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Officials in Seattle have decided not to press charges against self-proclaimed superhero Phoenix Jones, accused of assault after pepper-spraying a group he said was fighting outside a nightclub. The city attorney, however, called his actions "misguided."
Jones said late Wednesday in a Facebook posting that he was not surprised there would be no charges, as he claimed he committed no crime, but he took umbrage with the Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes' statement.
Jones, whose real name is Ben Fodor, wears a black mask with yellow stripes and a bulging muscle bodysuit. The city patroller, age 23, was arrested Oct. 9 on four counts of assault. He spent about 7 hours in jail before posting $3,800 bail, but subsequently lost his day job teaching autistic kids.
Holmes said that his office can't locate two of the people who were pepper sprayed, so it would be difficult to convince a jury that Fodor intentionally sprayed everyone at the scene.
Holmes says the case was complicated by Fodor's explanation, because state law lets a person use force when he or she reasonably believes someone is about to be injured.
"However," Holmes emphasized in a statement issued by his office, "Mr. Fodor is no hero, just a deeply misguided individual. He has been warned that his actions put himself in danger, and this latest episode demonstrates that innocent bystanders can also be harmed."
"Looking ahead," Holmes continued, "I ask our Legislature to prohibit individuals from carrying the large quantity of pepper spray employed by Mr. Fodor—far more than can be justified solely for self-defense purposes. Finally, I urge Mr. Fodor to consult legal counsel regarding his own potential personal civil liability if he persists with his vigilante alter ego. Our state’s Good Samaritan statutes are designed to protect individuals who happen upon — rather than actively seek out — opportunities to render assistance to others, without expectation of compensation. These laws are not designed to protect a branded, costumed character, his roving video crew, or their copyrighted videos from the reach of tort plaintiffs."
Seattle Police Chief John Diaz added, "Our position has been very consistent and clear on this. Too often situations are made worse when someone inserts themselves into a volatile situation unnecessarily. Call 911, be a good witness, and let the officers handle the situation."
Jones responded: "Would a 'guided' person just keep walking and allow someone to be kicked repeatedly in the head?"
He also took on Holmes' urging of pepper spray legislation.
"Pepper spray is defined as a self defense tool and is very hard to use offensively, however we have seen a lot of that on the news here in Seattle," Jones said, apparently referring to the eviction of Occupy Seattle protesters, including an elderly woman who was pepper-sprayed by police. "I hope somewhere in that law there is more protection for the elderly, and peaceful protesters."
He also denied he was a vigilante and agreed crime witnesses should call 911.
"I think my arrest and de-masking was more of an attempt to get me to stop patrolling than to actively seek justice," Jones said. "I want everyone to know that I have no intention of stopping."
Earlier article looking at superheroes: 'Costumed crusaders taking it to the streets'
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Seattle police are famous for rough, even fatal, "handling" of situations. If I were in a mess, I'd rather have this dude any day than the Seattle police!
Amen. Anyone who lives in or has been to Seattle know that you're sometimes better off in the hands of the ones assaulting you than the police. They treat the victims sometimes worse than the accused.
Must be True. The first fatality in the OWS protest was the responsibility of the Seattle's police. They killed a child at that!
Derpy, it's still unproven, but the woman who was four weeks pregnant and pepper-sprayed claims she had a miscarriage as a result of being kicked by an officer. MSNBC won't pick up the story until the claim is validated. There is a large thread on Reddit about it, however.
Ah come on, the Seattle police, the best money can buy.
Cops have way too much power and they are heavily armed. They must be stopped. This is not the land of the free anymore.
Now give him his 3800.00 back and his job! Let the police go after the REAL trouble.
Hear, hear. With interest and (at his option) a promotion.
Guess he should have used a Taser device instead!
Yes, save the pepper spray for cops who "need to protect themselves" from peaceful demonstrators.
All fine and dandy, Mr. Jones, until you get SHOT! Macing some drunken bar fighters, might seem fun, until they cap your @ss!
