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.

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.

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."

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!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on December 7, 2007 1:42 PM

Comments [rss]

jpeditor

Deport her... deport all of them.

csk

the victim comes out

moneda

I love when you people mention Al Sharpton. Hahaha.

freddyhere

How convenient - to say that the man accosted her. I bet he also called her a nappy headed ho...

JacqueMehoff

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.

miss_mess

where has it been reported that they're lesbians?

chuzzlewit

Now the bigmouf dad's gonna get a whoopin.

Peter

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.

petro45

nappy headed dykes are not so tough now huh?

ed_Extinct

bernard goetz should have finished the job.

petro45

deleted

smitty

"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.

Dave Hogarty

I nominate Kevin Belvin for Parent of the Year.

Banana

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.

Papercutninja

Doza, it's called teaching your shitty kid a lesson.

ed_Extinct

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.

Phineas Gage

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.

JacqueMehoff

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.