At approximately 12:08 p.m., two men were fighting in front of the Belmont “L” station at 945 West Belmont Avenue in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, said several 911 callers.
Eyewitnesses told police the confrontation started on a CTA train.
Investigators said a male black offender in a white t-shirt and a black hat, assaulted a white male victim.
When describing the eyewitnesses' account of what happened, an officer at the scene said, "according to the witnesses, the offender punched the guy around real good".
The suspect fled the scene on a southbound Red Line train, and the victim fled the station in an unknown direction, said authorities.
No arrests were made.
Police were unable to locate the victim.
Photo: Graham Garfield/Chicago-L.org
Copyright 2011. Chicago News Report. All rights reserved. Do not reprint without permission.
The "suspect" fled the scene on a "southbound" red line train ... What else is new?
ReplyDeleteBelmont station at noon? It's just a tad packed at that time. It's like I tell my wife. "Watch the people, not the place; profile, profile, profile. Your life depends on practicality, not political correctness"
ReplyDeletethird s
Raise your hand IF you would like to be able to carry ANYTHING LEGAL to defend yourself?
ReplyDeleteGIVE US CC!
How about a metal baton? Or a taser? How 'bout a gun? How in the hell do we fight back against those who carry ILLEGAL weapons?
Why didn't people standing on that platform step in and help? What the hell is wrong with people????
It's because people are sheep. No one wants to "get involved" so you have to be ready to protect yourself or be a victim. There aren't enough police on or around transit because the vast majority of our police force is deployed to the West and South side. Paid for with our taxes and given to parasites! Yet, at you say, we also don't have the right to protect ourselves. It's the biggest reason I want out of this State.
ReplyDeleteThere are hi-def cameras all over the Belmont platform. How did they manage to dodge all the cameras? Did they really not get a picture of any of the fight? Why not have a website where these pics can be posted, people can view them, and tip the police to ID the idiots? I'm just itching for a reason to empty one of my cans of Pepper Gel on someone, I kinda wish I had been there.
ReplyDeleteIs anybody watching ALL those cameras? I wonder. Great idea about posting them on line. Imagine all the arrests that could be made:)
ReplyDeleteTowanda:
ReplyDeleteBatons and TASERs are useful tools for law enforcement/military/security types, but are generally unsuitable for civilian self defense.
Firearms can useful for self defense, but only in certain situations, namely those in which you are justified in using deadly force (many situations do not fall into this category). I am very much in favor of concealed carry laws, however, I do not believe that firearms are the magical solution to all situations.
The only currently legal alternative in IL is an edged weapon of legal size (check your local laws) but again, this is only useful in deadly force situations. No matter how you may feel about an encounter, deadly force may or may not be legally justifiable.
As for why people do not selflessly leap to the aid of strangers, the answer is complicated. I generally do not fault people for not getting involved in situations like this, particularly when there is so little specific information provided.
It is easy to speculate on what you would or would not do in a situation, but the reality is that for every situation where you could intervene and be a hero, there is another where getting involved is a very poor choice. This is an individual decision that has to be made with the context of the particular situation in mind and more information than what is provided in this example.
There are more than a few would-be Good Samaritans that have ended up regretting their decision to get involved in altercations that do not involve them.
Castellan.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the words of wisdom:) I'm more then a little frustrated with our lack of defenses. I do swing a very mean baseball bat though;)
Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteCameras are not the deterrent that many people imagine them to be. Nor are they as effective post-event as many would like to think.
Even if the suspect(s) can be identified, this will not prevent these types of things from happening. You have to stop analyzing these events from the perspective of someone with something to lose.
Towanda:
ReplyDeleteYou’re welcome. I understand your frustration. Personally, I am quite pessimistic about the near future. Things will get worse before they get better.
