http://www.kansas.com/2011/10/13/2060682/no-charges-yet-against-seattle.html
No charges, yet, against Seattle 'superhero'
By GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press
SEATTLE - Prosecutors have filed no charges, as of yet, against the self-proclaimed Seattle superhero who goes by the name Phoenix Jones.
Jones, whose real name is Benjamin John Francis Fodor, appeared in a city courtroom Thursday morning wearing a charcoal-colored mask and a superhero uniform under a button-down shirt.
Prosecutors told a judge they needed more time to decide whether to file charges.
During the hearing, a court officer asked Jones to remove his mask and he complied. But he put the mask back on after the hearing to speak with reporters - then dramatically removed it again to reveal his true identity.
Jones was arrested Sunday after police say he pepper sprayed a group of people downtown as they left a nightclub.
He says he was trying to break up a fight when he was attacked.
Here is (possibly) another case of the misuse of a self-defense implement. I have not read the police reports on this matter, so I cannot claim to be intimately familiar with the details that prompted Fodor to think he was justified in using pepper spray to "break up a brawl."
The point is, the responding police officers who investigated the matter felt warranted to arrest Fodor for assault. (Although, the prosecutors told the judge at Fodor's initial appearance that they would need more time to determine if and what charges were appropriate in this matter.) Fodor spent seven hours in jail and was required to post a $3,800.00 bond to secure his release.
This incident will become another example and piece of ammunition for politicians who seek to strip you of the tools you need to defend yourselves in your homes and in your communities.
In other 'stupid' news, The Wisconsin Legislature has passed a new law concerning the possession of stun guns and Tasers® by their citizens. They say that if you want to carry a stun gun or Taser® you must have a CCW (Carry Concealed Weapon) permit. (It has to be a Wisconsin Permit or a reciprocal permit from another recognized state.) This new stun gun/Taser® law parallels their firearms law - you don't need a CCW permit to keep a stun gun or Taser® in your home or business and you can carry one in your vehicle as long as it's in a closed case. The 'stupid' part is that you need a CCW permit to purchase a stun gun or Taser®. I haven't figured out how Wisconsin citizens are supposed to acquire that stun gun or Taser® they can legally have in their home/business/vehicle unless they get a CCW permit.
In other words, you can have it, but you can't get it. Just another example of government in action.
FOLLOW_UP ON PHOENIX JONES CASE
(Nov. 3, 2011 Associated Press)
Seattle's self-proclaimed superhero Phoenix Jones lost his job working with disabled children after his arrest for investigation of assault.
On Oct. 11, two days after he was arrested by Seattle police, the Department of Social and Health Services alerted his employer about the case, said DSHS spokeswoman Sherry Hill, who handles children's administration.
"The provider was asked to remove him from any cases that we had," Hill said. DSHS asked that he not be around vulnerable children while the case was pending, she said.
That caused Jones -- whose real name is Ben Fodor -- to lose his job working with autistic kids ranging from age 4 to 18, according to Publicola. "I had to leave work in the middle of the day," he told the website. "It was embarrassing."
Hill clarified that Fodor is not permanently disqualified from working with kids, but the agency wanted to "err on the side of caution" by telling his employer about the assault investigation.
Fodor, 23, was arrested the morning of Oct. 9 after police said he interjected himself into a crowd near the Alaskan Way Viaduct and pepper-sprayed innocent people. Fodor, who speaks to media as Phoenix Jones, has said he was trying to break up a fight and was later assaulted.
Fodor was released on bond just after noon the day he was arrested. On Oct. 13, he said he was not guilty of a crime. He has not been charged in the case.
But Fodor could still be charged with assault, and a spokeswoman for City Attorney Pete Holmes, Kimberly Mills, said this week that a final decision has not been made. People who are convicted of assault are prohibited by law from jobs working with vulnerable adults and children.
Employers are required to background-check people who work with developmentally disabled children and adults. People who do not pass the background check are put on a state list disqualifying them from such jobs.
Fodor could go back to his job if the case is dropped and he is not convicted, Hill said.
Often an attention seeker, Fodor went to his Oct. 13 court hearing with a mask, but had to take it off inside the courtroom. He revealed himself outside court as television cameras rolled, but didn't talk then about the alleged assaults.
"I think I have to look toward the future and see what I can do to help the city," he told reporters.
Police say he should not interject himself in situations, but should call 911. Fodor promised he'd be back on "patrol" soon.
Fodor also goes by "Flattop" when he fights in the local mixed martial arts scene.
Speaking as the costumed Phoenix Jones Guardian of Seattle, Fodor has told reporters he was breaking up a fight during the Oct. 9 incident.
Police say he barged into the situation -- something they say he's done in several other cases -- and assaulted the women and men with pepper spray.
Video of the incident shows two women chasing Fodor and a man with face paint, hitting them and telling the self-proclaimed superheroes to leave.
A woman in the group admitted she hit him, but only after he used pepper spray on her friends for no reason, she said.
"He says, 'I'm a superhero' and sprays everyone," the woman told KING/5. "Nothing gives him a right to do that. That's harassment and assault."
Seattle firefighters were called to treat those affected by the pepper spray during the incident. Fodor has said he is the actual victim.
While dressed as Phoenix Jones at an August Belltown community meeting, Fodor promoted the use of pepper spray for self defense.
A spokesman for Phoenix Jones, Peter Tangen, said last month that it appears the officer who arrested Jones had an agenda and that, when Jones said he was assaulted, the officer laughed at him. He also said police have refused to take statements from two people who were following Jones.
"I think the biggest story here is that the SPD didn't really follow protocol in any way, shape or form," Fodor told KOMO/4 as Phoenix Jones last month.
Pepper Spray is a great self-defense implement if you use it as it is intended to be used and don't get all crazy with it.
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