Results tagged “flonarzabyas”

A New York State senator is proposing a law that makes criminals legally responsible for the inadvertent harm to helpful bystanders who might come to the aid of a person under attack. The proposal comes in the wake of the death of Flonarza Byas, who may have been killed by Maurice Parks while he was defending himself during a robbery.

The violent mugging that turned fatal last week prompted the NY Times to compare people's attitude towards crime safety today versus those of two decades ago, when people would carry mugger money around. (When you Google "mugger money," the first thing that comes up is a 1989 NY Times article, "Even the Nun Have to Carry Mugger Money.") While many people mentioned how safe the city is these days, last week we did hear about a Park Slope mugging (a woman gave the muggers her bag but yelled and neighbors appeared, some chasing the muggers into the park) and one man's relatively recent mugging in not-yet-gentrified Bushwick. If anything, it seem to help if one is aware and walks with confidence.