Two incidents of people trying to stop others from harassing or beating people have had some violent consequences. Yesterday, at West 4th and Jones Street, a 23-year-old Andrew Mindnich saw a woman being bothered by two men around 12:30 a.m. When he intervened by saying, "What's going on?" the Post reports the two men punched, kicked, and stomped Mindnich in the head and chest. Mindnich was treated for his injuries, while the police managed to......

A 29-year-old woman scheduled to testify in a kidnapping case today was possibly thrown from a Harlem building yesterday morning. Joy Blackman, who was a witness to a kidnapping and was also a witness against her accused rapist in a separate case, was found dead in an alleyway at 145 West 145th Street. The building's roof alarm had been triggered between 1:15 a.m. and 2:15 a.m., Newsday reports no one seemed to check the roof.......

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 media are calling this a strengthening of the Good Samaritan law, but when we......

Yesterday, the story was that a transit worker had been stabbed by four muggers, only to amazingly fight back and stab two of them. One died, one was wounded, another was apprehended, and a fourth was on the loose. But then, as more information was released, it seems that the man who died was not in the group of muggers but a bystander, perhaps even a Good Samaritan trying to help, who was caught......

Transit police officer Gregory Chin is being hailed as a hero for stopping a crazed man who had just stabbed two people in Murray Hill from inflicting more violence. The Post and Daily News interviewed Chin, who was off-duty when he saw Lee Coleman attacking 67-year-old Susan Barron with a variety of knives (knives that Coleman stole from a restaurant) on Saturday morning. Chin explained that he and his girlfriend had left the Gemini Diner......

A driver, either "emotionally disturbed" or simply drunk, caused a crazy, violent scene yesterday in Ozone Park, Queens. Fifty-year-old Joseph Leonardi had been driving the wrong way on 83rd Street, when his car "hopped onto the sidewalk," according to the Sun. The car was headed towards Sister Hannah Marie Cox, but a Good Samaritan Juan Valez pushed her away and the Buick hit a tree and a building. Leonardi got out of car and ran......

Hoorah! The Brooklyn Paper reports that 94 year old Dominick Diomede has found a new home. Diomede was evicted by his Carroll Gardens landlord, because he didn't have a lease - he had been living there for two decades, based on the verbal agreement he had with the previous owner. Now, Diomede will move into one of non-profit Fifth Avenue Committee's subsidized apartments on Warren Street. A Good Samaritan stepped in with $2,000 for another......

We'd like to take a moment to talk about the High Entrance Exit Turnstile (HEET) at many subway stations. A friend was telling us how he was fined for allowing another straphanger enter the station with him. Our friend wasn't trying to deliberately flout the law - he thought he was being a Good Samaritan because the straphanger had just swiped through, but accidentally turned the turnstile from one behind where you're supposed to,......

A man selling Metrocard swipes, you know, standing by the turnstile and asking people who need single rides (perhaps fogetting their unlimited cards at home) if they want to buy a swipe for a buck or two, slashed a competitor yesterday at the Fifth Avenue and Central Park stop. Sigh. People, please, just buy your own Metrocard. Don't buy Metrocards from strangers, don't buy swipes, the vending machines are usually pretty easy to use, or......

It's always nice to hear a Good Samaritan story: A woman who was pushed off the N/R tracks at 59th Street by a homeless person was rescued by another man waiting while 20 other people simply stood there watching. Leah Bianco, a designer for Tommy Hilfiger, was on her way to the gym at 7:15AM on February 9th. Describing the incident to the Daily News, she says the homeless man brushed past her forefully,......