Me: 1, Mugger: 0!
Yesterday, while snapping photos for my blog near the corner of Eastern Parkway and Bedford, I got jumped. I was forced into a shadowy area between a wall and a parked semi-truck.
The guy got me in a headlock from behind, pressed a screwdriver against the back of my neck and repeatedly demanded "Lemme get that camera, motherfucker, lemme get that camera" as I kept walking, struggling a bit to push away from him and get out of the shadows and into the sunnier part of the sidewalk right across Bedford from that giant bustling carwash where someone was bound to see us, in case things got more serious.
Instinct took over (hey, youre gonna need alot more than a screwdriver to get my Leica at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon, asshole) and I immediately clutched the camera to my chest and dove forward to break the choke-hold while simultaneously kicking my feet backwards, hoping to land a square blow to his nuts.
I ended up catching my balance with my left foot but landing a fortuitously solid kick to his right knee, which I could feel snap backwards/sideways from the force.
He staggered backwards, trying to turn around and run... which, by the looks of him, is apparently pretty hard to do when your right knee is all floppy. In the time it took him to struggle up the block, I was able to snap his photo and call the cops (Who, I kid you not, arrived in less than a minute). He managed to make it to the benches on Eastern Parkway before slumping on one of them, just in time for the cops to conveniently pick him up. He had outstanding sumons for... you guessed it... assault and theft.
So yeah. I'm fine, nothing was taken, I'm just a little rattled as this is the first time in the 12 years I've lived in NYC that anything like this has happened to me. I'm a large guy; people rarely fuck with me (knock on wood).
I really just wanted to post this little story to say that when bad things like this happen in our neighborhood, its not always cowering victims, fear, paranoia and the police blame-game. Sometimes the cops come through, the victims are the victors, and the perpetrators get their just (and swift) deserts. I wanted to have at least one more instance of that posted here.
The guy got me in a headlock from behind, pressed a screwdriver against the back of my neck and repeatedly demanded "Lemme get that camera, motherfucker, lemme get that camera" as I kept walking, struggling a bit to push away from him and get out of the shadows and into the sunnier part of the sidewalk right across Bedford from that giant bustling carwash where someone was bound to see us, in case things got more serious.
Instinct took over (hey, youre gonna need alot more than a screwdriver to get my Leica at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon, asshole) and I immediately clutched the camera to my chest and dove forward to break the choke-hold while simultaneously kicking my feet backwards, hoping to land a square blow to his nuts.
I ended up catching my balance with my left foot but landing a fortuitously solid kick to his right knee, which I could feel snap backwards/sideways from the force.
He staggered backwards, trying to turn around and run... which, by the looks of him, is apparently pretty hard to do when your right knee is all floppy. In the time it took him to struggle up the block, I was able to snap his photo and call the cops (Who, I kid you not, arrived in less than a minute). He managed to make it to the benches on Eastern Parkway before slumping on one of them, just in time for the cops to conveniently pick him up. He had outstanding sumons for... you guessed it... assault and theft.
So yeah. I'm fine, nothing was taken, I'm just a little rattled as this is the first time in the 12 years I've lived in NYC that anything like this has happened to me. I'm a large guy; people rarely fuck with me (knock on wood).
I really just wanted to post this little story to say that when bad things like this happen in our neighborhood, its not always cowering victims, fear, paranoia and the police blame-game. Sometimes the cops come through, the victims are the victors, and the perpetrators get their just (and swift) deserts. I wanted to have at least one more instance of that posted here.
Comments
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hey! I'm SO GLAD you're okay! wow, what a story!
thanks so much for posting! -
Very nice! I don't think that he'll be very severely punished (we can hope!), but I'm sure that his knee will serve him as a reminder for a long time to come.
Kudos for not playing the victim, am I'm glad everything went well! -
back kick to the knee! CONGRATULATIONS!
Seriously sorry that happened to you, and vicariously thrilled that you were so perfectly effective in protecting yourself. AND got a picture . . .
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WhyFi wrote: I don't think that he'll be very severely punished
well, if you take into account that he was nabbed on a weekend, today is a holiday, and the courts will be mad backed up after the weekend/holiday combo, dude will get to spend about three glorious days in central booking... which, if youve ever experienced it yourself or heard about it from someone who has (im sure theres one or two on here, heh), it seems like just deserts to me!
plus the knee. im sure kings county ER is no vacation on a weekend. -
central booking sucks, but other than the inedible baloney sandwiches, difficulty of sleeping and general filthiness, it's mostly just boring. but the mugger who got pwnd is probably going to end up on the island, which makes central booking look like day care (i thank my lucky stars i've never been there).
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Insane.
