What's the call? . . . 911
 

I don't have the details yet, but I do know our umpire called 911.

As the players were warming up before the 6:30 start of a men's SP game (last night?), they saw, across the street, a teenage boy beating up a teenage girl. The story is that the boy was punching and kicking the screaming girl, and then he dragged her into the street by the hair. So the players broke it up, and somebody called the police.

The police arrived, but it turned out that the boy (age 15) is the girl's boyfriend, and she (undoubtedly fearing for her safety) would not provide any information. So after seeing to it that the young man and his girlfriend left the area, the police also left.

But in the second inning of the SP game, a car pulled up to the curb, and several people exited the vehicle and proceeded onto the field to attack the players who broke up the fight. I am told that one of the people who went after the players was the mother of the 15-year-old punk. One player was supposedly quite bloody, but the person who told me this story wasn't sure whether he had been cut with a knife or was bleeding from a punch to the face.

The ump, who carries his cell phone with him, called 911. The police were again dispatched to the field; I believe the game was ended . . . and that's all I know so far, except that the township says they're going to assign a police officer to the park every weekday evening while the games are going on.

(I admit that I'm curious to know how people who could fit into one vehicle could attack at least 20 young men who had loaded metal softball bats handy, but maybe I'll find out.)

That's a pretty crazy story. At first I was thinking gang violence type thing, but when you added that the kid's mother was invovled, I'm thinking what kind of gang is this? I'm suprised they didn't go after the umpire for calling 911.

I also thought of how such an attack could go down with just one car load of people. Even if they singled out 2-3 players that broke up the fight, what team is going to watch 2 or 3 of their fellow players take a beat down. I can see why they wouldn't have wanted to use their bats with potential legal concerns, but shear numbers should have helped. Although if I see a knife, I'm starting with a distance defense (putting some space in between me and the knife) followed by a distant attack (throwing softballs at the knife wielder), and finally if all else fails Batter Up!

This sounds like a scary situation.

If the bats were legal, who cares? :) Deadly force is authorized. When defending a life, there are no legal concerns. A knife is a deadly weapon, and any response in kind is justified as long as it is only a response and continued action after a successful defense does not occur. That's where the police often get themselves into trouble. Once the person is down and disarmed, you don't continue to beat them.

Police may have been a bit shortsighted on the original call. The girl is a minor. They probably could have removed her from the scene and held her until a guardian/parent showed up.

Let her go.....
 

I was under the impression if you had witnesses to a crime you could arrest. I also believe in our left coast state that the victim has no say if an arrest is made in a sitch like this.

Something doesn't sound right. We have an assault-plenty of witnesses-and the cops are satsified if the hitter and the victim leave the area......That sounds a little 1970's to me.:confused:

Actually, not all states allow a citizen's arrest. North Carolina, unfortunately, is one of those states where it's not allowed by law.

Authorized deadly force (also known as justified self-defense) is also something that varies from state to state. In NC, there are 4 requirements for the use of deadly force, but since this is a softball forum, I'll not go into that unless asked. Though I will say that if a knife had been used on one of the players during the attack, deadly force (use of a baseball bat) would be authorized in NC if the assaulted individual had no retreat.

F'ed up situation, though. Sorry your ump had to endure that, greymule. I hope he's okay and not too shaken up over it.

Statement of the obvious: methinks this is good justification for a "game postponed due to uncontrollable circumstances."

Heck nobody had to make a citizens arrest. the cops were there, the hitter and victim were there and what , about 20 witnesses.

Ahhh... when you said, "you could arrest," I thought you meant, "you, Joe Citizen." :)

That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if the assaulted players sued the police department over this crap. Doesn't sound like it was handled properly, and their failure to act resulted in the players' injuries.

I just talked to the umpire. He says that before the second (7:45) game of the evening, the players saw the kid beating the girl, separated the pair, and held the kid for the cops. However, the girl would not provide any information, so the cops said they could do nothing and let the kid go. The players insisted that there were many witnesses to the attack, but that didn't seem to matter.

The key is now that the kid went home and lied to his family that a bunch of guys had, out of the blue, jumped him as he walked innocently by the field (this is the version the kid's grandmother [not the mother] told the ump). So the family rounded up some guys and returned to the park. The group jumped over the outfield fence and began the attack, and both teams in fact did grab bats and entered what was apparently quite a melee. When the attackers learned that the police were on the way, they departed quickly.

