Yet more proof that all it takes is one bullet to make the world a better place. Stupid hoods like that should be shot and removed from the gene pool. I'm temped to add her to the list just for starting the whole mess.

What is wrong with that woman? She's as much responsible as the guy she called in. What happened to her, that's what I want to know.

She'll probably end up getting a few months in jail on a few counts of assault, though the heifer deserves more.

your prolly right about that for most people...
mebbe its even true for me, but I practice diligently with my weapon, my presentation is a reflex at this point.... but your right, until you're there you really dont know what will happen....


as for everyone else not fearing for their lives, I would be afraid, if I was there for the whole thing, because the cell phone guy did'nt do anything that warranted getting beat like that, so as he was getting beat I would be wondering who that guy would go after next, and I'd be worried it would be me because he doesn't need a reason, and this appears to be racially motivated on his part (they commented, right? correct me if I am wrong please) so DDDDave, how do you figure I would'nt fear for my life or at least my well being?





Looking down at the phone? do you happen to have a cat and a dog, I do, my cat beats the crap out of the dog, and he (the dog) is afraid of her (the cat), so when the cat struts up to him, he doesn't look at her, because to animals eye-contact is a sort of challenge, its the same things with us humans, looking someone right in the eyes can be interpreted as aggression.
as for running away, hes in a tiny ass pizza parlor, the guy was right outside the door and I dunno about you, but if I smell trouble the LAST thing I wanna do is turn my back to it, thats a good way to get slammed in the back of the head....

It looks like releasing the video to the news media has caused the Akron prosecutors to take back their plea agreement and go for more jail time for the mad woman.

Beacon Journal
Woman says she's served her jail time
Accused pizza shop agitator says trial shouldn't follow plea bargain
By Phil Trexler
Beacon Journal staff writer

The Akron woman who prosecutors say triggered an ugly videotaped beating at a downtown pizza shop says she is sorry but doesn't deserve any more jail time.

Prestina Sims, 31, met with reporters Friday, a week after a judge released the videotape that helped to convict her boyfriend of felonious assault and propel local debate on social conduct.

In the tape, Sims is seen entering DaVinci's Pizza on South Main Street last July. She soon confronts a customer who complained she was cutting to the front of the line. Sims spat on a store manager who tried to throw her out and then pointed to the customer and ordered her boyfriend, Mark Jones of Akron, to ``take care of this white mother (expletive).''

Jones, who is 6-foot-4 and weighs 320 pounds, pummeled the customer, Joseph Scarpino, 28, drilling him with seven unanswered blows to the head as a lobby full of customers looked on in shock.

Scarpino, 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, suffered a broken nose, a chipped tooth and a concussion. Jones, 35, was sentenced to four years in prison after his conviction last week in Summit County Common Pleas Court.

Sims, a mother of five, told reporters she is sorry about the incident and wishes the case would go away. She denied making the racist remark about Scarpino, although her words are clearly captured on the videotape.

She also said she felt the matter was put behind her last August when she agreed to a plea bargain with Akron city prosecutors. Sims agreed to serve six months in jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault, disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing.

In October, however, county prosecutors brought a felonious assault indictment against her. She is scheduled for trial March 14 and faces two to eight years in prison, if convicted.

Prosecutors are expected to argue that in essence, Sims used Jones as a deadly weapon in order to cause serious physical harm to Scarpino.

``I would like to apologize... to Joseph. I didn't expect that to happen,'' she said. ``Every day I think about this incident. It hurts me and I know it affected (Scarpino).''

Scarpino could not be reached for comment.

Sims' attorney, Walter Madison of Akron, would not allow her to comment on what is seen in the videotaped beating.

Madison filed a motion Thursday asking Judge Brenda Burnham Unruh to dismiss Sims' case, citing the previous plea and claiming the new charges violate double jeopardy protections.

A similar motion filed by Sims' former attorney was denied Feb. 2, when Unruh agreed with prosecutors and ruled the plea deal with city attorneys does not prevent county prosecutors from bringing felony charges.

Madison said if the county officials were acting in good faith, they would have commuted Sims' sentence when the indictment was first brought, months before she finished serving six months in jail.

``What we have here is a person who had accepted responsibility now finding herself facing punishment a second time,'' Madison said. ``What I'm doing now, I'm asking the court to dismiss it because of constitutional issues that the state has acted in bad faith. We believe a case brought with an evil eye should not see its day in court. Ultimately, a deal is a deal.''

The tape has been played repeatedly on local and national TV, but Sims said she has not watched it. She said she can't change public opinion that blames her for the attack.

``I'm living this day by day. I do wish it would go away. I wish I could have my life back,'' she said. ``It's a scary feeling that my freedom is still in jeopardy.''

I feel sorry for their five children who have to be raised by these two lunatics. Talk about irresponsible selfish immature fools. They should permanently have their children taken away from them and given to a caring and responsible family who wouldn't jeopardize and traumatize them and their well-being.

So are hate charges going to be applied as well ("take care of this white mother fucker'')? If not, which I'm sure will be the case, it shows the double standard and how ass backwards the system actually is.

"I would like to apologize... to Joseph. I didn't expect that to happen,'' she said. "Every day I think about this incident. It hurts me and I know it affected (Scarpino).''

Oh, I feel just awful for her! She must be suffering severe anxiety with that on her conscience. Sorry bitch, you should have thought about that before you and your neanderthal boyfriend decided to beat someone senseless.

I hope she serves the maximum penalty possible; they are a hazard to society and shouldn’t be given sympathetic consideration.

DDDDave, I have to thank you for further reinforcing for me that I shouldn't turn to the police for protection. Your statements and the Supreme Court ruling have ensured that a loaded rifle sits next to my bed when I sleep. If I were in that situation, and I were carrying, I would have shot that guy if he didn't stop after I told him. They can take their laws and shove them up their collective ass.

