December 7, 2007
Subway Beating Video Update: Hey, That's My Daughter!
The police are continuing to investigate the video of a man being beaten by a group of girls on an A train. While there's still debate about whether the filmed attack was real or staged, this much is known: The teen who filmed the incident, Kajdera Holmes, has retained a lawyer to speak to reporters.
The Daily News has two articles about the incident. The News had asked its readers if they knew any of the people seen in the video, and apparently the father of one of the girls responded. Kevin Belvin, a public school teacher in the city, told the newspaper, "A father knows his child. One of those young ladies was my daughter." He says his daughter Kierra Brown is the one (pictured) who taunted the male passenger for much of the video. Belvin said that Brown's mother's called him to tell him about the video, and then his daughter got on the phone.
"She said the gentleman tried to accost her," he said.Belvin is asking for the victim to come forward, even though he could understand that he might be embarrassed about being beaten up by girls: "What we have done is not working, or she would not be on the video. Please, sir, come forward."He watched the video again, all 4 minutes and 18 seconds, and knew his daughter's explanation was false.
"The gentleman on the train, his voice is reasonable, his hands open in a peaceful gesture," Belvin said.
So Thursday, after spending much of the day talking about responsibility with his students, he made a decision, called the police and offered to bring his daughter in.
"I didn't want someone else to do it. I told the police I would bring her in. They said they had no victim. The man had not come forward, so there was no case yet," he said.
Yesterday, the Post noted how Holmes and a friend were arrested for attacking a woman on a J/M/Z train on September 3, and the Daily News spoke to the victim of that attack.
The 24-year-old who wanted to remain anonymous said Holmes and friend Debbie Rivera (who was also seen in the video, in a pink jacket and sitting - not participating in the beating) were harassing her, "She has the kind of mouth that will just go off. I ignored her. I finally said, 'I keep to my own business.'"
The girls didn't stop bothering her and their verbal assaults turned physical. The victim said, "They were just looking for some action, that's how I viewed it. People quickly pulled them off me. They only attacked me for a couple of seconds before the train stopped at the next station. I called cops from my cell phone." Holmes, who has denied any involvement in the beating, and Rivera are set to appear in court later this month.
As for the A train incident, which you can see at The Smoking Gun website, Holmes' lawyer Earl Ward said that she would be speaking to police soon. He also explained, "She was a passenger, she saw something happen on the train, and she had her camera available. If you are a passenger on a subway train and somebody is being assaulted, you have no obligation to help. She did not aid the individuals involved in the assaulting behavior. She had no culpability.” Hello, Kitty Genovese and the bystander effect!
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good for the father. i hope this girl learns her lesson.
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I guess the moral of this story is to always avoid groups of angry teenage lesbians on the subway. The more details come out, the more it becomes obvious that the filmmaker was involved. Kudos on her mom for trying to blame the victim. Nice work!!!
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Like fun Holmes had nothing to do with the attack. If she really wasn't a part of the crew, I highly doubt they would have allowed her to continue recording it. The video clearly shows the attackers interacting with the camera indicating that they were comfortable with both being filmed and the person filming it.
This is real and unfortunate.
By the way, a round of applause for Kevin Belvin who is acting like a good parent and taking responsibility for his child. Seems like he has integrity, I wonder how his daughter turned out to be a petty thug? It could be that he and the child's mother are divorced and the girl is under her care.
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aaaaaaaaaaand ... it could be that he has a life and that the economy of this city forces parents to work their asses off to feed their children, rather than concentrating on raising them. Oh, wait, no, you're right. It must be the mother's fault.
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@JRod - sorry, I should have clarified that the daughter, Kierra Brown, got on the phone and said the man assaulted her. Just changed it.
And the fact that Holmes retained a lawyer makes me suspect this wasn't staged. If it was staged, why not say something?
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Maybe Al Sharpton will rescue this poor young woman from her father's respect for the rule of law.
And whatever happened to "no snitchin'"? What, fathers are exempt from this rule or something?
And maybe the victim's mother will recognize him and make him go down to the station too.
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I have one thing to say... those girls were lucky, very very lucky. It really doesn't take much to snap someone's neck.
