real life super hero? vigilante? lunatic?

"Phoenix Jones"
American real-life superhero and the leader of the Rain City Superhero Movement, a Seattle, Washington based citizen patrol group that describes itself as a crime prevention brigade.[6][7] Initially wearing a ski mask to intervene in a public assault, Fodor later developed a full costume and adopted "Phoenix Jones" as a pseudonym.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Jones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UttiabLWGo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu7TCu9a3sM

any thoughts?

I think the guy has a fantasy life he's playing out. Maybe looking for attention and a movie part?

You know what…
:dry:

Good for him.


Being a Super Hero… well, that may be a bit stretching it, but a hero? For sure. :whistle:

Even I have broken up fights I’ve seen, or at least tried to help someone in distress. And I can imagine that if I lived in a place where crime was so blatantly rampant and people so complacent as to stand idly by and gather their nightly entertainment by watching, then yah, I may be compelled same. :ohmy:

Personally, I find one of the most heinous acts a person can do is nothing. :S

Worst yet, do nothing and then criticize those that do act. :sick:

His outfit may be a bit far, and purposefully looking for trouble could be considered a bit excessive seeing how we have people that are supposed to be doing that particular thing (the police), but his willingness to act when others obviously won’t, I commend.

years back i read an article about a group doing the same thing in new york...

personally i understand the use of a costume....to protect his identity from people that would seek revenge against him or his friends/family....anonymity is a powerful tool, people are more likely to act when wearing a mask than if they aren't...

as to the cops....well there aren't enough to catch all the criminals, and there are those that let their personal issues filter in to their job which influences their effectiveness....plus catching, prosecuting, and jailing real criminals doesn't pay as well as harassing good people that make a mistake....

personally i understand the use of a costume....to protect his identity

Doesn't look like that it's working to well for him.

his willingness to act when others obviously won’t, I commend.

I have no problem with that. He jut seems a little grandiose and attention gaining. I'm not saying he's a bad person.

He may very well have, "fantasy life he's playing out."

I would not disagree that at all. It could have started out as good intentions and grew into something else. Helping others is one of the plane/levels of happiness. (what ever it is called )

The real danger is if he lets his good will become something more sinister. There is always the possibility that an individual doing good becomes deluded and begins to act outside the constraints of legal ability. IE, become a vigilantly.

Most systems in place have checks and balances placed to regulate what people within the system can and can not "get away" with. If one was acting outside the regulated system they could begin to stray into dangerous territory. This could not only be in actions of illegal nature but with actions that not only endanger their own well being but the well being of others.

Now, I will be the first to admit that most systems are abused and the pre-mentioned checks and balances do not always work and sometimes fail dramatically. But that does not mean they aren't there nor does it mean they always fail (never work) nor hold anyone to accountability. Which is probably what spurred this masked crusader (yah, I went there ) into action in the first place. A feeling of hopelessness and the observation of personal feeling of injustice.

he's been doing this a while

hes pretty serious: pretty well thought and quite disciplined in how he handles situations

is he "acting out a fantasy" or is he "following his dream" - or making his vision a reality?

and it may be that hes really making a difference

---

*On Sunday, January 2, 2011, in Lynnwood, Phoenix Jones stopped and chased away a car thief as the car owner (who asked to be identified only as "Dan") stood by in shock as Jones ran into action. CBS News introduced Dan and Phoenix Jones to one another the following Monday evening. Dan proceeded to thank Jones numerous times while later talking about Phoenix's gear.[15]

*A few days later, ABC News aired a news story covering Jones.[16] In this report, footage shows Phoenix Jones preventing an intoxicated man from entering his car. Jones threatens to use a stun baton as the angry and inebriated man approaches Jones with the intent to fight. In the video, a police officer is shown later talking to Phoenix Jones and his group regarding the effect masks may have on an intoxicated individual.

*On Saturday, September 24, 2011, in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Phoenix Jones doused a man with pepper spray after he attempted to steal a bus. The driver of the bus had been handing out fliers when another individual attempted to steal the bus. Jones was reported to have intervened and the hijacker escaped with his skin dyed orange due to the spray. Jones says he didn’t receive any help from Seattle police, who took hours to respond to the incident.[17]

*On Sunday, October 9, 2011, in Seattle, Jones was arrested for his role in an altercation involving pepper spray.[18] Close associates, who were present and equipped with a video camera, told reporters that Phoenix Jones broke up an unfair fight between two groups of nightclub patrons.[19] According to police reports, the officers who responded determined that "there was no fight", with one member of the group denying that anyone among them had been fighting. They asked that the masked man be "arrested for attacking them."[5] According to one woman who was involved in the altercation, after an argument had broken out between her group and another, Jones suddenly approached and pepper sprayed them, saying "I'm a superhero".[20] The next day, videographer Ryan McNamee uploaded a video online showing Jones responding to what McNamee described as a "huge fight".[21][22] Jones was released on bail hours later with no charges having been filed.

*In another incident several hours earlier, Phoenix Jones had come to the defense of a potential fight victim. Police arrived after the aggressors had fled. In their report, the police called it a case of "questionable use of pepper spray", but the victim later told the Seattle Times that Jones was indeed a hero who had saved him from "a potential beat-down".[23]

*On Sunday, November 27, 2011, near the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Phoenix Jones and crew followed a man accused of stabbing another man. They prevented the attacker from fleeing until the Seattle police arrived.[24]
On Friday, January 6, 2012, Phoenix Jones and crew stopped a fight at the same location of the New Year’s Eve shooting in Belltown.[25]
*On Tuesday, May 1, 2012, a blogger reported that Phoenix Jones had pepper sprayed black bloc protesters in downtown Seattle, although Jones denied this on Twitter. In an interview on the Bob Rivers Show on May 2, Phoenix Jones asserted that, while undercover with the protesters, several of them revealed to him a plot to bomb the city courthouse. According to Phoenix Jones, after telling the police and receiving no support, he and another member of the Rain City Superhero Movement intercepted the protesters at the courthouse and acted in self-defense as the protesters began throwing rocks and bottles through the windows and glass doors of the court house.Fellow costumed activists El Caballero and Midnightjack accompanied Phoenix Jones.

*On Friday, March 27, 2015 in New Haven, Connecticut, just before Phoenix Jones was to be the featured speaker at The Institute Library's Amateur Hour speaking series, he saved a man from being stabbed by donning his super suit and holding off a group of men until police arrived. Deputized to hold the superhero's backpack was Amateur Hour host and This American Life contributor Jack Hitt, to whom Phoenix Jones later jokingly gave the superhero moniker "Blue Corduroy".[29]

*On Sunday, September 20, 2015 in Seattle, Washington, Jones spotted three men pistol-whipping another man, and after alerting police, charged the man holding the gun and knocked it out of his hand. The three were arrested for assault, with one being charged with possession of a firearm by a felon.[30]

Australian version, the audio is a bit low but its pretty funny to listen if you wanna turn it up;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In256ApE80g

Servo CCTV angles;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDNgDzbiZk8

It could have been different if the crims weren't just a couple of young hooligans. If they had a firearm, knife or had been a couple of bikies it might have turned out VERY differently. The Police did get them the next day thanks to the video's though.