And I have to say, you and your wife's assesment of the video scares me. You just assume the guy said some racist remarks. Then you think he could have "retreated" out a crowded and cluttered store when the only likely escape route was blocked off by a three hundred pound guy who was shortly punching him in the head. The guy TRIED to escape, but got dragged back and beaten down some more. Have you ever been punched in the head? It is pretty fucking disorienting, I have to say. If you get punched hard enough, and you aren't expecting it, which this guy didn't seem to be, you won't be able to do anything as complicated as running away. Maybe stagger around a little then fall down.

There was no fight, all I saw was battery. The guy never even attempted to fight, he just got his head punched. Once he was on the ground, the big guy should have walked away. But he kept up his assault. Could you, at that moment, say you knew that he wouldn't continue the beating until the other man was dead? No, you can't. To me that would be a perfectly good reason to produce a weapon and tell that ape to stop. Anyway, you believe what you want.

I'm just posing another side to the story.

Everyone here has said 'Throw those fuckers in jail for the rest of their lives'. I am saying that is just not realistic, and not appropriate. How many others have said ' Shoot him dead on the spot' Really? I am glad none of you have guns.

The crime he committed was an assault. It was an ugly incident, no doubt. Question for all of you gun toters out there. You see a fight in the parking lot of your local Wal-Mart. Two yahoos are going at it and one guy is getting beat down. Do you pull out your gun and shoot dead the guy who is winning the fight? Why not? Who is right, who is wrong. What are they fighting about. What business is it of yours. Do you pull your gun and say 'Stop it or I'll shoot'. Yeah, right. That shit is for the movies. You do not pull your gun to threaten someone, you pull your gun to use it. The law everywhere in this country is your life must be in immediate danger to justify using deadly force. Want to keep a rifle on your nightstand, fine. Say a 20 y.o. black kid rings your doorbell at midnight and asks to use the phone. You open the door and the kid says give me all your money. Can you shoot him dead? No. Why didn't you just shut the door? Why did you open the door in the first place? Was your life in immediate danger. That is the standard that must be met. Most people are not aware of that and thankfully most of us will never be placed in that situation.

Ask any cop how often they pull their gun. Most will say they never have. Their life or someone else's must be in immediate danger. Two guys fighting in a pizza parlor does not fit that criteria.

Yes, I have gotten punched in the head. It is completely disorienting and it is difficult if not impossible to stand back up and fight. I am not arguing that. You're 'eyes' comment is appropriate too. If you are going to get up in the chicks face and argue with her you better be prepared to look her boyfriend in the eye when he arrives. If I think he might hit me, I'm not going to look away and give him the chance to blind side me. The guy was 28, 6'2 225. Not some scrawny little kid or feeble old man. Why didn't he just fall to the ground and stay there? He just kind of bends over and continues to get hit. Whatever happened to falling to the ground and covering up? I am not defending anyone's actions here. It's all monday morning quarterbacking now.


I think it leads to a very passionate discussion and makes everyone consider things that they deem unpleasant. But passionate discussion and considering different opinions is good for everyone :)

This thread's got alot of attention. Thier's no doubt that this dude got sucker punched, He was lookin down at his cell, But if i had a big ass dude standing infront of me..Last thing i would be doing is looking down...Sorry, But when your being confronted and you look down..That's not a wise move.

Some of you think 4 years is not enough for this? I think 4 years is alittle much, People get thier asses beat everyday..Yes, even the same way this guy did. If everybody who kicked some ass got a sentence like this, I don't think we could build enough prisons to hold them.

It's wierd how the victim took the time to get in the womans face and then when the guy pulled her back and stepped up to the victim, He took his attention off of the big guy..Like i said, If i had somebody like that step to me that was obviously pissed..My full attention would be on any little movement his shoulders made.

It was a bad situation, If i was there i wouldn't do anything either unless i had something to smack the guy with.

I also noticed he only punched him when he was standing, when he fell to the ground he tried to get him back up then dropped him back to the floor..Believe it or not, That may have been something looked at in the court room.

I agree with dddave that the 4 year sentence most likely had to do with his past criminal record..If this guy had a clean record..I highly doubt he would have gotten any time..Or very minimal.

Sorry to pull just this sentence but to answer it no i would not. If I was to say be walking into a store, and a guy was walking out the door at the same time, and he and my wife happened to run into each other and he calls my wife a cunt. I might say something to the guy, like just a simple fuck off, and kept walking, but I would not have stood up to him. I assume by standing up to him you mean get up in his face and escalate the issue.
When i hit adulthood I quickly came to realize that there are consequences for my actions. If i get all up in the dudes face and we end up slugging it out, it proofs what? my wife is not a cunt? i am a man for defending her "honor" from a total stranger we'll never see again?
No it would prove I am probably just as retarded as the guy shouting the insult, and i might be going to jail, possibly losing my job and my lovely home....having my kids ask "were's daddy". I don't think I could be married to a woman who would want me to defend her good name in his fashion. And who is that senstive. Seems very 4th grade to me.
I get more pleasure knowing that i am ahead, than seeing a scoreboard reflect it.

remember, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me"

You can't possibly be serious with this, can you?

You doubt he would've gotten time? Notice how he got convicted of "felonious assault" and not misdamenor battery or something weak like that. The white guy might've been stupid for not better helping his own situation, but he did nothing to provoke those animals, and legally speaking calling someone a racial slur isn't adaquate grounds for provocation. The guy would have for sure done time in jail, not just because of his past record, I think the fact that there was a videotape helped a lot in sentencing, wish it could've done more.

feeling whether or not your life, physical safety, or great bodily harm is strictly in the eye of the beholder. Were it me, after the second punch, the moron would have to worry about plugging holes in his body. I don't care what kind of verbal insults get thrown around, its absolutely no reason to beat ANYONE to a bloody pulp.

In the hypothetical situation you are asking about, if MY life is not in immediate danger and I can stand far enough away that if I need to shoot him I can, yes, you pull your weapon and tell the guy to back off. If the guy thats winning is still pounding the guy thats on the ground, major damage, even death, can happen. THATS what you're stopping. If the guy refuses to stop then you shoot him. IF you're good enough, you shoot him in the ass. If you're not, by statute you would be justified in saving what you would consider an impending death.

