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Police: Red Line riders tackle would-be purse snatcher on Downtown Crossing platform

Gonzalez

Transit Police report arresting a man they say was brought to ground by Red Line riders who heard a woman struggling with him as he tried to grab her purse.

Cesar Gonzalez, 26, police say, followed a woman off a Red Line train around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday and reached for her purse:

The victim held tightly onto her purse and was yelling for help. At this time several good Samaritans heard the victim screaming and came to her aid tackling Gonzalez to the floor and restraining him until the police arrived.

Gonzalez is scheduled for arraignment in Boston Municipal Court today on a charge of attempted unarmed robbery - and a charge of heroin possession for the "brown powdery substance" police say he was found with at booking.

Innocent, etc.

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Comments

I've even witnessed women having their purses taken. Is this mostly being done by drug addicted individuals?

I'm also less willing to intervene due to possibly being sued by the criminal. How far can we actually go to help in a situation like this, without fear of ending up in court?

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Restraining the imbecile would likely be privileged conduct in this situation immunizing you from tort liability (provided that you don't go way over the line past restraint and, for example, continually bludgeon said imbecile past what is necessary to restrain).

On the criminal front, there is no DA or ADA that would even dream of prosecuting you even if there was a cause of action (with the same proviso as above).

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You wouldn't be held liable because of this law? Correct?

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What's that now? Have you a citation or is there another name for this, because nothing like that is ringing a bell in this context.

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But basically means that if you help a victim, even if you break the law in the process, you will not be charged also.

Good example is woman is being raped, an Ombudsman comes in, punches the guy out to stop the rape. The ombudsman will not be charged with assault because he helped victim stop the crime against the original crime.

Sorry I do not have a source nor the time today to sit and read page after page of MGL law to find exactly what I am talking about. But I do know it exists.

And maybe it isn't a law but a 'rule' of sorts.

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Ombudsman is an institution's internal complaint resolver (more or less).

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I knew it was something :) I really am half awake today..

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Now it makes sense. While a Good Samaritan law would probably protect you, you probably wouldn't even have to resort to it for the reasons I gave previously.

Sorry about the confusion - I was just totally thrown off by the "Ombudsman" term. Incidentally, my request for a citation was only to help me figure out what you might have been talking about. It was not a snide request for a citation - about which I have railed against on numerous occasions.

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Yeah thanks again, and my comment about "not having the time" is just true and not snarky.

I reply to threads when I get a moment at work, and often do not have the time to sit and wade thru webpages looking for citations. But I gotta work first, ya know, I could only wish i got paid to post on Uhub all day.

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Chap. 258c, sect. 13:

No person who, in good faith, provides or obtains, or attempts to provide or obtain, assistance for a victim of a crime as defined in section one, shall be liable in a civil suit for damages as a result of any acts or omissions in providing or obtaining, or attempting to provide or obtain, such assistance unless such acts or omissions constitute willful, wanton or reckless conduct.

Sect. 1 basically says a crime victim is a crime victim.

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I had a college sociology professor in the 70s who was obsessed with the role of the ombudsman. It seemed like all she ever talked about. I still don't know what one does. Is anyone's job title actually "ombudsman"? It's a mouthful to say.

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To oversee its coverage of the state senate race to make sure the paper's news coverage wasn't tilted toward Linda Dorcena Forry (who's married to the Reporter's editor).

But I think the more modern phrase, at least in newspaper circles, is "public editor."

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Or did I get confused? This thread was weird.

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Vigilante is a vigilante. An ombudsman was defined above, and not to be confused with a boatswain or coxswain.

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In many of these cases the attacker would probably be represented by a public defender, whose role is only to defend against the charges brought against their client, not sue on the client's behalf, right?

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I'd be more worried about catching something from the person committing the crime. Some of them look as if they've got a few diseases.

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I have same fear. If it were other state I wouldn't fear but MA protects our criminals

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Unless you went above and beyond and shot him in the back, or kept slamming his face in the ground after you have him oinned down.

Id be more worried that the criminal had a knife, syringe or gun on him.

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Grow a pair. I've been involved in two of these things. I did it without a seconds hesitation. If everyone stands about fretting over that, we should just pack it in.

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I'm more concerned about catching a blade between the ribs from one of these dirt bags. Sorry, ma'am. Your purse is not worth my life.

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That's a rough looking 26. When I was a youth, and going home from my p/t HS job, I got jumped by a group of yoots on a crowded redline platform at Downtown Crossing, late afternoon rush hour. They beat me up pretty good. How come no one came to help me? I had to stagger home with blood all over my face, people just gave me dirty looks.

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People complain about "stop snitchin", but it was more the law of the city rather than a couple of select neighborhoods. You "didn't get involved", meaning "this could be a mob hit and somebody will retaliate if I interfere".

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What part of the city did you grow up in again? Exactly! Trust me no one but you has ever mistaken a teen jumping on the T for a mob hit. Good lord, where do you come up with this stuff?

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I am an adult female who has intervened in a number of incidents on the T- most memorable: 1. Involving group of boys threatening a younger solo boy on the redline. 2. Woman forcing two young boys (like 5 or 6 years old) to scratch and beat each other on crowded 23 bus from Ashmort. In both cases no one else helped or stuck up with me even though there were plenty of witnesses. In both cases the offenders threatened me with ass kicking. I was afraid but my fear was overshadowed by the offense taking place against the victims. Being in a civilized society requires that you stand up for what's right every once in a while. Otherwise the bullies and criminals win.

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