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The A line has ALWAYS been this way. I USED to live in Ozone Park and in order to get to manhattan you would have to take the A line which passes through GHETTOVILLE, Aka, East New York. That neighborhood is full of people displaying this kind of behavior always. I don't remember it any other way. Low class/violent/forever trash. The A line, is also full of the most depressing ads on any subway line, like "Hurry up and get your GED" or "How to make big bucks fast!" Also, the light in all the old cars are so dimly lit it's prime for someone getting a "beat down" for NO reason.
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spicy, please stop copying and pasting that everytime something happens on the a train. don't you have anything original to say?
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Let them work in Burger King and pimp out one kid after another while being on welfare and living in the "getto".
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It is so incredible refreshing to see a father say his child is no angel and then teach his daughter, his students and all of us that we need to learn to take responsibility for our actions.
I commend the father for stepping forward and naming his daughter. I can only hope this helps his daughter change the sad direction her life appears to be heading in.
As for the guy in the video, come forward. Anyone who makes fun of you for "letting a bunch of girls beat you up" are idiots. You should be complimented for not striking back instead of being riduculed for taking a beating. If you had struck back you would've been heckled for hitting a female so there's no winning here. I watched this video from the safety of my home and I was scared for you --and myself! Being surrounded is not a great feeling. That video made me cringe and I'm a native New Yorker who's taken the subway all my life.
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RatherBe - haha, I thought I was the only guy who noticed.
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would you take your kid to police??? noway! i guess it's just an easy way to feel good about himself for "papa".
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we should all have a father and teacher like mr. belvin.
and, the guy should come forward. he has nothing to be ashamed of. he looks like a good guy.
If you need a citizen to be by your side, I'll be glad to go with you.
Any pictures of this so called "filmmaker" and any of her mentors want to come forward? She's got to get the camera from somewhere, by that I mean, some do good program who gives cameras to underprivileged youths.
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I am a man, and if I am getting attacked by a group of angry people, I am sure as hell going to fight back - and fight back to win (i.e., until they are incapable of hurting me. Whether they are male, female, transgender, etc. is irrelevant if they start the fight. I don't understand how anybody can just sit there and take a beating.
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it's only a hate crime when uncle al sharpton comes to the rescue. otherwise it's just a white guy getting a beating by some nappy-haired hoes.
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Doza, it's called teaching your shitty kid a lesson.
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rbeshenk: just because people have to work to feed their children does not excuse them to act like animals.
girls like these are never going to aspire to anything in their lives.
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I nominate Kevin Belvin for Parent of the Year.
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"Seventeen-year-old Kadejra Holmes told The Smoking Gun she didn't have anything to do with the attack and then took the video off YouTube. Her parents told the Post she was not involved in the fight, "She was on the train when it happened. She didn't know it was going to come to this."
They also confirmed their daughter, who was "scared" and "afraid,"had been arrested on Sept. 3 along with an underage pal for assaulting a 24-year-old woman aboard the J train between the Lorimer Street and Essex Street stops." "
She ain't an angel.
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deleted
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bernard goetz should have finished the job.
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nappy headed dykes are not so tough now huh?
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Hello, Kitty Genovese and the bystander effect!
Besides having occurred over 40 years ago, the Kitty Genovese murder was not a very good example of bystander non-intervention. Neighbors heard only the victim's initial scream, and not unreasonably attributed it to a drunken patron leaving one of the area's watering holes. Most of the lengthy attack occurred in a deserted stairwell which effectively muffled almost all sound.
As for the A train incident, I'm still a bit uncertain ... it may be the real deal, but it could well be a "work," in other words a staged attack.
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Now the bigmouf dad's gonna get a whoopin.
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where has it been reported that they're lesbians?
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bernie geotz has pet squirrels. hardly a poster boy for the NRA 2nd A types. goes against their anti PETA nature.
and, the rev. al did say something. but you guys will never be satisfied and he knows that.
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How convenient - to say that the man accosted her. I bet he also called her a nappy headed ho...
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I love when you people mention Al Sharpton. Hahaha.
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the victim comes out
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Deport her... deport all of them.