I'm thinking the perp doesn't have too many assets for the victim to go after. What do you think? His best bet at being compensated is going after the pizza place, which, depending on whether its response to the crime is viewed as justifiable, may or may not be on the hook financially.

First off, I said shoot him and I have a gun. I have many guns. I always have a gun on my person. See my public profile.

As for the deadly force thing, laws vary GREATLY from state to state. In Texas it's legal to shoot someone for kicking your dog (mebbe thats a stretch, but the point is in Texas it's legal to use deadly force to defend your property.) From what I have gathered (and I'm certainly no lawyer) from NY law is you can use deadly force to defend another person from harm. It's all really up to circumstances and ultimately up to the grand jury, from what I have been told ALL deadly force self defense scenarios go before a grand jury...

1. Boo-fucking-hoo for him. We all make choices in our lives. He made his in the past, that's why he spent time in jail. He made his on that day, and again it only proves his psychological imbalances and incompatibility with society.
2. There is a giant difference between "standing up to" and "going fucking insane and beating the living shit out of" someone.

That video is really disturbing to watch, how the hell are you supposed to defend yourself when the guy is 2 1/2 times bigger than you. I can tell why he didn't even try to hit the guy back, besides the fact he was probably almost unconsious after the first blow, because the guy would have probably kicked his ass even more.

....................

My first thought was I don't know how many times I call people out for being overtly rude -- line cutting and such. I'm not in bad shape for my age but even at that -- that guy was HUGE and totally not present when cell-man makes his comment. Ouuuuch....are you supposed to just let rudeness go unchecked? After all the freeway shootings I rarely flip someone off anymore for being a goombah behind the wheel. You just never know how unbalanced someone really is....very sad.

If we play dead maybe the bear won't hurt us!

Actually, there was no comment made. he was talking on his cell to his girl. and it was a conversation between him and her, this bitch just eavesdropped, and escalated it.

If I was there, I woulda' gotten my ass beat too, because I woulda' smacked the shit out of that loud ass bitch as soon as she poked me in the face.

I'll let you people live in a fairy tail where the righteous don't get their ass kicked when they can't back their mouth up. Moral superiority doesn't do squat for staying alive and in one piece.

The people standing around watching just make me feel miserable to be a human.

Hmm, there is a lot of unreasonable agression exhibited here. There also seems to folk who are seemingly attempting to balance it out with fuzzy logic. Should we try to see the attacker's side of things? Is it really your business? Does it really justify using such force? I'd kill that mo-fo! I would kill him dead! I'd shoot him! Arg, can't let any transgression slide, cause that's reasonable!

If someone is getting a severe and unwarranted beating, who isn't conspicuously enjoying himself, and I know these things, I go to the aid of that fellow if I am able. In that situation I probably would've taken the big guy down. If I saw two guys slugging it out in the parking lot of Wal-mart I'd probably let them go at it, they are after all both interested in dealing out the hurt.

I have a short temper for things like this so I probably would have said something and started knocking him with my shoes... normally I have pretty heavy shoes or pointy heeled shoes. I also think some people are awfully ethnocentric because they feel we as a society owe them something. Ive started shouting matches before because people cut in front of me. Its pretty rude and Ill politely say something....but most of the time its met with some smart ass comment which gets me going. I could I couldnt have done anything to the man but his girlfriend on the other hand.... Id have used my shoes against her

society is going to hell in a handbasket..........

This whole scenario makes me ill. I can see being afraid to stand up to a huge angry man, but no one is sayoing 'there's a situation here, call 911,' or anything. No one even turns to look at him after the attacker vacates. No one locks the door to prevent him from re-entering. No one goes to help the injured man.

Does noone think for themselves anymore? I pray none of those people ever need someone to intervene on their behalf.

What a sad world this is.

If we had been in his shoes
 

Which of us would have gotten out of there unharmed? What do you honestly and truly believe? The guy who stayed and argued and touched the bitch? Or the guy who walked out the door after being slapped thereby avoiding the rest of the confrontation because the bitch thinks she has won when she has actually narrowly avoided getting her boyfriend shot.

I'll take the second option thank you.

kel,

If you can tell me that if you were that guy getting the shit kicked out of him and you had a gun and you would have taken the beating instead of using it, then I'll buy what you said.

again: he was talking on the phone to his girl. he did not shoot his mouth off. ergo nothing to back up. the bitch eavesdropped and escalated.

I didn't say wait to take the beating. Unless you consider being biatch slapped by a pissy woman a beating and I know you don't. I said leave when someone starts slapping and swallow my pride instead of escalating. I don't need to know someone has a big scary man waiting in the wings to know it is in my best interest to avoid a fight. I always swallow my pride when I have nothing to lose and much to gain. What does that man have to gain by fighting with a woman like that? A cell phone conversation? A slice of pizza? These things are worth getting physical with a stupid woman? How mature is that? Oh wait... it's the "principle" of the thing isn't it. You just tell that to the jury when you are "forced" to defend yourself.

Please don't put words in my mouth.

Maybe you missed the part where he was yelling at her instead of ignoring her... or even better when he was grabbing her. Or maybe when he started yelling back at her boyfriend instead of making a bullshit apology and offering to buy them both a slice of pizza while dialing 911... Yeah sure... he didn't participate in the escalation at all. Some people are true Darwin candidates.

Everyone in this thread seems to be in the "it's not his fault he got beat" camp or the "he shoulda murdelated him" camp. What no one wants to see is what happens when a mature individual swallows their pride. It's too unamerican I guess.

As you said, please don't put words in my mouth.

And I think you watched a different video than I did.

What I saw was a guy that was minding his own business who didn't say anything to the woman and a woman who then started in the guys face. Within seconds she had her boyfriend attack him. Not a hell of a lot time to "disengage".

