Seattle "Superhero" Arrested For Pepper Spray Assault

[Venats]

We always complain that there is no good in people. When you see the video of the man getting his ass kicked, you look around at the bystanders and ask "why the hell aren't they doing something."

Now someone does, and you jump down his throat. Sad.

People justify their own inaction by saying that there is no good in people, but when someone acts, when someone shows that there is good in people, it jeopardizes the justification of the many for their own inaction, inadequacy, and failures.

Its standard ego self-defense.

"Why should I do it if no one else will do it?"
And if someone does it...
"Look at him showing off, what a fool."

 

[dickywebster]

I always wondered when people would start trying to be real life superheroes, heh. It's a concept a lot of particularly idiotic people would surely have at least considered before.

Result!

EDIT: Well, assuming they haven't already. I've never heard of anyone doing it.

Actually its been done a lot, think of the first part of kickass before things got awesome, where some local people dress up in costumes and go to the streets to fight crime and often made to look a bit silly on the news.

Yeah so its not common, but its not unheard of either, it jsut tends to be the smaller cities or towns rather than say places like NY. From what ive heard at least.

 

[draythefingerless]

Lol, did they catch an attempt at a hit n run crime in that video? sweet

 

[Regiment]

What kind of superhero name is "Phoenix Jones"? It reminds me of the scene in Mystery Men where Mr. Furious is trying to show off to a girl and says that his real name is Phoenix Dark. Dirk. Phoenix Dark-Dirk.

 

[maninahat]

He's the hero Seattle deserves, not the one it needs right now. He's a loud guardian, a watchful moron, a dark idiot.

Good man. This needs carving onto a bronz statue of this asshole.

Lol, I called somebody an asshole! Just like Penn and Teller, derpadoo!
Forgot an E
Why is this guy an Asshole?
Sure he's probably putting his life at great risk by doing this stuff, but his heart is in the right place. As far as I can tell, he isn't going looking for fights, but rather responding to them. If you heard there was a man choking to death, and you ran to him, you wouldn't be accused of ambulance chasing would you?
While I do think he might be a bit misguided, it's not like he's going out and assault people for selling drugs, or over eagerly tasering people. He's just a altruistic dude that doesn't quite know what to do.
Certainly not an asshole.
An asshole is when you kick puppies, spam emails, or ignore people being hurt because you don't want to get involved.
Why do you think you get to be so vindictive in this situation?

You don't think running around, spraying pepper spray into an angry crowd is at all risible? The guy dresses up as a super hero and goes out into the street with weapons; of course he was looking for trouble! That is the difference between a decent member of the public stepping in to break up a scuffle, and a kook like this: an innocent person can argue they were just doing the most reasonable thing at the shortest notice.

If you are the kind of person looking out for trouble on purpose, and your primary intention is to get involved in this sort of thing, you can't argue you were taking the best, most reasonable course of action. You are making a stupid choice and trying to take the situation into your own hands, which is very irresponsible and potentially very dangerous to all involved. That is why he is an asshole. Because he prioritised his super hero antics over doing the right thing, to the endangerment of the public.

 

[Aprilgold]

We always complain that there is no good in people. When you see the video of the man getting his ass kicked, you look around at the bystanders and ask "why the hell aren't they doing something."

Now someone does, and you jump down his throat. Sad.

Quite, my good madam / sir. He strives to be a hero, but like we all know, no one likes vigilantes, especially cops. Because we all know that cops hate being shown up, sense their authority figures and what not. Nothing wrong with the concept, just people tend to be a douche when it comes to letting the community CLEANSE the community. Cops, if you don't want Phoniex Jones, step up your police force.

The reason that he got into this situation is obviously that someone is not doing their job. I don't blame him.

He's the hero Seattle deserves, not the one it needs right now. He's a loud guardian, a watchful moron, a dark idiot.

Good man. This needs carving onto a bronz statue of this asshole.

Lol, I called somebody an asshole! Just like Penn and Teller, derpadoo!
Forgot an E
Why is this guy an Asshole?
Sure he's probably putting his life at great risk by doing this stuff, but his heart is in the right place. As far as I can tell, he isn't going looking for fights, but rather responding to them. If you heard there was a man choking to death, and you ran to him, you wouldn't be accused of ambulance chasing would you?
While I do think he might be a bit misguided, it's not like he's going out and assault people for selling drugs, or over eagerly tasering people. He's just a altruistic dude that doesn't quite know what to do.
Certainly not an asshole.
An asshole is when you kick puppies, spam emails, or ignore people being hurt because you don't want to get involved.
Why do you think you get to be so vindictive in this situation?

You both are very much correct. Not his fault he wanted to stop a fight, its the cops fault for not being there first.

 

[Marik2]

We always complain that there is no good in people. When you see the video of the man getting his ass kicked, you look around at the bystanders and ask "why the hell aren't they doing something."

