Seattle law enforcement has already had its own issues. It doesn’t need a superhero to make matters any worse for police. Self-proclaimed crime-fighter Phoenix Jones is back on the streets after somehow skipping assault charges. Citizens claim video footage showing alleged crime fighter and superhero Phoenix Jones involved assault by Benjamin Fodor--an attack with pepper spray. The hero claims was breaking up a fight. Washington citizens be aware: this masked crusader is not apologetic. He's fighting crime, damn it.
Among serious allegations the Seattle Police Department has recently faced include experiences or issues involving abuse, force or negligence. On the physical side, 2010 video footage of a Seattle law enforcement officer – captured by an onlooker on the outskirts of the experience – shows a police officer who punches a female jaywalker in the face while on Seattle streets. If that sounds bad, far worse may be on-board camera 2010 video footage from a patrol car that hints a Seattle police officer may have wrongfully killed a Native American man on foot. And then there’s the quasi-humorous 2011 incident that didn't involve tragedy, but did involve a fast-thinking photographer and the mistake of a Seattle police officer accidentally leaving an AR-15 semi-automatic gun rifle on top of his unattended patrol car.
But whatever internal problems Seattle cops are already facing, one of the department’s most prominent new problems seems to be a superhero who appears on city streets -- dressed in black. If you’re fighting crime, it’s obviously key to stay low-profile. At least in terms of dress code. But when it comes to everything else, apparently a superhero needs his own videographer, writer, PR man – and even an extra superhero at times. Phoenix Jones wouldn’t have it any other way. He plays such an important role in society, after all. At least that’s how he sees it. Somehow the Seattle Police Department and a recently pepper-sprayed group of citizens seem to view things a little differently.
The self-proclaimed superhero who protects part of Washington state had to walk away this time – in cuffs. Apparently police believe that no one (aside from officers) is allowed to douse the average citizen with pepper spray, particularly when it’s unrelated to self-defense. It seems law enforcement seems to dub that type of behavior “assault”. Silly cops.
The 23-year-old Washington man -- supposedly protecting Seattle streets after dubbing himself ‘Phoenix Jones’ -- has been in a bit of hot water, after allegedly assaulting a number of people with hot pepper spray. No word on how Arizona lost out on garnering the protection of Phoenix Jones, or how Seattle was so fortunate to gain the superhero’s free services -- but it seems the masked man is destined to protect the streets of Washington. That’s apparently how he see it anyway. There were four counts of assault the masked crusader was potentially facing before prosecutors let Jones off the hook. While he's escaped one mess, things aren’t looking so good, in general, for the masked man in a suit who's reminiscent of a bumble bee without wings.
And ‘bumbling’ may be most accurate.
The man who calls himself Phoenix Jones -- while apparently trying to rival “Indiana Jones” --claims he was only trying to stop a street brawl. But cops seem to have a different interpretation of what occurred, insinuating that perhaps the superhero instigated a brawl. Or at least didn’t add to it. Seattle officers have had to remind the crusader-for-good that he’s not really above the law when it comes to his self-proclaimed right to battle evil forces: "Just because he's dressed up in costume, it doesn't mean he's in special consideration or above the law. You can't go around pepper spraying people because you think they are fighting," says Seattle police spokesman Mark Jamieson.
But Phoenix Jones ain’t buying it. People need his help. Seattle city streets need his help. Jones is on a mission to stop those wrong-doers of the world. And he’s made it clear, at least via Facebook, that he would not "ever assault or hurt another person if they were not causing harm to another human being." And he means it. He’d scream it from any rooftop. Or, at least, in all caps in a status update.
As it turns out, another hero by the name of ‘Ghost’ was also patrolling Seattle streets on the October night that saw four Seattle citizens treated by medics after being subjected to pepper spray. It’s not often you see two superheroes strolling down the street to protect society. But, as luck would have it, crime-fighter Ghost happened to accompany Phoenix Jones when the two encountered evil. And, as luck would have it, there were two more to bear witness in the fight against crime: an entourage that included a writer by trade and, with fantastic fortune, a videographer who captured all the evidence for review. Well, kind of.
A superhero must be an important superhero indeed, to have a writer – apparently documenting the life and times of real-life superheroes – accompanying him in his battle against crime. Professional writer Tea Krulos was part of the entourage, a videographer rounding out the group that just happened to encounter a serious crisis needing intervention.