So the police arrived to find players only, and one player was in fact bleeding heavily, but the ump isn't sure whether a knife was used. Incredibly, at least according to the ump, the police said that since they didn't see the attack, there was nothing they could do. The players had the option of pressing charges and letting the courts sort everything out. The fact that a hundred people saw the attack is apparently irrelevant.

The police also advised the players that they should not have interfered with the beating, since "a lot of these kids pack heat, and you could have gotten yourselves shot."

He says that while the police were questioning players, the punk rode by in a car, watching the scene. At this point, some players are pressing charges, and the attackers are also pressing charges against several players.

The ump—a long-time veteran who lives walking distance from the park—terminated the game.

There are three games at the park tonight, and we're short umpires. Any volunteers?

Sounds like your local police need a new slogan. May I suggest...

"To protect (our backsides) and serve (BS)"

Sounds like your local police department are a bunch of no nut dirtbags. If a man was raping a woman, but none of the police were around to see it, do they then let the alleged rapist go?

What a bunch of tools!

Sounds like your local police department are a bunch of no nut dirtbags.

I figure the police don't like what happened any more than I do, but I suspect they know from experience that arresting the punk (or even the attackers) would be futile. I also suspect that they want to avoid causing trouble for their superiors, since it's practically a certainty that local activists would turn the incident into a political football.

Nobody dead. Leave well enough alone and hope it goes away. It's depressing, though, that the system has come to this.

My suggested slogan fits better than even I anticipated!

This is one more reason why I carry my cell in my bag (not ball bag) to the field. Not only can I get the latest dopplar radar images over my area, I also know that at least one person can call 911 in case of emergency. Fortunately, I've only needed 911 services twice in 15 years (once for a nosebleed that would not stop or slow after a half hour, and another time when two players went after a fly ball and collided).

RANT ON
Well at least nobody dead in front of them. Some of the attitudes expressed concern me. Around here not arresting a hitter would be cause for uproar. putting aside the ages of those involved, this is a classic old school approach to domestic violence.

Wow not cause problems for their superiors, ugh are they guardians of justice , our streets and the american way or Dick Cheney's admin ?

having grown up around men and women in LE my expectations are so much HIGHER than some of the stuff greymule wrote about.

RANT OFF

I learned some more this evening by stopping by another field and talking both to the ump and to several of the players, who turn out to be guys I know. I also stopped by the park where the incident occurred.

1. The attackers did not get out of a car, as I had first been told. Some parked in a nearby lot, while some arrived on foot. They gathered out of sight and, on a signal from the grandmother, charged the field with a crude sort of precision, like a planned prison riot. There were about 20 attackers, but only about 8—the juveniles—did the actual fighting, while the older people watched. (I am told this is common, since juveniles are virtually immune from prosecution in New Jersey.)
2. The grandmother coordinated the attack. She entered the park first, identified the player who had led the supposed unprovoked assault on her grandson, then gave the signal to the people in the distance.
3. The attackers jumped the outfield fence and also entered through a gate. They entered the dugout and dragged the player out onto the field to beat him.
4. The guys I know are on the opposing team, and they were in the field at the time the attack began. They were dumbfounded that the victim's teammates didn't take immediate action. Apparently the team being attacked is a bunch of mild-mannered guys who couldn't immediately absorb what was happening to their buddy.
5. The guys on the opposing team soon charged the attackers and started beating on them. The guy who was bloodied told me it was a blindside punch, not a knife, that cut him. He has a black eye; the cut is healing.
6. At the arrival of a single police car, the attackers fled, but as they left, they warned the team they were fighting—the guys I know—that there would be retribution, that their fight was with the other team and these guys would pay for butting into their "business."
7. The cop exited the car and chased one attacker for a bit but then gave up. Then the players and the cop argued over the fact that the cop seemed to be doing nothing about the attack.
8. The cop is in some kind of mild trouble because he violated "regulations" by exiting his vehicle before backup arrived.
9. The team that has now been threatened has had all its remaining games moved to another field.
10. According to one person, the attackers are all members of a nationally known gang.
11. The police say that since they didn't see the attack, they can't make any arrests. It is up to the player who was attacked to press charges, line up witnesses, etc. Supposedly the player intends to pursue this avenue, but some are doubtful that he will follow through after he learns what doing so entails.
12. Before tonight's first game at the field where the incident occurred, the gang was forming in the schoolyard across the street. However, they dispersed when several police officers, with at least one dog, arrived.

