Move over Batman… Enter “Phoenix Jones”. What, is this for real? Sure enough, Seattle’s masked crime fighter “Phoenix Jones” is as real as it gets. Dressed as a superhero, Benjamin Fodor, AKA “Phoenix Jones” is now fighting an assault charge for allegedly assaulting people with pepper spray that he claims were fighting. The Seattle police department state claim otherwise, stating the individuals were dancing (maybe their dance moves were a social injustice SPD).
The skinny is this, “Phoenix Jones” is a concerned citizen, holds down a regular 9-5 job, comes home to the wife and kids, and later on in the evening, dons his superhero uniform, complete with emblem and bullet-proof vest to walk the streets and make his part of the world a better place. Then again, maybe he has taken his masked vigilante gig a little too far.
A video taken by a journalist who was with Fodor when he was arrested, and may be found posted on Phoenix Jones' Facebook page, shows Fodor rushing towards commotion and a crowd in a road beneath an underpass in downtown Seattle. What is unclear from the video is whether the group is fighting or just messing around.”
Peter Tangen, a photographer and spokesman for Phoenix Jones has another story to report, claiming, “The first thing Phoenix did was to scream out to call 911. He's been doing this four or five nights a week this entire year and he has never been charged with a crime. To assert that he ran into a bunch of people dancing and pepper sprayed them is entirely inconsistent with what he has done consistently this entire year."
The police report for the incident claims that Fodor, "Has had a history of injecting himself in these incidents. Recently there has been increased reports of citizens being pepper sprayed by [Fodor] and his group." Yet, according to Fodor, the husband and father of two, his simply wants to make a difference, "It's a pretty simple message. Citizens need to be more accountable. Calling 911 is a great start, but it's not the end all to end all," Fodor said. "Criminals feel free to just run wild in my city, and I'm not going to stand for it."
It appears that Fodor isn’t alone in this belief. Believe it or not, he is just one of many super-citizens throughout America with similar groups in Orlando, New York and Salt Lake City among other places. These Justice Leagues of everyday America are organized, and even have websites such as Superheroes Anonymous and Real Life Superheroes where visitors can share their crime-fighting stories to learn about patenting their looks and names.
It isn’t all about dressing up as Superman and going to out to kick ass, a Salt Lake City group, called the Black Monday Society, currently boosts nine members who also add value to their patrolling duties by delivering meals to the homeless while also balancing their night-time patrols with families and day jobs of their own.
Perhaps this incident may be a wake up call and that others like “Phoenix Jones” are a bit more cautious in their efforts to fight crime and not purposely insert unnecessarily into volatile situations. That’s the wonderful thing about cellphones currently in the market place today, they have all sorts of wonderful tools such as GPS tracking systems, somewhat sophisticated Audio/Video recording capabilities, and they even can be used to call 911.
Not that I plan on dressing up in my underoos and begin swinging through through the streets of Chicago fighting juvenile delinquents bent on spray painting the sides of buildings, but just the concept of everyday, ordinary people actually patrolling their neighborhoods does sound like a way to deter some of the ill-welcomed crime that would otherwise go on (I think they used to call it the Neighborhood Watch). But, unless I get bitten by a radioactive spider or find the time and cash to build a high-tech suit of flying armor anytime soon, I’ll humbly applaud the civic-mindedness of these individuals and help spread the word. At least it is a step in the right direction.
Source: ABC NEWS
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