No one I know who has a concealed carry would pull it for "the principle of the thing". It is a matter of life and death when you pull a gun and from what I saw, this guy would have been completely justified.

Cellphone man even tried to make it out the door, but Professionalwrestler Man grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and pulled him right back in. You could hardly say that Cellphone Man wasn't acting in his own self interest. Jesus, I know if ProWrestler Man was taking swings at me I'd do everything I possibly could do get the hell out of the pizza parlor and to the nearest hand grenade.

Edit: Hey I'm insane now, I can do these kinds of things. Woooo!

Ok i was wrong that he would have got minimal time with a clean record, I still think 4 years is too much.
The way i see the video, He didn't back down from the confratation, he was in her face just as much as she was in his..And that big fucker didn't like it.

I am under the assumption that she cut in front of him and he said something that pissed her off, But then some previous posters have said he said nothing, Including yourself. I find it hard to believe that he's standing there and she comes up and smacks him in the back of the head for no reason, Even before she smacks his head she's freaking on the manager pointing in the victims direction, So i'm thinking something was said or done that really pissed her off & obviously the big guy too.

-------

From what i can find those are the injury's he suffered, I wouldn't call those injuries life threatening..The busted eye socket & concussion are worst injuries. If that big guy wanted to kill him, he would have & could have without a doubt. Nobody was stepping in, Nobody called the police, Everybody either ignored it or watched it. So he could have done more if he wanted, As soon as the victim hit the floor he let off of him.

I see a video where he had enough time to leave and avoid the situation way before that big guy even came into the picture (No Pun).

I'm not defending anybody, i'm just tellin how i see it.

I didn't say he didn't say anything, I said he could've called them both stupid porch monkies and it wouldn't be legal justification for what happened to him.

He should have faked a siezure, the big guy wouldn't beat up a guy on the ground convulsing...am I right? Maybe then someone would have called the police :lol:

Sorry, I miss read what you posted above.

No it wouldn't be legal justification but if you were to call a black person a porch monkie they aren't gonna be very nice about it..If that was the case, I wouldn't have any sympathy for him.

I know she made a racial slur towards the victim..I am just unclear on what the victims remark was that he made on his phone that made her fly off the handle, I know he said something about the pizza is gonna be abit longer or something..But i find it hard to believe him saying that led to what happened.

All I can say is
A broken nose - when the bone is broken properly and shoved forward and up it can be used to kill a person. The thug didn't care that it was a risk he was taking.
A concussion - I've personally experience that and I've seen what it can do to a person. I've seen it kill a person and I've seen it affect a person's entire remaining life by the scar tissue that it leaves in the brain.

I don't care what ended up being the outcome. The injuries imposed on the cell phone guy were sufficient in type that had the severity been worse it could have killed him. The boyfriend wasn't intending to just hit lightly to avoid killing the guy. It happened that the cell phone guy made it out without being hospitalized for weeks but that was only his good luck.

The woman is the primary person responsible for beginning the episode. Her rudeness and beligerant attitude are inexcuseable. What kind of parent can she be with those type of social skills. She's bred 5 children to raise as socially inept. I must thank her for her gift to society.

The boyfriend is completely responsible for the so called fight. I don't care if someone has been rude to your girlfriend or what they've said. If they're not attacking your girl then leave them alone. His attack shows a lack of intelligence, emotional instability, and a complete lack of social skills. He will repeat his actions soon after his release from jail unless he learns to act like an responsible adult. I don't see him learning that any time soon if it's taken him 28 years to learn this. I hope that then next time someone is available who has the forsight to carry Darwin's Mutant Eliminator and I hope I'm on the jury to prevent them from getting in trouble for shooting this man.

Finally, somebody who agrees with me.

Again.... He was a real big man to get in a shouting match with the bitch and then cowers when her boyfriend shows up. The two guys were 6'4, 320 vs. 6'2 225. There are plenty of guys, plenty on TFP too, that would consider this a fair fight. That big guy was fat. A couple of well placed blows by a guy with some balls would have made this a whole different story. Or just put your hands up and say 'Sorry man, I didn't say that, or 'I didn't mean it'. The absolute worst thing you can do is look down and away. I agree with the injuries too, the follow-up story posted earlier said he had a broken nose and a chipped tooth. You can do that falling off the curb. I would like to think that if, while defending my wife's honor, I hit a guy and broke his nose I wouldn't be doing four years in the state pen.

And, always, JMHO.

The only reason why this video is so disturbing to some, is because it's on video showing everything that happened..If people just read this in a newspaper it would be like any other "fight" that happens numerous times a day.

I honestly think that if the victim didn't take his attention off of the big guy..The outcome would have been alot different..they were both big guys, And the victim (If he was paying attention) probably could have done some damage to the other guy..The first blow he took sent him staggering. There is a big difference in getting punched when you expect it and when your not expecting it.

It's like an open ice bodycheck, You got your head down flying through centre ice and get hit..Your slow getting up or not getting up at all for a few, If you see it coming you can better prepare for the impact or even avoid it.

You know, the victim didn't say anything to the girl, sorry, bitch, until she got in his face. he was having a conversation on the phone withhis girl. The instigator took it upon herself to escalate the situation. I don't think that there is any defense for the attack whatsoever. I agree with the open ice body check analogy too. first he tried to avoid the confrontation and then got suckerpunched .

the punishment dished out to these animals is justifiable, and maybe not enough. as for the animal woman wanting the whole thing put behind her. tough. I'm glad it's in the public eye now.

I would like to believe that he said nothing to her, But before she was in his face she was screaming at the manager pointing at the victim..So if he was just standing thier minding his buisness, Why was the girl freaking out pointing at him?

EDIT:

If you listen closely, You can hear the girl saying to the manager "Listen to what the fuck he's sayin"

IC3, I believe she was referring to his "pizza will be late" comment. He WAS minding his own business having a conversation that she had no right to interfere with, she was freaking out simply because she's an angry beast that blew one small, probably sarcastic comment out of proportion.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7013612/

this incident took place last July, but the tape is just now being released. The guy (and his girlfriend as well, i think) got 4 years in prison.
...personally, i would've sued.
for a rediculously giganormous amount of money.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7013612/

ya i'm pretty sure he said nothing to her, she just flipped. quote from the link above:

The incident began when Jones' girlfriend cut in line in front of Scarpino.