The only explanation I can come up with for this BS from the police is they are on the payroll of the gang.

Police can't investigate, find witnesses, etc., unless they WITNESS the crime??? If this was true, virtually no crime would EVER be investigated. What BS. Somebody ought to complain to the state AG about this crooked police dept.

I do know that the issue with the police being unable to make arrests in certain situations is real. It has something to do with what type of crime it is (i.e. misdemeanor vs. felony). For example, you can witness someone run a red light, but the police can't issue a citation unless they witnessed it. This is an example that my best friend's father-in-law (a police officier) gave me. I don't think that assalt and battery constitutes one of those types of crimes, although it may vary from state to state.

As far as my stance on using a bat in defense that some critized, I don't want to have to use a bat, but if necessary I would. If they weren't using deadly weapons then my use of a bat wouldn't be easily defended. Also, I'm not going to actively pursue a fight with someone with a knife even if I have a bat, hence my distance defence. I'm not Chuck Norris, so even with a bat, I'm avoiding anyone with a knife that might want to stick it in me.

911: What is your emergency?
Caller: There is a riot at the ballpark. There is a gang and, I'm not sure, but they may have weapons.

Key word: weapons.

There will be an armed response by any officer worth their salt.

So, one officer is in trouble because he actually had the gall to move to stop an assault in progress? If I'm the players, I'm beating on the city/county/state D.A./A.G. or whichever dept. is responsible for the public demanding, at least, an investigation especially if this involves members of a known gang. BTW, the next office to be visited would be the local newspaper. :)

It's a good thing we live in a civilized country. :(

In an uncivilized country, anarchistic gangs would rule and intimidate the rest of the population including civil authorities.

Somebody ought to complain to the state AG about this crooked police dept.

Last August, our state AG had to resign when it was revealed that she was a corrupt scofflaw who had ignored a ream of traffic tickets (at least 12 speeding tickets, four bench warrants issued for her arrest, and three license suspensions) and had used her influence to gain favorable treatment for her live-in boyfriend after he had been found to be driving with improper registration on a suspended license. She showed up in her state car and saw to it that her boyfriend was allowed to drive home. A special prosecutor found that she had violated state ethics laws.

Her status as a scofflaw was revealed by the newspapers before the governor appointed her. (This is Jon Corzine, the ultra-rich ultra-liberal who succeeded the guy who used to troll turnpike restrooms in search of sex.)

I don't know who the AG is now, but there's no reason to believe the new one is much of an improvement. One reason NJ is so corrupt is that so many of the state offices that are elective in other states are appointive in NJ. Therefore, the governor repays political debts by using his power to appoint cronies, placate minority groups, pay proper respect to his higher-ups, etc. In the Garden State, it's well known that you "pay to play."

And Newark, Camden, and Trenton are high on the list of "most dangerous cities in America."

I hear they want you for PR director! :D ;)

Grateful
 

After reading about the lack of response by the police I am grateful for where I live.

About 3 months ago had two teenagers walking around the neighborhood, older established hood where everybody knows everybody, looking into car windows. I didn't recoginize them so I call local PD for a courtesy cruise-by, Lord you would have thought I said Osama Bin Laden was roaming the hood. I got 4 local cop cars, 1 a canine unit, within 2 minutes. I can only imagine the response if I said there was a gang roaming the street.

Sounds like your neighborhood has a Barney Fife in control. :)

Nothin' like fun at the ole' ball park! ...Al

Same in my town. Two guys were smoking pot in their car in my apartment complex's parking lot at about 2 AM. Suddenly, two squad cars showed up and parked behind them. When it was all over, we had a total of 5 squad cars involved, one of which was the K-9 unit from the neighboring town.

All that over two guys smoking a joint.

Maybe y'all should move down here instead! Forget Jersey! I'll even get you hooked up with calling some ball down here. :)

Sarcastic irony ... one of my favorite forms of humor! :D

Maybe y'all should move down here instead!

North Carolina is real nice, but when my responsibilities in NJ are over, I'm moving to Alabama.

