Forum
« Hissing valve I need old bricks »
December 9, 2008
Bushwick Resident Beaten to Death
I'm surprised that this incident, which occurred on Sunday, hasn't been covered on this blog yet-- considering there is a category for "crime."
The Bushwick resident whose head was beaten in with a baseball bat, in a completely random attack, has just died.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/nyregion/10assault.html?em
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/nyregion/09assault.html?ref=nyregion
Comments
I feel sick. I just finished reading the Times article about the attack and feel literally nauseous with hate for the perpetrators of this attack.
Sociopathic monsters.
Posted by: Nokilissa at December 10, 2008 12:01 AM
And something else happened on Bainbridge. I heard the tail end of the report...did police shoot someone who was wielding a baseball bat? If that's the case, it is a gross overreaction.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at December 10, 2008 9:04 AM
Horrible.
"The brothers were walking home from a bar, arms around each other, the police said. At the corner of Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place, three men riding in what a witness described as a maroon or red sport utility vehicle spied the brothers and shouted anti-gay and anti-Hispanic slurs."
I wouldn't call a hate crime completely random though. They come from somewhere.
If the brothers were just walking next to each other instead of in a brotherly embrace, do they not get attacked?
Posted by: northsloperenter at December 10, 2008 9:29 AM
You're right northslope. The motive is not random. By "random" I mean that they were attacked by total strangers, out of the blue, while they were minding their own business and going about their lives. I am still sick and in total shock that this happened in NYC.
Posted by: bk14 at December 10, 2008 10:04 AM
BK14: You are right that if this blog considers it worthwhile to cover crime, this should have been a front page item, rather than a forum item. Thank you for posting. It speaks to a longstanding (not just Brownstoner) news coverage gap responding to crimes against whites over crimes against "others", gaps between classes and races, newcomers and oldtimers, nationals and immigrants. It speaks to how hard people find it to discuss death at all, making it more comfortable to engage discussions of muggings and provide lists of cautions. But even with these caveats there is no reason why all New Yorkers cannot and should not express shock, opposition, outrage, sympathy and sadness in response to the brutal intentionality of this attack. One need not be a family member to recognize the ineffable sadness of a crime and time like this; the perplexity faced by a family
and community dealing with grief and anger while honoring and extending life through organ donation.
Posted by: vinca at December 10, 2008 10:10 AM
Dave - The incident you heard about happened on Bainbridge Ave in the Bronx, not Bainbridge Street in BedStuy...still terrible, none the less.
http://wcbstv.com/local/police.involved.shooting.2.883987.html
Posted by: StuyIvy at December 10, 2008 10:17 AM
If they're caught I hope the DA goes for premeditated murder. Because unless these attackers are baseball players there's no reason to drive around with a baseball bat in the car. Guess they could claim it's kept in the car for self-defense but we know the truth. They went out looking for guys to beat up.
Posted by: traditionalmod at December 10, 2008 10:38 AM
thanks StuyIvy
What the fuck is it with these cops "shooting to kill" in the chest instead of in the leg or something when all this guy had was a baseball bat?????????? Arguably he was mentally unstable but a shot to the leg would have disabled him. That officer should be severely disciplined or put in the electric chair.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at December 10, 2008 10:39 AM
More on NYC's finest
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/ap_on_re_us/police_assault
Posted by: CobbleHilller at December 10, 2008 10:49 AM
We don't talk about crime on this site because it drives the price of rents and real estate down. The less we talk about crime the more our fat landlords can raise their rents.
Posted by: hannible at December 10, 2008 11:15 AM
Correction, hannible: There's never been any problem with talking about crime or other bad stuff in Bushwick on this site. The gorier/uglier the better. It's across Broadway that the brownstone bubble begins.
Posted by: Jeremy at December 10, 2008 11:22 AM
Cobblehiller...that pic of Officer Kern looks like it may have come from casting central for "Deliverance." Ironic.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at December 10, 2008 11:24 AM
dibs, police are trained to shoot to the chest. The purpose of shooting a suspect is not to kill him, but to force him to immediately cease and desist. Of course sometimes that will result in his death, but police are only supposed to use lethal force to save a life or in other limited circumstances. That's why Tasers are being issued.
To ask a cop under a great deal of stress to choose what body parts to shoot at is asking a bit much. They're often not very good shots to being with, as past incidents have shown.
I'm not a police apologist and am not saying this shooting was or was not justified. It should be noted that 'all he had was a baseball bat' is weird in the context of this thread, which was about a man being killed with a baseball bat!
Posted by: denton at December 10, 2008 2:29 PM
It's a terrible tragedy. I was waiting for Mr. Brownstoner to post about this, but don't blame him for not. He's got a lot on his plate, and tends to focus on the wealthier brownstone enclaves. I didn't post it because the new rule is we can only post about home repairs.
A vigil is planned for Sunday at 7 pm. I will be there.
Details:
Meet in front of The Archive café at 49 Bogart Street (at Seigel and Bogart) at 7pm.
We will walk to the scene of the crime at Bushwick Ave. and Kossuth Place and have a few moments of silence at 8pm.
Please bring extra candles. And, spread the word!
Posted by: mopar at December 10, 2008 4:43 PM
Fortunately this has been covered rather extensively - there was a segment on WNYC this morning.
Posted by: Putnamdenizen at December 10, 2008 5:43 PM
Revised plan: Vigil is now at 2 pm Sunday in the daylight. Details:
Change of plans! Make the Road is planning a vigil so they have been combined:
CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR A BUSHWICK HATE CRIME
Sunday, December 14th
REVISED PLAN:
We will all be joining the vigil organized by Make the Road NY. We will be gathering at 2pm near their offices, at the corner of Myrtle Avenue and Grove Street. We will then walk to the site of the attack (Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place) for a vigil at 4pm. The previously planned walk at 7pm starting in front of the Archive will no longer be happening - we hope you will join with us at the march and vigil organized by Make the Road. Thanks!
Posted by: mopar at December 11, 2008 11:45 AM
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.