Writer Krulos claims a brawl led him to an attempt of reaching 911 services by mobile phone. But apparently things were bad enough that help was required faster than cops could respond. Or that's the path the group chose anyway. According to the Jones camp, two women – girlfriends of the half dozen or so men they claim were attacking two other males -- didn’t appreciate or respond well to being pepper-sprayed by a superhero. It’s unclear why.
What seems clearer is that the crusader against crime may have been very fortunate indeed that burning pepper spray didn’t allow those two women to attack him more fiercely. Despite debilitation caused by the hot pepper spray, at least one woman still managed to land a punch or two – or 38, according to Jones.
The irony that comes into play accompanies Jones’ next claims. According to him, he was hiding after the pepper spray incident. The saying “don’t throw stones” doesn’t apply to superhero situations. Jones says he was sequestered with his group of followers, in the Washington ferry terminal, when the hero claims those alleged brawlers followed. The crusader says a couple of them hopped into a Cadillac Escalade and began throwing stones at him. But cops couldn’t catch them. The masked man claims that Cadillac drove under a viaduct, apparently just when Seattle patrol cars arrived. Sneaky criminals.
If it all sounds like something out of a comic book, it may not be too far-fetched or differ much from what police officers seem to believe. Perhaps someone views it as oddly coincidental that two superheroes happened to be accompanied by both a writer and videographer when the battle against evil ensued.
The writer’s not happy, at least according to reports. Krulos allegedly claims cops refused to take his statement, or the videographer’s take on the whole scenario. Superheroes were on the scene, that much is known. What isn’t quite known is the role those superheroes played.
What seems dubious video footage shows the two men – supposedly tasked with fighting evil -- running toward a group of people. But while Phoenix Jones and his camp claim there was a fight brewing among that group, cops can’t find any indication that occurred. And cops are less than pleased. On video, Jones is shown breaking up the group after either one of the three in his group prompt him by saying “Phoenix...go, go, go, go – huge fight.” There's video of what looks like pepper spray being wielded by the masked crusader. Shortly after his intervention to fight evil, a screaming woman takes after the superheroes -- including Ghost, the crusader dressed in a leather jacket -- hitting the supposed superheroes with high heel.
Apparently, the other self-proclaimed superhero –dubbed ‘Ghost’ – obviously isn’t able to make quite the same financial investment in his fight against crime. While Phoenix Jones has apparently paid to be clothed in expensive evil-fighting duds, the heavyset Ghost doesn’t quite fit the fitness level of what most would expect in a superhero. What rivals a Halloween face paint job and civilian clothes complete Ghost’s ‘costume’. And Ghost proves not too fast on his feet: A woman is shown on video, beating the ill-fated ‘hero’ for what she seems to feel was an attack on the group.
A car then rolls on-scene, before the BMW takes off at high speed and nearly hits a man on the Seattle street. Pan to ‘superhero’ Phoenix Jones shown chasing down the vehicle on foot, in efforts to obtain a plate number. Jones is then audibly heard phoning cops with report of a hit-and-run. But the superheroes receive no thank you from anyone in the vicinity. That may be because of the questionable scenario that followed, when the superheroes and their entourage address the remainder of the group. A woman is seen and heard on video, screaming at Jones to "stay away." An even less-pleased woman is seen running toward the masked man to hit him. And she’s got a statement or two for the crusader: "You sprayed (sic) pepper spray in my eye!" One of those words clearly begins with an ef.
Within seconds, two men approaching the superhero are promptly pepper-sprayed. The cloud was apparently big enough that four people in total required medical treatment after being sprayed.
There's more than one video -- and the videos seem to show a slightly different perspective in footage. A second video of the pepper spray incident and released by Phoenix Jones himself begins what looks like an emotionally-wounded superhero whining "don't touch me," to a woman following him with high heel in hand. That event would follow the pepper spray cloud he'd released on a group of people.
Phoenix Jones has been on a run in Seattle over the past year or so. He's fighting crime according to him. Apparently the one-man-show has dedicated himself to busting crime – and added a few to the show over time, including the occasional extra superhero like Ghost. Jones has also proved successful in garnering himself some media exposure over his supposedly good works. Perhaps he’s already ousted most of the bad guys in Seattle. Or maybe the crime-fighter feels the need for some new circulation of his name in the news. Police seem to believe the vigilante superhero endeavor of October may involve no crime at all – at least not on behalf of the citizens who proved the object of Jones’ intervention.
Cops may find it a bit odd and fairly suspicious that the superhero now has his own camera crew following his every move. Granted, Superman made it to the news frequently – but for different reason. It’s all a ploy against crime-fighting superheroes. Or at least that’s what these crusaders – whom dedicate themselves to fighting for the good of the world -- would prefer the public to believe.