Scarpino was on his cell phone and told his fiance it might take a little longer to get their pizza.

Jones' girlfriend got mad at the comment and created such a commotion that the manager tried to kick her out.


so again, he did nothing to provoke this. this Woman (I apologize to all women out there to have be grouped with her) took it upon herself to be the centre of the universe and aim her pit bull, um, neanderthal (oh damn, the neanderthals were a nice species...) her weapon, at the victim...

Thanks for the link.

I was never saying that he deserved what he got, I was just going by what some of the others posted and wanted to read it from a news article to be sure of the comment he made about her cutting infront.

She flipped out over a small comment, Got in his his face, They exchanged whatever words in eachothers face and fat ass stepped in.

The thing that bugs me most about this video is the victim putting his head down within seconds after that beast stepped in front of him.

You have a 6'4 300 pound guy that is obviously not there to shake your hand, Do you put your head down and continue your conversation on your cell?

Something like that could never be justified i agree totally with that, But it also could have been avoided.

there was no avoiding this. the aggressor was going to hit no matter what. It was just a matter of having justification, or not.

The above quote from DDDDave is exactly why I don't understand, agree with, or like cops. I mean no offense, but I can't help but feel a bit shocked and annoyed at the fragment of the post above. So many police officers seem so wrapped up in what gives them a paycheck that they forget what it's like to be a regular person on the streets...You, DDDDave, seem to have forgotten and you're only married to the law. Also, are you suffering from the same issues that the other members of TFP seem to be, which is the inability to read further than the first or second line??

The victim suffered a eye-socket damage and a concussion, as well as other injuries. He was minding his own business until the lady began to run her mouth, to which any person would have gotten annoyed, naturally. For the boyfriend to step in and proceed to beat him is WRONG. The victim never once raised a hand to either of those people, NOR did he even try to protect himself - which is a good tell-tale sign that he was taken off-guard by the attack.

Whether or not the attacker punched the victim like a real man, slapped him like a pansy, lifted him up and hit him or stomp on him with his boot is immaterial...the fact that the victim was hit, how many times and where on his body, and that he hadn't done anything that really warranted an attack that serious in harm- really does matter.

You know, Docbungle, thinking of this...I can see it happening. There are some brave guys out there. One of the first things I thought of was that if she was to put her hand in my face I would have pushed it away and smacked her as hard as possible...However, so many people see this as a BIG no-no in the way of disrespecting women that (most) men are raised that you do not do this...if he had, I don't know that all who witnessed the situation or have read this post/article would be AS empathetic to the victim and his suffering...

Although, I think, in this matter, her getting her mouth smacked like her momma did back in the day would have TOTALLY been appropriate!

I think the primary function of law enforcement is not to protect individuals but to show up after the crime has been committed and investigate and write reports. I guess the statement made earlier that most officers will wait for a fight (beating) to end before interfering should not surprise us. The obligation for personal protection is the burden of the individual.

Man...thats messed up... Not only that nobody stepped in, but nobody did ANYTHING!!! Not a 911 call, didn't step in to help at all. You really do have to wonder what is wrong with society. I guess I live in a ''backward'' area, but at leadt people will stop to help.

Defending your wife's honour? Fair fight? "Worst thing you can do is look down and away?" Sadly, I think this is what's wrong with society, today. That these values exist and are worth serious bodily harm over.

If you can't function in a civilized society, you should be removed from society (and that means prison)...

What the hell else is he going to do besides going around beating people up? This makes no sense to me...

So, if it turns out that he really didn't say anything other than the pizza will be a little longer, will you then understand why people think they should be thrown in jail for as long as the law allows for the safetly of the public?

The Akron Journal
"Scarpino, 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, suffered a broken nose, a chipped tooth and a concussion."

I swear, where do you people live. In fantasyland?. There are plenty of civiized societies around the world where you get your hand cut off for stealing and put to death for smoking pot. People have been hitting other people with their hands since about, oh...freakin' Cain and Abel.

Why is everyone so quick to defend the victim here. Because you see him as yourself? Oh, I wouldn't want to hit someone.
He made some kind of smartass remark.. He figured nothing would happen. " Sorry honey, I think the pizza will be a little delayed" could as easily have been "Some fuckin' black bitch just fuckin' cut the line , simple bitch". He sure wouldn't have said that if the big guy had been with her when she walked in.

"No offense", but when you grow up and see how the world works you might change your mind about self-defense.

You and your girl are standing in line at Disney World. One of those back and forth cattle stall lines. Some loud asshole is behind you. As you move through the line, the jerk takes the opportunity to brush up against your girl and cops a feel. She says 'That guy just groped me'. You say 'Really, wow, what an asshole'. Since you seemed so upset, he does it again 5 minutes later. Now your girl glares at you. 'He did it again'. Whatca' gonna do now? Depends on what you want to happen I guess. You could just get out of the line you've waited in for half an hour. You could just continue to stand in line and if you're lucky he'll get in the same car as you and your girl. Or, you grab him by the collar, lift it up, look him straight in the eye, and say in a calm voice with your other arm cocked, "If you touch my girl again, I'm going to punch you in the face". He says 'sorry, man, I didn't mean it'. You say nothing while looking him in the eye.......then you let go of his shirt. Now, I would advise not taking your eyes off him for the rest of the line but I can assure you, you would have no more trouble from him. Oh, BTW, BTDT.

Well, perhaps we're working off of different meanings of civility because, by definition, a civilized society does not cut off hands nor do they execute for acts done to one's self. So what if violence has been around since Cain and Abel? Does that mean we must continue to be violent to each other? This makes no sense...

I live in Canada, which must be fantasyland compared to where you live because it's civilized in the manner of which I speak...

