think trying to escape police custody is a crime.
Maybe some of our lawyer friends could weigh in, but it seems to me the whole thing might hinge on the alleged shove. If Pohan felt HE was under attack, punching and running makes a certain amount of sense.
He was voluntarily in the police car in the Jersey side, where NYPD has no authority. Once through the tunnel, he would have been escaping from police custody.