Posted on 01/11/2014 4:53:57 PM PST by nickcarraway
Police are turning to the public to find the man who punched a woman as she was dropping her daughter off at dance practice in Los Gatos on Monday.
Police released a sketch Friday of the suspect.
They said he was wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans and a backwards white baseball cap when he attacked the woman for no apparent reason.
There is speculation the attack could be part of a disturbing prank called the "Knockout Game," where random people are attacked while someone else videotapes it.
Witnesses said the victim was injured but refused to go to the hospital.
Time for the press to start calling it what it really is. A vicious crime, not a prank and certainly not a game.
While the rural counties of CA can be "may issue", as a practical matter the entire SF Bay Area is "no issue". The guy is young, and clearly able to fight. Why would any unarmed citizen put themselves in danger by "going after" him.
And, even more pertinent is the question of what does a citizen who catches him do? If we beat him up, we have assaulted him and will be jailed for years. If we follow him, we will end up in a crappy neighborhood where his homies will assault us for just being there.
If I had been allowed to carry while I lived there and had seen the incident, I would have followed him to at least get the license of his car. But, with no protection, he would have made an easy target of an old white man.
The woman was obviously in no further danger from the perp, and anyone who "went after him" as you suggest would have just brought legal trouble on himself.
They could have "gone after him" long enough to get a cell-phone photograph. Post it anonymously, notify the police, and get the victim to identify it. It's not that hard.
Is that a trick question? Of course they did! It happened in the SF Bay Area!
Go ahead, show us how it is done!
You get in your car and chase down someone who has a minute or two lead at the start, fire up your cell phone, and take a recognizable picture of the driver of another vehicle, while he is still moving. If you don't get pulled over for using the cell phone while driving, you will find that a picture clear enough to identify someone else in a different car is not as easy as you think.
And, the challenge I lay down is far easier than the challenge a good samaritan at the scene would face. There the perp would be actively trying to evade his pursuer, spoil any potential picture, and probably trying to run the following vehicle off the road.
Lay off the hero complex and live to fight another day.
I don't like the knockout game any more than you. But, I am not going to do anything stupid to catch one guy. And, I am not going to try to convince anyone else to take legally dubious action. Be aware of your surroundings, be prepared to win an altercation, but avoid confrontation if at all possible. OTOH, put pressure on law enforcement and news media to publicize this problem.
The perp was on foot when the witlesses saw him.
Be aware of your surroundings, be prepared to win an altercation, but avoid confrontation if at all possible. OTOH, put pressure on law enforcement and news media to publicize this problem.
That's how we got this budding police state. For the first hundred years of this country's history, for the most part, citizens were law enforcement. Then, when the citizens were unwilling to take risks, they hired police. Now that the police have unionized, THEY are unwilling to take risks as a matter of "officer safety" (while collecting outrageous pensions for "hazard pay").
As it is, police and agency enforcers comprise a two million man standing army in this country, of unionized government employees. Most all they are good for is to come take the report, that is, unless one hurts a cop. The last time that happened around here there were 19 cars slow chasing the perp for a half an hour. When they rammed his car, they came out to shoot him dead, still in his car and not having fired a shot. There were hundreds of rounds flying all over that residential neighborhood. I know this from people who witnessed it from across the street.
This has to change. Citizens need to be armed to deter these crimes and armed with cameras to document them. Cops need body cameras on them too. I'm tired of this crap. And don't tell me that's impossible in California. While the Marxists in the legislature are passing more disastrous laws, the courts are sending them the other way. If the rulings in Chicago are any indication, we should see some real changes fairly soon.
Time will tell.
Doubtful he lives in Los Gatos. Probably “commuted” in.
That one is always funny.
Looks like a White Hispanic guy who got a nose transplant from a black guy.
Police should get a dump from the nearest cell tower, paying particular attention to probably the only Obamaphone registered.
I don’t go by often, but usually there aren’t people outside around there. From the first news report, the only who might have witnessed it was the Indian guy in the pizza store. He was inside the building and making pizza, so the perp was long gone by the time he rushed out. I don’t think it’s accurate, in this case, to say anybody stood there in shock, or could have run after him.
Witnesses (plural -CO) said the victim was injured but refused to go to the hospital.
Just taking my impression from the report.
I think they were witnesses to the fact she was injured. The main was one was the pizza guy. But do you honestly think he could have realized what was happening, dropped his equipment, and ran outside in time to catch the guy?
Which neighborhood would that have been? It would have been quite a long run.
I think they were witnesses to the fact she was injured.
By that standard, so were the cops who interviewed her. Do you think the paper would call them witnesses?
Given that the paper said there were witnesses, having lived with a Los Gatos address for 27 years, given what I've heard from the residents over those years, what I've read of what they think of having a gun store in their midst, the way they regulate each other's property, and how they vote, YES, I think that even if they had the chance to simply take a picture most would just stand there like stupid sheep or hide.
One doesn't have to catch the guy to make that possible. Just running after him yelling might get someone better positioned to take the photograph. Given the victim's description of the perp, with a range of 5'9"-6'0," even if they caught him the victim's testimony is unlikely to get a conviction. A photo on the other hand would land him in jail.
I have very little faith in journalists.
I'll have to go back and watch the TV thing. With the dance studio they are mostly women. I wonder where he ran off too. That's mostly surrounded by residential neighborhoods. If he didn't have a house or a car, it could be a place where he could get caught. I wonder if the police searched the neighborhood.
It’s a dance studio, so it was probably mostly women too. Not inclined to go after him.
I know the area well. I used to live just off Blossom Hill & Union Ave.
I wonder if the police searched the neighborhood.
I'd bet the response time over the hill like that on the edge of town would be pretty slow.
Then make lots of noise.
The prankster must be a wigger...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.