Every good superhero’s got to have his own spokesman. Technically Peter Tangen is a ‘volunteer’ speaking on behalf of Phoenix Jones. Tangen seems to be alleging that Seattle policemen are not truly interested in stopping crime or the bad guys. That’s the gist anyway. According to the volunteer spokesman, cops weren’t really interested in grabbing the responsible party for a supposed hit-and-run. It seems law enforcement’s got an agenda against the man dedicated to battling crime. And it’s serious.
Tangen dubs it a “mission” of law enforcement, to prevent Phoenix Jones “from what he's doing.” And what the superhero is doing is legal – at least according to his volunteer PR man. It seems police officers simply want all the glory for themselves. Or that seems to be how the Phoenix Jones team believes the scenario should be presented.
A Seattle officer apparently had the audacity to insinuate that Phoenix Jones tends to find chaos. Or maybe create it. The police report reads that the superhero "has had a history of injecting himself in these incidents. Recently there have been increased reports of citizens being pepper sprayed by [‘Phoenix Jones’] and his group." Police might have a slightly different perspective were it not for the fact that crime-fighting apparently requires four to five -- including two crusaders, a writer, a videographer and a PR man. Who says superheroes work alone?
Police also cite the fact that officers or the department seem to have had at least one chat with the masked crusader on a previous occasion. According to Seattle Police Department, Phoenix Jones "has been advised to observe and report incidents to [police officers or law enforcement], he continues to try to resolve things on his own." And, it seems, to create his own PR.
Jones promptly wrangled himself a spot on Seattle-based radio station KISW. The crime-fighter claims bias it seems -- his recent assault arrest is specifically based on one police officer who isn’t fond of him personally, or perhaps his techniques. The superhero insists he’s done nothing wrong.
The 23-year-old superhero’s not stupid enough to put total faith in those superhuman powers: Phoenix Jones has even had a bullet-proof vest created specifically to lie under that expensive rubber costume he had designed. It’s not easy to fatally shoot or stab the man destined to protect Seattle streets. He claims criminals flee at the sight of his outfit. That may be true -- for those fortunate enough to skedaddle before a masked crusader charges in, pepper spray in hand.
Unfortunately for the masked crusader, any phone booth days are over. The masquerading man’s identity and facial features have already been revealed after the assault allegations. Protection of his own identity wasn’t for lack of trying: Phoenix Jones, or rather Benjamin Fodor, had to strip the mask off in a court appearance already. Yes, the crusader did manage to actually get into court wearing both the mask and his superhero costume – under street clothes – before a judge made him reveal his true identity. As it turns out, there may be good reason the crime-fighter dubbed Jones chose to opt for a more simplified name in battling evil: Benjamin John Francis Fodor is a little hard to remember. Plus, how can a man with such a lengthy name be married to a female superhero by the name of “Purple Reign” otherwise?
If you’re under the assumption this masked crusader doesn’t have friends then he’ll easily prove you wrong. According to the Phoenix Jones official Facebook fan page, this active superhero’s skyrocketing toward 37,000 people that ‘Like’ him. And Phoenix Jones is even important enough for Wikipedia to profile.
But while Phoenix Jones claims popularity, superheroes are not popular across the nation among many. There's roughly 600-700 men and women nationwide who claim the superhero status. Police officers have had numerous run-ins or followed up on complaints of problems with those posing in costume. The guy-slash-superhero found hanging from the side of a building -- with a can of chemical police call a weapon -- ranks among the least of issues. California heroes or crusaders for good seem to rank among the least popular, with arrests and allegations that the heroes are more responsible for creating problems than fixing them.
Some may believe a superhero doesn’t come along every day. But cops will say differently. Costumed crusaders against crime been sprouting up across the nation – along with problems surrounding the men and women who’ve deemed themselves responsible for protecting public society and local city streets.
Some friends the superhero doesn’t have include the group police say he attacked. Either the woman who delivered those blows to Jones with her high-heel shoe has superhero powers herself -- plus one fast and accurate swing even after being debilitated by pepper spray -- or there’s one superhero blessed with incredible math skills, even during moments of high crisis. Phoenix Jones says he was struck by the woman no less than 38 times in the head. And, to back up his superhero status, Jones says he never responded to the repeated blows. He’s obviously a gentleman like that. Says Jones: "I don't touch women."
But rest assured, even a superhero has his limits. Says Jones: "I'm never gonna pepper spray a group of people for dancing.” So if you see a masked crusader for good headed your way, Seattle, start dancing a jig.