Although I fear for the safety of this man I must say that if many,many more of us said NO to crime and violence things would be a lot better. I think we all need to be super heroes when needed. I live where this man would be respected not jailed.
speak softly and carry a big stick.
I think he is slightly misguided, yes, but I think he has the guts to do things to help others that most people can't or won't. The Seattle police are mean and brutish. They treat everyone as if they're all scum, doesn't matter if you're the victim or not.
I'd like to meet this guy and shake his hand.
This man obviously has good sense, he could have been one of those vigilantes that carry a shotgun or sword, to settle things with. The people that were fighting and starting a riot in front of the business should be glad it was pepper spray, not something worse. As far as super heroes go, this was mild action, and he definitely wanted to save people not hurt them.
Making him lose his job was an extreme error, and should be fixed at once, someone with strong beliefs is what made our country, not wimpy lawyers fixing every problem and never asking the hard question up front..." did you do it?" god knows they wouldn't want to know that when they get a major dealer off or a mass murderer off to raise their reputations and get free advertising for the next criminal with deep pockets.
I support super heroes and a 1 day hunting license for lawyers...$100 for all you can get in a day..lol.
He's covered. Congressional Republicans earlier this week, declared pepper-spray a vegetable.
"he is no superhero, he is misguided"
why do they say that?..because he could have gotten hurt...
aren't those the actions of a SUPERHERO?!?!?!?!
Maybe this works in Seattle, but it wouldn't be a great idea in most other major cities -- in fact he'd have gotten beat-down by the bystanders. It'd be tough to have a can of pepper spray surgically removed from his... Good luck with all that superman stuff, son.
Ah, George... I wish I'd *kissed* the son-of-a bitch and gave him PEPPER JELLY instead.
"Call 911, be a good witness, and let the officers handle the situation." When seconds count the police are only minutes away. One could easily be dead in the time it takes police to arrive.
I think the guy is reading too many comic books. The next thing he will be trying to do is leap over tall buildings. Look it's a bird, a plane, no it's Super Hero.
creep...
Seattle, the only city with a super hero. Stay green with envy my friends.
Actually, these superheroes have been popping up all over. I watched a documentary on the phenomenon -- NY has a whole "superhero league" with something like 7 members.
This has actually been popping up off and on for decades. I remember a couple in Kansas City back in the 80's.
There just wasn't all of the video cameras and cell phones to record all of it.
And don't forget the grandfather of all "Super Hero Leagues", the Guardian Angels. They've been kicking ass since what, early 70's? Still going strong today.
The police should hire this guy since he's already doing their job for them. If they are going to restrict the use of pepper spray they should start with the police since they are the ones who most frequently abuse their access to it.
Arrest Lt John Pike, UC Davis Police instead.
"Call 911.Let officers deal with the situation and be a good witness" Are you kidding me? What kind of verbal nonsense is that? Cops are there AFTER the fact when others are already hurt and/or dead.These are the same libtards that are against the 2nd amendment.This guy is a HERO,Get over it stupid prosecutor.
Also Mr.Prosecutor while you sit there all high mighty thinking you're that great holder of all knowledge and top law dog your power "ain't worth dog sh@#" without a jury that will buy into it and MANY folks are not buying into it anymore.I serve on jurys all the time and vote my conscience not what some stupid libtard prosecutor tells me to.
Super hero my foot. More like super Dufus.
I love how courageous and creative people can be! Planning a trip to Seattle next year. Hope Phoenix Jones can escort my wife and me around town!
This clowns heart is in the right place. It's just too bad his head is up his arse. If you're going to become a vigilante then you had better at least learn how to defend yourself when some scrawny punks decide to fight you back. Good thing this guy is in Seattle and not in LA, Chicago or NYC where he would be killed on site by real criminals.
More people do need to stand up for whats right. Just keep the pajamas in the closet.
NY has a their own super heroes. One of them is an EMT. None of them have been killed "by real criminals."
Phoenix Jones is a semi-professional mix-martial artist and has won several tournaments.
Just saying.