My Fiancé Was Beaten in DC

On the morning of September 24th I received a call from my fiancé. Her speech was frantic and staggered. It sounded as if she was crying. Less than one mile from where I was using the gym, a stranger attacked her on her way to work. Without any provocation or warning, the stranger (we later found out he is an Air Force vet living on the streets) punched her on the face and dropped her to her knees. According to witnesses he walked – calmly – across the street and punched another woman. She was struck on the face. From there, the stranger walked away – still without any sense of urgency – and disappeared into Washington DC’s busy streets. He was eventually arrested and at the moment he is being pushed through the court system.

Based on the numbers from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) this was a successful end to a terrible event. The police should be applauded for doing the difficult job of protecting the people of the nation’s capitol. The helpless women who were attacked should be thankful that the Boys in Blue were there, in the nick of time!

But the numbers only tell a small part of the story. What the numbers won’t mention – what the apologists for the State won’t consider – are the events that happened between the first assault and the eventual apprehension of the Stranger by the police. (NB: I am calling him the Stranger because despite the wrong being committed against her, my fiancé has been given few details about the assailant).

The fact of the Stranger’s eventual arrest was precipitated by the deeds of caring and proactive individuals. Without their courage and thoughtfulness the deranged stranger would still be on the streets. The DC police were nothing but a Johnny Come Lately.

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