The incident at the ballfield produced a cultural disconnect. To suburban Americans living relatively peaceful, law-abiding lives, a gang attack on a bunch of guys playing softball is a serious crime that must be punished severely. To the gang members, it's just another day.

And to the police, accustomed to Trenton's murders and armed robberies, well . . . nobody's dead, nobody's even in the hospital. So what's the big deal? And they're juveniles anyway. The police know that if they arrest one of these kids, several months from now a juvenile court judge—acting "in the interests" of the "child"—will agree to drop 50 of the 60 charges the kid has piled up and place him on probation for the other 10.

All the more reason to go after granny and the other thug parents.

Well, if you change your mind, I'll be here. We'll get you hooked up. :)

Dang! I don't know about the rest of you, but my grandmother was the head cook / field doctor / book keeper for a logging camp in the remote wilderness some where in the Dakotas. While she could have formed a posse to protect me her beloved grandchild, she most likely would have just beaten up my attackers herself. BUT when she found out I was at fault and had lied to her -- let's just say there is not a place in the entire United States that I could have hidden to avoid her wrath.

Yeah, but what he's not telling you is that they weren't there to arrest them, but.............

Actually, that is not a bad idea. Can you say "conspiracy to commit murder"? If she provided the instrument (JDs) and with the other adults offered specific direction, a decent DA could actually do some good.

But don't worry about the police in NJ. It will get better now they don't need to keep an eye out for Tony and the Bada Bing crowd. Oh, what a minute, that is the police dept.

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/233677.html


Maybe the trenton PD could use some of our local boys........


hope the link works

Maybe the trenton PD could use some of our local boys........

Every so often the police around here roust a bunch of gang bangers. It makes for good headlines, and the politicians then assure us that this is proof of how they're cracking down. Every once in a while some guy with multiple murder warrants gets snagged in the net, but all the others are back on the street within days.

However, I understand that there's a plan to put anti-gang billboards up in problem areas. That's a relief. When the message gets out that it's not nice to gang bang . . .

You know what that means, don't you? Some bleeding heart group is going to ask for a grant to help teach these JDs how to read, so they billboards have a chance to work.

Now, about that bridge leading to Brooklyn.........

Here, for misdemeanors, they are usually cited out within hours. Around long enough to process them in and out. The dumb ones bail out when they were just going to get cited out. Thats always funny, but its usually someone who doesnt know the game. The gang bangers know the game.

Felony possession or something, they aint going anywhere unless they bail, get some miracle O/R by the judge or get sentenced. Once they get their pled sentence, as long as its not prison, they'll probably do minimal.

There aren't enough trees in either of the Dakotas for logging and definitely not enough to be called any type of wilderness. :D

Well not now thanks to my grandpa.:D

Good news with regard to Trenton's gang problem! With this man leading the city police force, gangs will soon be a thing of the past. This is a recent photo of the chief on duty faithfully discharging his duties to serve and protect the people of Trenton.

http://aycu02.webshots.com/image/215...1485100_rs.jpg


Visit www.captsleepy.com

You'll all be interested to know that Trenton's gang problem has caught the attention of the New York Times, which reports that some deep thinker had the bright idea to buy tailored business suits for all gang leaders. You see, the reason they're in a gang is that they don't have a job, and the reason they don't have a job is that they don't have a nice suit to wear to the interview . . . you get the picture.

So one gang leader got his "business" suit specially tailored out of expensive "Blood" red silk.

But...would he make a good umpire?

I thought the forum might be interested in a recent occurrence. If you remember, the gang attack on the softball team was in retribution for the actions of at least one player who broke up a beating that a kid was giving to his girlfriend. You also remember that the police who arrived cautioned the players that getting involved was foolish, because "you might get shot."

Yesterday an off-duty (and unarmed) Trenton police officer, driving past a pizzeria, saw a guy in the parking lot beating up a woman, so he stopped to intervene—and got shot in the chest for his trouble. He is now hospitalized in critical condition.

After a standoff of several hours, the police finally captured the perp by evacuating the entire neighborhood and tear-gassing his dwelling. Turns out the girl he was beating was his sister. The punk—er, youth with difficult-to-meet needs—was on parole after serving time for assaulting a police officer.

I wonder whether they had to wake up the chief to get the SWAT team dispatched.