Castellan,
ReplyDeleteSadly, I think you may be right and I have become a bit pessimistic myself. Wonder WHO creates pessimistic attitudes? I sure didn't start out this way. Hmmmm. I see the city being overtaken by ghetto thugs and tons of children being born without proper parenting or guidance or parental participation and I don't see solutions or changes coming in the near future. No matter what is given or done, it's never enough, so what's the point? England has it right, you commit the crimes those ghetto thugs committed during the riots and you get evicted from subsidized housing. The Mayor of Philly has it right, by changing the curfew and if violated, the parents get the fine. What the hell are we doing here to protect the law abiding citizens?
Yes, Castellan mentions "nothing to lose" - exactly. These perpetual lowlifes are not thinking about the what-ifs - what if I lose my job, get thrown in jail, seriously hurt another innocent citizen, or even the possibility of shame amongst peers. These people must be viewed in a realistic, non-PC-distorted way - they are parasites who only detract from civil society -what right do they have??? The word "polite" stems from the Greek "polis" (city) - it is an absolute must in a self-governed society (such as ours). It is a privilege, not a right, to live in our society - it is ours is it not? Or is America simply a cacophony of anybodies - open to all and let the pieces fall where they may (that may be the majority opinion)? The scum cannot be dealt with in ideas or words, they place no value in the greater good, they care only about themselves (how's appeasement working so far?). The answer will present itself for us in several decades, when the scum grow to reach some critical mass and the polite are faced with actual daily survival - the left will deny it even on that day of course. Already, a middle class polite family is faced with sending their kid's into the enemy's territory; our kids are dealing with the "nothing to lose" street dwellers on a daily basis already, soon we will too.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know of a deserted Island for sale? "Escape from New York" anyone?
ReplyDeleteIf someone gets their iphone or ipad stolen out of their hand on the train or the platform and then starts fighting with the thief and/or takes off running after them there is no way I am going to help. It's a goddamn phone, and most of the time the "victim" has their head up their ass, staring into the screen, and is totally oblivious to their surroundings. I am not going to risk my life to help some twat get their shiny little gadget back.
ReplyDeleteIf you're being beaten up or harassed for no reason, that's a different story.
Have to agree about the high tech gagets and the people using them who are oblivious to their surroundings. However, ghetto thugs SHOULD NOT dictate what we have and when and where we can use them. I also think people using these high tech gagets that they WORKED for and earned should be paying attention more. I agree that people seeing someone getting beat up or robbed should help if they are around the crime. Doesn't that include robbing them of the things they worked for? What's the difference between those items and your wallet being stolen? It still costs you money. If the victim is chasing the thug, how about tripping the criminal? NO ONE should put their lives in danger but come on, looking the other way is not cool!
ReplyDeletei am usually armed in public; not a gun or knife. A striking weapon. I am pretty sure that my carrying it and making sure it was visible when feeling threatened deterred me from being attacked by three gangstas on the northern stretch of the Brown line a couple of Saturday afternoon's ago. I think I just came off a maybe a bit crazier than their average vic.
ReplyDeleteI always carry a knife (which I have been trained to use) and make stern eye contact with any person or persons looking in my general direction...not condoning these thugs attacking people at random, but in general people are not as vigilant as they should be. They usually are wearing headphones or texting and are totally oblivious to what is taking place around them. A predator doesn't tend to attack something that doesn't act like prey.
ReplyDeleteSame in the "animal Kingdom" the hunters go after the weaker prey because they're easier to take down. I'm sure it's the same with the animals in the "human kingdom" preying on the innocent.
ReplyDeletetowanda August 30, 2011 9:29 AM ”England has it right, you commit the crimes those ghetto thugs committed during the riots and you get evicted from subsidized housing. The Mayor of Philly has it right, by changing the curfew and if violated, the parents get the fine. “
ReplyDeleteTowanda, sorry for the belated reply.
I would hesitate to look to the UK as a model for how to handle violent crime. In fact, I would say they are doing many things completely wrong.
As far as curfews and fines go, I am also unimpressed. I predict that they will mostly be ignored and the fines will go unpaid. I also predict that these policies will be decried as “racist” because they disproportionately effect minorities and will eventually be quietly dropped. They are primarily intended as political window dressing, to make it look like the politicians are “doing something”.