Now someone does, and you jump down his throat. Sad.

Gotta love hypocrisy right?

I think people are mad cuz its not as cool as in Batman or Kick Ass

 

[Scarim Coral]

This upcoming court could be the start of something new, mainly a newly created law to ban or outlaw masks vigilantes. This could be the end of the other establish mask individual like Shadow Hare and that superhero group (the one with Motor Mouth, Nyx, Life and etc).

 

[Super Six One]

Lol, did they catch an attempt at a hit n run crime in that video? sweet

24 Comments before anyone mentions the fact that someone was HIT BY A CAR and this Phoenix guy chased after it, good on him.

Pepper spray is nothing, so what your eyes hurt, and kicking the shit out of each other wasn't going get them injured? He should get let off, not even with a warning, give him thanks and send him back on the streets.

 

[darthotaku]

didn't kick ass show why this was a bad idea? a bystander calling the cops is more effective and safer than a masked vigilante. I totally wish we lived in a world where that was not the case, but someone is gonna be killed. might be him, might be the "villain", but it'll be someone.

 

[Dastardly]

Seattle "Superhero" Arrested For Pepper Spray Assault

Eventually, I think the argument will be that his presence in the situation -- wearing a bright costume, carrying crime-fighting devices, yet not displaying a badge or other official markers -- served as an escalating influence, possibly even provocation.

It's probably the most sensible argument against costumed vigilantism. Having student hall monitors did the same thing in many elementary and middle schools--when people realized these people had no official power, antagonizing them became a game. While that certainly qualified those people as "jerks," it eventually came down to such things not being worth the trouble. If they don't have the power, they shouldn't have the position.

 

[Treblaine]

Charged with up to year of incarceration when there is even video evidence that it is self-defence.

This is why Batman kept his secret identity.

ITT: police have a monopoly of force

(Off topic: why did the cops call Batman in to interrogate The Joker for The Dark Knight, all he did was slap him around and make a vague threat of killing Joker, any cop could have done that (and a short while later in the film actually did!). Batman is supposed to do what the police can't or won't do)

 

[Beryl77]

So funny the comments here.
Most of the time when a group of people does something bad, for example beat someone up, most comments are like "This society is sick, why doesn't any do something, where are all the heroes?"
Then, when someone has the balls to actually do something (it's his own fault and decision if he puts himself in danger), the comments change to "Wow, what a moron, why does he act like such an idiot and do something so stupid."
Sigh, people just don't know what they want.

 

[draythefingerless]

to the people talking about the pepper spray and the taking weapons looking for fights....

1. so a woman who carries a pepper spray in her bag is a criminal offense?
2. cops stroll the night looking for trouble too. thats their job. to ensure they are safeguarding everyone. thats what this guy was doing. going thru the night, hoping he might stop any ongoing crime. looking to start a fight and looking for a fight to stop it are two different things.
2. he even avoided touching people in that fight. all he did was separate them(like normal thoughtful good hearted people do when they see a fight) and he used the pepper spray in his own defense.

 

[funguy2121]

Seattle "Superhero" Arrested For Pepper Spray Assault

[vimeo=30307440]

Like Batman, Phoenix Jones patrols the streets in a one-man war against crime. Unlike Batman, Jones is in jail for pepper-spraying a group of citizens.

According to Seattle police, Jones (nom de reality: Benjamin Fodor) pepper-sprayed a group of clubgoers in the early morning hours as they were walking to their car. Reportedly, two of the men involved chased Jones and in the ensuing fracas, police were summoned to the scene.

Fodor is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow, and if convicted faces "up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine."

The most intriguing part of this case is that the events in question were captured on video by a (presumably) unaffiliated bystander. The clip (embedded above) shows Jones being alerted to a "huge fight," rushing down the street, and attempting to break it up. As far as I can tell, he only pulls the pepper spray after members of the group start attacking him.

I never went to law school, not have I recently studied the legalities surrounding masked vigilantes, but based on the video I can't see any actual assault on the part of Jones. Self-defense, maybe. Going out in public looking like a total nutbar, absolutely. But no actual assault.

Which, now that I think of it, might be part of the problem. People see a guy dressed up in molded rubber body armor, calling himself a "superhero," and they expect that he's going to solve problems with a solution straight out of the pages of DC Comics. If Phoenix Jones had waded into the middle of that fight and started dropping people with roundhouse kicks and phoenix-a-rangs (presumably this is what he calls his 'a-rangs) I think the general public would be far more likely to cheer him on.

Granted, at that point he's looking at far more serious criminal charges, but once you've reached a level where you're naming bladed throwing weapons after your faux persona, you just can't worry about what the cops think.