Let me apply your own theory to you. Why are you so quick to justify what happened to the victim? Do you identify with the assailant?

I'm very curious as to why you would quote "no offense" in your sentence. Are you trying to say that that quoted text is sarcastic and that you intend to offend?

I think most people will agree that no words can harm anyone so how can they escalate into physical violence? Is there anything I can say to you that could justify you beating me up?

Out of wild curiosity, what do you think would have been a fair sentence for the criminal?

Um.

1. People have committed rape since the beginning of time- so I guess that's ok too, since people have been doing it for so long. Why are we thinking about these "victims"? It's a crazy world, shit happens. /sarcasm


2. The actual, innocuos comment can in no even semi-reasonable way be related or compared to the bullshit you've concocted ("Some fuckin' black bitch just fuckin' cut the line , simple bitch") to be "as easily have been". They are TOTAL opposite ends of the spectrum.

3. As for your Disney story, I'd have said something after the first touch. "Hi. I understand you touched my girlfriend. Do it again, and you lose the hand." I don't care HOW big the guy is (and i'm not huge myself, there are plenty of guys who are larger than I me). People that horrible need to be taught a lesson by society every once in a while, or they're just going to keep doing it. If he wants to fight, I'll be happy to defer a victory to him and let there be peace. I'll vacate and let him have his precious line. If he tries anything, then it's on.

Sidenote: Why would anyone in the victim's shoes not be looking out for a sucker-punch with all the yelling and stuff going on? I'm just saying.

Same goes for big boy in the story. Now he can get ass-raped in jail for another 4 years because he's a fuckin' moron. Everyone pays their dues at one time or another.

well, firstly the guy isnt going to be ass raped, I wouldnt have thought. And its is confusing how you go from in your first point using rape as example of abhorent behaviour that should not be tolerated (which I would agree with), to at the end of the post seeming to express the hope that a person is the victim of rape, because this is a fitting punishment for comitting assault. Morally, I dont really see where this is coming from.

From my own point of view, and I am being honest, my instinct would be to stay out of it unless I was being threatened or someone connected to me was... there might be a point I would step in... but in this situation... the guy is clearly going nuts, so reasoning with him isnt going to work... if you were to intervene, logically it would not be sensible to do so with anything other than maximum violence with no warning whatsoever. If you try to clam the guy down he'd hit you too, and he's biger than you... so really if you wanted to step in, the only sensible thing would be to take something hard and blunt, and blind side the attacker and hit him as hard as possible... but at the point do you become as bad as the attacker? If you meet violence with violence... well, sometimes you might have to, but the violence can be just as ugly and brutal from either side.

My two cents isnt much. If I were a bystander, I would have called the cops, but not intervened. I am no big enough to do anything and would have gotten myself hurt. But three or four of those bystanders in the video could have done somehting collectivly. I suppose it takes a plane being hijacked on 9-11 before people will get up and unite to do that thou, or maybe pizza is just THAT important.

ok, Im a little embarassed... cos I only just watched the video. The first shot the black guy threw was big... but... in that situation, after watching the video, I wouldnt have felt afraid to step in. I mean, I dunno... but Im pretty sure... that guy wasnt that tough, yiou know? I can understand the logic of standing by and not doing anything... but when he went after the guy when he was down... that would probably be the point I'd do something. From people's comments I mayve over-estimated what would be done,,, I dont think absolute force would be needed in this situation, if someone had had just grabbed the big guy and thrown him on the floor it would have been over.

if the guy who was attacked was a fighter, he would have just stepped inside of every one of those haymakers and uppercut, butt, bite, hook to the body... the black guy was strong, but had no technique... and the victim just got beat up... I mean, he wanst expected it, and the first punch rocked him and after that he was just getting beat down... you dont try and manhandle a guy that size, you just unload with all your strength inside his swings... the guy who got beat down wasnt a fighter... but there were about 5 people standing there not doing shit. When it was first described I thought the attack might have been so violent there was no choice,,,, but after watching the video, definitely somebody should have ended it after the second cheap shot

over pizza? seriously...

and i hate people like that. someone is going to have their bottom whipped.

I just wonder if someone HAD stepped in if that guy would have laid off. I mean their silence in a sense showed him that he had all the POWER in that establishment. No one was going to stop him or tell him he was wrong. They said so by doing nothing. They in a sense gave him approval by allowing him to continue. They were all afraid. He could do anything at all that he pleased.

I HAVE stepped into a somewhat similar situation. Between a guy not quite has heavy but just as tall who was attacking another man who was somewhat smaller but not a wimp in the least. I simply grabbed the man's collar, looked him in the guy from almost a foot below his eye level (:p ), and said low and quietly "Don't you dare. Back off." The situation diffused. That made the number two against one. Albeit one (5'5" 130 lb) woman and one somewhat smaller man against the attacker. The point was he lost the "power" in the situation. No one was GIVING him power by being afraid and no one was going to allow him to continue without at least some injury.

I really doubt that the attacked man (I don't like the term victim) would have suffered quite as seriously if someone had grabbed a rolling pin, ran up between them and said "STOP and LEAVE now or else." Don't make any promises like "You'll loose your hand." Simply say "or else" - simple psychology will cause their imagination to come up with worse punishments that even you may believe yourself capable of. That can sometimes be sufficient deterent. I'd take one hit physically to ensure that I knew that I'd done what I could to stall the confrontation.

This is the kind of thing that makes me want to lift weights more often. I'm glad that I'm a decent size (6'1", 245 lbs), and have a sense of justice and a feeling of obligation to help people when they need it.

Words cannot describe the disgust I felt watching that video. I don't even want to get started on what I think. But it's a grim reminder of how screwed up the legal system is in the greatest country in the world.

I'm about to demonstrate why I picked the username "sob."

I have been involved in a couple of situations like this. The last one was three or four months ago when some wacko started abusing a young mother in line at McDonald's because her kid was crying.

