"Whatever his future is, it will absolutely contain his way of trying to make the world a better place. Don't let injustice walk away and don't let people be victimized," Tangen said. "He is a man who cares deeply about others, wearing a costume expressly to get out a consistent message: Call 911. "You still have to call the police if you want somebody arrested."įodor is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday and has a team of attorneys representing him, according to Tangen who was vague about Fodor's future as a superhero. "At the end of the day, so you break up a fight, then what are you going to do?" Jamieson said. He concedes that Jones' crime fighting efforts are not illegal and he has the right to do so, but hopes they will refrain from inserting themselves unnecessarily into volatile situation. Jamieson hopes the incident will be a "wake-up call" for Phoenix Jones and other like him that there is a line between being a helpful citizen and risking further harm. The problem and the concern that we have is that somebody is going to get hurt," Jamieson said. "We applaud their civic-mindedness and that they want to be involved. Seattle Superhero Phoenix Jones Unmasked by Seattle PoliceĪ spokesman for the Salt Lake City Police Department said that they have chosen not to comment on the citizen vigilantes, but other police departments, like the Seattle Police Department, are more vocal about their concerns with the groups. While the group does break up fights, they also deliver meals to the homeless and balance their superhero lives with families and day jobs. They meet up at the Salt Lake City Library and fan out from there, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The Salt Lake City group, called the Black Monday Society, is made up of nine members that go out to patrol downtown Salt Lake City a few times a month. On these websites, participants can do everything from share their crime-fighting stories to learn about patenting their looks and names. Over the years, the citizen superheroes have grown more organized, with websites popping up to help them organize themselves such as Superheroes Anonymous and Real Life Superheroes. He is just one of many citizen superheroes around the country with similar groups in Orlando, New York and Salt Lake City among other places. "Criminals feel free to just run wild in my city, and I'm not going to stand for it."įodor isn't the only one who feels this way. Calling 911 is a great start, but it's not the end all to end all," Fodor said. "I'm definitely not going to let my fellow citizens be assaulted and not do anything," Fodor told "Good Morning America" in January. To assert that he ran into a bunch of people dancing and pepper sprayed them is entirely inconsistent with what he has done consistently this entire year."įodor, the husband and father of two, is a self-proclaimed superhero who roams the streets of Seattle late at night allegedly protecting his fellow citizens. "He's been doing this four or five nights a week this entire year and he has never been charged with a crime. "The first thing Phoenix did was to scream out to call 911," Tangen said. Peter Tangen, a photographer and spokesman for Phoenix Jones, questioned how police can say the group was dancing and joking around when Jones was on-scene as an eyewitness and police were not when the situation occurred. Recently there has been increased reports of citizens being pepper sprayed by and his group."Įarlier that night several other nightclub patrons told police they had also been pepper sprayed by Phoenix Jones, but left the area before police arrived. The police report said that Fodor "has had a history of injecting himself in these incidents. The police report by Officer Hosea Crumpton said cited a woman who was sprayed saying the four victims "began dancing and frolicking with each other. He committed a crime, an assault against these individuals. Mark Jamieson, a Seattle Police Department public information officer. "In this particular case, he perceived that this group was fighting and when we contacted them, they said they weren't fighting," said Det. He was charged with assaulting two people who police said were "dancing and having a good time" as they walked to their car. Fodor is a member of Rain City Superhero Movement, a group of self-proclaimed superheroes who say they patrol the streets to fight crime. Sunday while still wearing his black and gold superhero costume, a bullet-proof vest and carrying two cans of pepper spray. Phoenix Jones, who has been unmasked by police as Benjamin Fodor, was arrested about 2:30 a.m. Seattle police claim the people were dancing. 10, 2011 — - Seattle's masked superhero crime fighter "Phoenix Jones" is now fighting an assault charge for allegedly spraying pepper spray on people who he claims were fighting.
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