Source: Reuters [http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/12/us-superhero-arrest-idUSTRE79B4DI20111012]

Permalink

Charging in with the intent to pepper spray someone, which can cause injury and in extreme cases fatality, may be a just thing to do depending on the situation, but that doesn't mean the law would side with him. Also, vigilantism (apparently a word!) is against the law.

Not sure whether to believe the vid is "real" or not. When will one of these nutjobs slash the Waltons' (heirs to the Walmart fortune and all around little shits) tires?

 

[Sparrow]

Props for him taking on four guys at once. Admittedly, he only pepper sprayed them, but still!

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

Seattle cops are a fucking joke around here, and this one just had a vendetta against Jones. There is no excuse for this kind of abuse of legal power. He was the only one arrested in that fray by they way. Just watch 30 seconds of that video and you can see all the women on an assault rampage, yet they don't get any punishment.

This is why i don't exactly trust law enforcements these days because i like to raise the question from time to time: "who enforces the enforcer?" because i still believe in vigilantes as some police enforcements can be quite a joke as you stated and with that abuse of power they displayed it's no wonder i don't trust police forces especially when they clearly didn't arrest those women or the people throwing rocks which by the way can do far more damage than a pepper spray so i am highly inclined to agree with you Signa.

 

[Super Six One]

Lol, did they catch an attempt at a hit n run crime in that video? sweet

24 Comments before anyone mentions the fact that someone was HIT BY A CAR and this Phoenix guy chased after it, good on him.

Pepper spray is nothing, so what your eyes hurt, and kicking the shit out of each other wasn't going get them injured? He should get let off, not even with a warning, give him thanks and send him back on the streets.

So instead of enforcing the law and having the police deal with these situations in a manner which doesn't bring in the ethical implications of vigilantism, we're instead going to say "civillian pepper spraying bystanders in the face" is OK?

Basically, yea, that is exactly what im saying.

 

[SadakoMoose]

He's the hero Seattle deserves, not the one it needs right now. He's a loud guardian, a watchful moron, a dark idiot.

Good man. This needs carving onto a bronz statue of this asshole.

Lol, I called somebody an asshole! Just like Penn and Teller, derpadoo!
Forgot an E
Why is this guy an Asshole?
Sure he's probably putting his life at great risk by doing this stuff, but his heart is in the right place. As far as I can tell, he isn't going looking for fights, but rather responding to them. If you heard there was a man choking to death, and you ran to him, you wouldn't be accused of ambulance chasing would you?
While I do think he might be a bit misguided, it's not like he's going out and assault people for selling drugs, or over eagerly tasering people. He's just a altruistic dude that doesn't quite know what to do.
Certainly not an asshole.
An asshole is when you kick puppies, spam emails, or ignore people being hurt because you don't want to get involved.
Why do you think you get to be so vindictive in this situation?

You don't think running around, spraying pepper spray into an angry crowd is at all risible? The guy dresses up as a super hero and goes out into the street with weapons; of course he was looking for trouble! That is the difference between a decent member of the public stepping in to break up a scuffle, and a kook like this: an innocent person can argue they were just doing the most reasonable thing at the shortest notice.

If you are the kind of person looking out for trouble on purpose, and your primary intention is to get involved in this sort of thing, you can't argue you were taking the best, most reasonable course of action. You are making a stupid choice and trying to take the situation into your own hands, which is very irresponsible and potentially very dangerous to all involved. That is why he is an asshole. Because he prioritised his super hero antics over doing the right thing, to the endangerment of the public.

The man did not start the fight, which is key to the whole idea of "looking for" a fight.
The world needs altruism, especially in Areas like Seattle where the public is greatly disillusioned with the Civil Servants who are supposed to be looking out for them.
These aren't antics, these are very necessary human instincts. Admittedly, the presentation is a bit garish and showy, but it still shows an inherent desire within humans to do what is ultimately best for their survival. Protecting other members of "the tribe".
I do not claim to understand the full circumstances of this incident, and not all that much can really be gleamed by just watching this video. I wasn't even there.
I can't really argue that his presence incited the violence, or otherwise.
Frankly, I can't see those drunks acting all to differently to an officer in Uniform trying to break them up. Belligerents are belligerents. If no one had been around to do anything, one of those guys might have actually gotten a chance to use that gun.
End of the day, someone was there to try and do something.
Most days that's all you can ask for.

Even then, he sprayed in self defense, and with much more restraint and adequate warning than some police officers I've seen, might I add.

BTW, Risible?

 

[Treblaine]

It's probably the most sensible argument against costumed vigilantism.

And we DO need sensible arguments against silly things like costumed vigilantism.

I don't think this guy is taking the costumed part of costumed vigilantism far enough, where is this guy's sense of THEATRE!


Now THAT is a masked vigilante!

The thing is in the movie the mask covered a horribly burnt face, in real life it would most likely mask pimples and a neck-beard.