In each instance of such an event that I have seen, every person around seemed to want to look the other way. This whole thread full of people who "would have done something" very much smells to me like a collection of the usual personalities who are very brave as long as they're at a keyboard. Sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings, but my experience is that in a random group of people, you're lucky to have ONE person willing to get involved, and in this thread we have lots of people who supposedly would have entered the fray with flying fists of fury.

That's not necessarily bad--not even the Navy SEALS I know are anxious to mix it up with someone who might be packing. It just bugs the hell out of me that some people who claim to be pro-active are gun-control proponents.

That's why Lebell hit it on the head. Your best defense if you're the victim here is to be carrying, unless you've already had a few years of martial arts training. That's also why politicians like Diane Feinstein suck, because they think they're reducing crime by making a CC permit impossible to get in California.

Any witness not willing to carry should be on the cell phone calling the cops, but that isn't going to help you if you're the one getting the crap beat out of you. Wouldn't you be very anxious for an honest person in line to have a pistol, and know how to use it?

Remember that the next time a gun-control politician is running for office.

Dead on. I know some guys (and girls) who barely top five feet that would have separated the attacker from his consciousness within ten seconds. With training, anybody can easily break ribs and do a variety of damage, so it boils down to who is faster, and lands the first blow. That guy was a slug, and would have been easy to hit.

Which is why I can assure you that I wouldn't have waited for him to hit me.

Happens all the time. That's why if you disable the attacker, you want to get the hell out and hope your face doesn't show on the video.

Otherwise, Mr. Nice Guy, the attacker, is going to sue you. Even if he doesn't win, you get to pay a lawyer.

Hopefully, die of AIDS he acquired in an anal rape in prison. This kind of vermin is only going to prey on others until he's dead.

But your fantasy of how his parents' cruel potty training made him this way is noted.

While the last idea about saying the cops are coming is good, the rest of your post is truly frightening. I've seen people who got punched this way and died, or were never able to work again. Sounds like someone has to suffer permanent damage before your wife even cares. Would it be okay for a perp to shoot one of her beat cops, as long as the damage wasn't permanent?

If this is truly the way your wife feels, I'm glad I don't depend on her department for protection. I'm also glad my taxes aren't wasted on her pay.

how on earth does a thread about violence prompt someone to see it is a strong argument for making sure as many people as possible carry weapons of lethal force?

If you you had less gun control, the black guy walks in and shoots the other guy... and the thread is called "murdered over a pizza" and you drop the "almost" as I see it.

And I have stepped into a situation, personally, kind of anyway.

About two years ago, I was letting myself into my house, as was the guy who lived opposite, and this other guy was coming up the street, and he was SCREAMING at this girl (who looked completely coked out and wa snot even registering the guy)... both me and my neighbour stopped and stared at the scene... the guy turned didnt hit the girl but he was really yelling at her, grabbing her coat, and she was just out of it... then he span round and yelled at me and the neighbour "what the fuck you looking at???"

The neighbour ran inside his house, and I kind of froze up, and was pretty scared... then the guy started coming towards me... he was a pretty big guy, about my weight, but a big body builder type... I remember just thinking "right then you c***", stepped into my house, and I had my golf clubs inside the door, grabbed the first iron I found, came out again with it swung back, and I just started visualized crashing it right into this gusy knee cap full swing... and he just sort of looked at me, crossed the road, and started walking away (in the opposite direction he came and away from the girl, who still didnt know what was going on I think)

Anyway, I dont know what that proves... I didnt step in when he was yellihg at the girl, and from a macho perspective, it doesnt say much... only a lunatic would attack someone who has a golf club when you have bare hands... but from a personal perspective, I have to say when I felt he was threatening the girl I didnt do shit, I was just frozen and uncertain... only when I felt I was under threat did i start to feel anger and aggression build in me. Its easy to be a by stander

I think, I would like to think, in that pizza shop, I would have stepped in at some point, when the guy was down and he tried to grab him, prolly then... the big guy couldnt fight anyway... but its all about logic vs heart. The logic part is saying "protect yourelf" the heart part is saying "tear this mf apart" and when fear sits on the side of logic... And anyone in a voilent situation has a sense of fear unless they are crazy (Ive known one person in my life who never got scared at all) ... its easy to be a passer by. And whether it sounds unmacho or not, I'll admit that.

I'd like to think I wouldnt stand by, if it was a man having a go at a woman I would more than like to think I wouldnt, but I dont know. I have got beat up before sticking up for a girl... in a bar one time this guy was hitting on a girl I worked with and she was trung to get away and he was sort of trapping her in a corner, so I just kind of came up and threw him over a table and chairs, and one of his friends came up and hit me 3 or 4 times and I maybe landed one half shot back before the bouncers pulled him off... and its amazing how once you are in THAT situation you feel like knocking out about anyone, once you are apart and hurt but not HURT...

I guess people will be brave at different times, anyway.

So file federal hate crime charges to get around double jeopardy, like they did with the Rodney King cops.

Yeah, why didn't the victim just drop his pants and ask to get anally raped?

That would have defused the situation.

This is a myth, but I agree with the rest of your post.

In states that have reasonable CC laws, crime drops. I can provide a great many studies to verify this. Or you can look them up yourself.

The surprising thing in this case is that Mr. Attacker didn't already have a gun. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I get the impression you think the only reason this human excrement didn't have a gun is because he didn't want to break the law. I disagree.

Flstf's assertion that cops show up afterward, and you're responsible for defending yourself, is hugely accurate. Established case law clearly specifies that the police are under no obligation to protect you. This is also backed up by the post in which the wife/cop says they usually let people quit fighting before they do anything.

The point of this was not clear to me.

haha, Im not sure I had a point. Just that, from my experience, when you or someone you care about isnt threatened, it is very easy to freeze and not act. And if you yourself are threatened, and you know what youre doing, you can normally protect yourself and yours if you are on an equal footing with the threat.

