Thursday, December 22, 2005

Subway Justice...

In the mid-80s New York City had a crime rate that was over 70% higher than the rest of the U.S. On average, 38 crimes were reported on the subways every day. Bernie Goetz was determined not to add to that total by taking justice into his own hands when he got on a #2 train at 14th Street on the afternoon of December 22nd, 1984...

When 4 young black men, on a mission to steal money from video arcade games in Manhattan approached what they considered an easy mark, they couldn't have imagined how wrong or sorry they would be. When one of the men demanded that Bernie give him five dollars, Goetz responded by pulling out a .38 five-shot Smith & Wesson and firing, hitting all 4 targets and adding to one, "you don't look too bad, here's another" only to find the gun empty. Goetz fled the subway and was later captured in New Hampshire on New Year's Eve...

Goetz was acquitted of the shooting in a case of self-defense but was found quilty of illegal weapons possession, serving 8 months of a one-year sentence. The public opinion verdict was mixed but most viewed Goetz, labeled as the "subway vigilante", as a hero for defending himself...

The aftermath of the subway shooting follows in my commentary...

More December 22 Memories...

1882) The 1st string of Christmas tree lights is created by Thomas Edison...

1910) U.S. Postal savings stamps are issued for the 1st time (they would be discontinued in 1914)...

1937) The Lincoln Tunnel, connecting Manhattan and New Jersey opens to traffic...

1957) Pat Boone is #1 with "April Love"...

1961) James Davis becomes the 1st U.S. soldier to die in Vietnam (U.S. involvement at that time was limited to the provision of military advisers)...

1965) The Dave Clark Five's version of "Over and Over" tops the charts...

1965) "Dr. Zhivago" premieres...

1968) Julie Nixon and David Eisenhower exchange wedding vows...

1968) Eric Burdon and the Animals agree to disagree as Burdon pursues a solo career...

1976) The last show of "Let's Make A Deal" airs (several attempts to resurrect the show continue)...

1984) Bernhard Goetz shoots 4 in self defense on a New York City subway (feature story)...

1984) Madonna tops the charts with the #1 song of the week and year, "Like a Virgin"...

1990) Lech Walesa takes the oath of office as Poland's 1st popularly elected president...

1995) Lawrence Berk, founder of Berklee College of Music dies of natural causes at 87 in Boston...

2000) Madonna (no longer "like a virgin") and film director Guy Ritchie marry in Scotland...

2002) Joe Strummer, lead singer of The Clash dies at 50...

To ensure accuracy, multiple reference sources were used in today's timeline...

Happy Birthday To...

1912) Lady Bird Johnson...

1936) Hector Elizondo...

1944) Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton...

1945) Diane Sawyer...

1946) Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen...

1949) Robin Gibb...

1962) Ralph Fiennes...

Commentary...

After reaching an all time peak in 1990, crime in New York City dropped dramatically in the '90s and by 2003 New York has become statistically the safest major city in the U.S. Author of the best-selling book, "The Tipping Point", Malcolm Gladwell suggests that perhaps Bernie Goetz may have played a part in that drop...

Darrell Cabey who was paralyzed in the shooting filed a civil suit against Goetz in 1985 and won when the jury awarded Cabey $43 million. Goetz filed bankruptcy. It's not likely that Cabey will ever see even a portion of that $43 million...

Goetz left the city for awhile but returned and in November unsuccesfully ran for Public Advocate of New York City. The "subway vigilante", who became a hero of sorts, has been mentioned in several songs over the years, most notably in Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire"...

l