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totally insane
i am glad you are okay!
way to kick some ass.
that bugs me out, though. right on eastern parkway at 3pm on a sunday afternoon? are lazy weekend afternoons sacred no more? -
brooklynleather wrote: right on eastern parkway at 3pm on a sunday afternoon?
well, technically it was on bedford, just about 20' around the corner from eastern parkway. the fact that a semi truck/trailer were parked along half the block- and were at that hour casting a huge shadow over the sidewalk between the truck and the adjacent building where this went down (as well as blocking any visibility from across the street) may have had something to do with it... it would have been another story completely if he had brazenly jumped me from behind, say, while walking up the promenade/median thing in eastern parkway...
we struggled along the side of the truck, but he let loose a bit when we cleared the end of the truck and came into view of the carwash across the street... thats when i was able to lunge and get that kick in. -
good god!
you kicked ass, you brave thing!
let's hear one for the GOOD GUY =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> -
rhodamine wrote: plus the knee. im sure kings county ER is no vacation on a weekend.
I'm sure that after his 9 hour wait, he got treated with caring and compassion... -
Carnivore wrote: [quote=rhodamine]plus the knee. im sure kings county ER is no vacation on a weekend.
I'm sure that after his 9 hour wait, he got treated with caring and compassion...
and I bet if he needed crutches someone gave him really awesome training on how to use them ... -
Gald you kicked some ass!!!
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I'm glad you're okay as well.
So, gonna post this guy's pic for us? :twisted: -
Nice work. Leica owners are very protective, eh?
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Glad you're ok, rhodamine.
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wow, it's nice to hear a mugging with a 'happy' ending for once. i can't quite figure out that move you did to get out of the headlock and kick at the same time. did the guy fall on top of you when you kicked? somehow i don't think this move would work as well for me, but sounds like it's good to know!
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I am most happy about Rhodamine being OK and his having participated in at least a measure of justice. I'm just a little sad as I fear that we the taxpayers might be paying for this mugger's knee surgery whilst he does his time. It's probably worth it.
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Yes, but with a bum knee, his days as a snatch and grab guy are probably over
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homeowner wrote: Yes, but with a bum knee, his days as a snatch and grab guy are probably over
Instead he'll have to become a snatch & pummel guy. -
Yeesh... You knee breaker. You reminded me of this:
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glad to hear your ok
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Jeez Andy, you should have warned me, that video is DISGUSTING.
(Like the pic--Muk's skeptical face says, "go ahead, break my knee.")
H -
jimmylegs wrote: can't quite figure out that move you did to get out of the headlock and kick at the same time.
it was the old lunge forward with your left hand around his left wrist (which had not quite closed on a half-nelson yet) and your legs/feet flying out behind you... the old swan-dive. i figured after a take-down, i could get things under control a little better in a scuffle. like i said, im a big guy and this guy was alot shorter and smaller than me.
anyway. i call the move the donkey-kick.
ha. -
Medusa wrote: I'm just a little sad as I fear that we the taxpayers might be paying for this mugger's knee surgery whilst he does his time.
well, for one, i could have been stabbed in the neck with a screwdriver and this guy would have been jogging home happily with a new camera and a non-shattered knee. but youre surely not misplacing your empathy enough to imply that, im sure.
ive wondered the same thing... if i was subsidizing the repair of the very injury i caused defending myself. knowing he'll probably never walk right again leaves me with enough vaguely regretful thoughts as it is, though. you know?
but whats a guy to do? -
you're awesome! what a calm head you have in the midst of chaos.
may you never have to have hand to hand combat again *knocks on wood* -
rhodamine wrote: knowing he'll probably never walk right again leaves me with enough vaguely regretful thoughts as it is, though. you know?
less regret. more cowbell.
no worries, you did what you had to. you didn't ask to be put in that situation, and you certainly weren't out looking for a fight. -
Dude, way to bring the vigilante justice! Glad youre ok!!
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really glad you're okay and horrified that such a thing could happen on a fairly well-traversed place in broad daylight. i cycled by there twice today in a sun-drenched stupor of safety amd cannot imagine how shocking it would have been to experience that. thanks for the posting, its warning and 'tips,' and the acknowledgment of what sounds like a decent response by authorities!!
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rhodamine wrote: [quote=Medusa]I'm just a little sad as I fear that we the taxpayers might be paying for this mugger's knee surgery whilst he does his time.
well, for one, i could have been stabbed in the neck with a screwdriver and this guy would have been jogging home happily with a new camera and a non-shattered knee. but youre surely not misplacing your empathy enough to imply that, im sure.
ive wondered the same thing... if i was subsidizing the repair of the very injury i caused defending myself. knowing he'll probably never walk right again leaves me with enough vaguely regretful thoughts as it is, though. you know?
but whats a guy to do?
Like I said, upon reflection, probably worth the price. -
Way to go. It's good to know that there's some middle ground between "cowering victim" and "Michael Douglas' character in Falling Down."
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