Ah, but I don't see a gun helping in this situation, or in a lot of others. A knife, if you know how to use it, might be pretty effective and not so blatently lethal (which is important, because you're not legally allowed to respond with excessive force). But even then, fists and some pepper spray would have probably resolved this situation in short order. That still being dependent on the other people, which, due to the bystander and shock effects[1], may be totally useless. It's possible that some quick thinking guys could realize what's going on and respond in time, and in such a case, the aforementioned fists and pepper spray would be the optimal strategy except where you are clearly outclassed (150lb guy hand-to-hand with a 250lb guy) or (fists vs knife), in which case a similar weapon would be helpful to stop the fight (as in, they wouldn't attack without a clear advantage).

[1] +C

In a pizza place one night three half pissed arseholes were annoying the staff, so I told them to wake up to themselves and leave people alone. So they attacked me. I bashed one, stabbed another and the third ran away. Lucky (for me) I'm a psycho.

Like I think Clavus mentioned, you don't know what you would have done in that situation. I think a lot of people are overlooking the fact that we have <b>already seen the video.</b> If you were there, without knowing what was going to happen, how do you know he didn't have a gun? If this guy went apeshit so easily over something trivial, shooting someone with a gun doesn't seem entirely out of the picture. I'm sure the first thing I would have thought of is "I don't want to be fucking shot." Now if we all knew or had saw the video, and saw that he didn't have a gun, a lot more people would jump in and help. But the guy could have had one, and that makes a hell of a difference.

Looks like they had a community meeting to find out if the charges against the mad woman are racially motivated. Prosecutors have since offered her a plea bargin that essentially gives Sims what she has been seeking for several months: credit for the six months she served in Summit County Jail and an end to the case. A trial date has been set for May 9.

I'm more appalled at all those other fat motherfuckers standing around DOING NOTHING! What the hell!!

:rolleyes:

Not bullies or even angry people? seems like a bit high strung to get upset so quickly....

wow, a truly disturbing video.

apoligies if someone already said this (I haven't read every post), but I think in a situation like that my biggest fear as a bystander would be that the dude might have a weapon. in theory I wouldn't be afraid of trying to get him to stop, even though I'm much smaller, but I'd worry that he might pull out a knife or gun (or return with one) and start doing real damage.

that said, to actually witness the bare inaction of the bystanders is disturbing. they don't even look that freaked out.

this makes perfect sense.. she merely called her boyfriend to help calm the situation, because clearly, this white boy was out for blood.


what really upsets me about this situation is the fact that the gorilla was involved in the first place.. he wasn't even in the building when the whole thing started.
it was an issue between cell-wielding dipshit, and the lady from jerry springer.
if she wanted to behave the way she did and act like an ass, then she should of expected that he would respond in a similar manner. the moment he even looks as if hes going to defend himself, she treats it as an unforgivable attack against her. calling in tiny, instead of dealing with the matter herself.
on top of that.. any rational guy, would realize that mr meek-and-timid, isn't going to do jack shit to his lady, and that she has the situation (whatever it is) firmly in control

this makes perfect sense.. she merely called her boyfriend to help calm the situation, because clearly, this white boy was out for blood.
calm rational people don't do this shit i'm sorry. i don't care what he said to his wife. through her actions, she obviously proved whatever he could of said to be true.

what a stupid bitch

LOL!!! Best answer yet!!! :lol:

Really my only 2 cents on this would be that this video is stunning proof for me in my support of capital punishment.

It scares me that people of that caliber are freely allowed to procreate.

Well, I'm going to go against the general tack of this thread and admit that I wouldn't have physically intervened. I've backed down from a fight before simply because it's a small price to pay to avoid a physical confrontation.

I'm a little surprised at how many people assume that the only solution here was a violent one. It may in fact have reached that point anyway, but there was plenty of time for non-violent intervention here. There was plenty of time for the guy on the cell phone, or any of the other bystanders, or even the owner of the pizza shop to say something like, let's all calm down and see if we can work this out. The police should have been called the moment the woman started freaking out, and then someone--the owner preferably, should have been talking to her in a calm, reassuring voice until the police arrived. The same with her boyfriend the moment he arrived.

My SO is a highly trained martial artist--her mom is a Tae Kwon Do instructor and she's been getting trained in self defense since she learned to walk. She could have taken that guy down like a sack of potatoes. I've seen her do in class. But she wouldn't have. She'd very likely would have talked the woman down--I've seen her do it--or kept her occupied until the police arrived, and the same with her boyfriend. Violence should always be the last resort, and only in defense. This has, in fact, been pounded into her from the time she started training. Step one: Defuse the situation. Don't escalate. It's better to talk for an hour than fight for a minute. In some 20 years of martial arts training, she's never been in a fight outside of sparring in a dojo. This is because she will deescalate, defuse and/or walk away if possible. She no doubt would have intervened after the first punch, but it really wouldn't have gotten there, partly because a guy is less likely to hit a woman speaking nicely to him than a big guy ignoring him.

Cell phone guy very likely was trying to send a message to the woman who cut in front of him. This was a mistake. Note that I am not placing any blame on cell phone guy--the fault is entirely that of the man who attacked him and the woman who provoked the attack. I'm not saying that he shouldn't have pointed out her rude behavior either, but the manner in which he did it could use some improvement. I would likely have said something like, "Excuse me, Ma'am, but you really should get in line at the end of the line, behind all of the people who were already here, thus being polite and implicitly enlisting the help of the others. Being calm and polite in the face of rudeness throws people off guard; they're not expecting it.

The victim is very likely going to get an out of court settlement for whatever the maximum amount is on the Pizza places owner's liability insurance, and the $25,000 mentioned earlier is a very common amount of coverage for that. It likely would cost something similar for the insurance company to defend against the lawsuit, so out court settlement for the liability limit is very likely, and very common in situations like this.

Well, yeah, we being girls and all, I wouldn't have intervened either. But how many men were standing around that could have stopped the huge idiot? That's my point.

It wasn't. That is until Queen Beotch called in her gorilla.


I totally agree. Everyone pretty much stood around and let her scream and rant and rave like a lunatic and no one did a thing.