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Would you videotape a violent crime such as rape for evidence?

Would you videotape a violent crime or help

  • I'd call 911 before I'd press record

    Votes: 6 25.0%
  • I would physically help

    Votes: 21 87.5%
  • I'd stay out of it for my safety

    Votes: 1 4.2%
  • I'd gather a group of people and go after the bad guy

    Votes: 4 16.7%

  • Total voters
    24

herenow1

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This is ridiculous. The story reads that the bystanders were so concerned for a woman being raped--that they'd rather videotape it than help her. We are living in an age where we are replacing humanity for our cell phones!


(CNN) -- A teenage girl was raped at the same Keith Urban show where 20 people got so drunk they were hospitalized, police said.
The attack happened in front of a large crowd of other concertgoers on the lawn of the Xfinity Center, an outdoor amphitheater in Mansfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday night, a police statement said.
The rape ended when a woman in the crowd pushed the alleged attacker off the victim and he fled, police said.
Sean Murphy, 18, was arrested "a short time later" and charged with rape, police said.
"Officers conducting the investigation were assisted by patrons that had been concerned and took photos and video of the assault on their cellular phones," the Mansfield Police statement said. "Those phones are being processed to recover the digital evidence of the assault"

Teen raped on lawn at Keith Urban show, police say - CNN.com
 
I would help. I believe most people would. It's what you do.
 
I would help. I believe most people would. It's what you do.

I would make sure that he stopped, that she was okay, and that if the cops were no where close to take him into custody that he couldn't get away (even if it meant me going to jail as well).

I'm sorry, but I think I would just loose it if I saw something like this and have to be pulled away from him before I killed the guy. Maybe a well placed warning shot that got just a little too close (that would be the "go to jail" part).

The closest I've ever been to anything similar was when a HUGE guy picked a girl up by her shoulders and started kissing her at an outdoor concert. She screamed, he laughed and started grabbing her butt and kept pressing his face to hers. She was fighting as good as she could, but this guy, again, was HUGE. I had to spend about two hours in the back of a police car until they hauled him away in an ambulance and the girl told them that if I hadn't gotten involved that she would have been badly injured, raped or killed (maybe a little over the top on her part, but it kept me from getting sent to jail).
 
I would help. I believe most people would. It's what you do.

I honestly don't know what most people would do anymore. I think technology is making us feel like we don't identify with each other as we once did. I would very likely get immediately involved physically, as my protective instincts are very strong, and i am trained to be pro-active in emergent situations, but I have my doubts about a good many people.
 
Not approving of it but the evidence they collected will (hopefully) help send this creep to jail

Not hopefully, definitely. Rape caught a video? That's a very rare advantage. Not even a US Senator's kid could get out of that.
 
I'd get physically involved. You should worry about the evidence after the threat is neutralized. Standing there and videotaping an active rape is...well I have nothing nice to say about it.
 
I'd get physically involved. You should worry about the evidence after the threat is neutralized. Standing there and videotaping an active rape is...well I have nothing nice to say about it.

a couple of radio jocks were discussing this locally with a former prosecutor and cop. the former DA noted that when there are LESS observers, the observers are more likely to intervene but when there are a mass of sheep witnessing a violent crime, it is rare for anyone to step up and take out the criminal
 
Not hopefully, definitely. Rape caught a video? That's a very rare advantage. Not even a US Senator's kid could get out of that.

It's a grim outcome in any case. Sure, you've got the rapist dead to rights, but the person who shot the video will be known as "the guy who stood by and videoed a rape while offering no help" for the rest of his life. Isn't there a good samaritan law regarding this?
 
It wholly depends on the scenario. If the guy is much bigger than me or has a group of people around protecting him then I'm not going to get involved physically; my safety does come first. However, if I had a gun I would for sure intervene. If I didn't I would call 911. Maybe I would look around for other people to help if there, or maybe I would videotape some part of it so the bastard would get what he deserved. It all depends on the situation.
 
a couple of radio jocks were discussing this locally with a former prosecutor and cop. the former DA noted that when there are LESS observers, the observers are more likely to intervene but when there are a mass of sheep witnessing a violent crime, it is rare for anyone to step up and take out the criminal

That's a basic psychological principle. Everyone waits for someone else to be the hero when the burden of responsibility is shared.
 
a couple of radio jocks were discussing this locally with a former prosecutor and cop. the former DA noted that when there are LESS observers, the observers are more likely to intervene but when there are a mass of sheep witnessing a violent crime, it is rare for anyone to step up and take out the criminal

The larger the crowd, the dumber the crowd.
 
It wholly depends on the scenario. If the guy is much bigger than me or has a group of people around protecting him then I'm not going to get involved physically; my safety does come first. However, if I had a gun I would for sure intervene. If I didn't I would call 911. Maybe I would look around for other people to help if there, or maybe I would videotape some part of it so the bastard would get what he deserved. It all depends on the situation.

I would feel ashamed not to take a beating for the effort. Clint Eastwood in a movie said something to that effect when asked why he got in a fight with this huge racist even though he was twice his size (he got his butt kicked): "You have to be able to take a beating for the things you believe in." Sure, it's not black and white, but if the greatest risk to me was, say, a broken nose, trying to stop a rape is more than worth it.
 
I would feel ashamed not to take a beating for the effort. Clint Eastwood in a movie said something to that effect when asked why he got in a fight with this huge racist even though he was twice his size (he got his butt kicked): "You have to be able to take a beating for the things you believe in." Sure, it's not black and white, but if the greatest risk to me was, say, a broken nose, trying to stop a rape is more than worth it.

Yeah, I can see that. Though, the biggest risk for me would probably be getting raped myself or killed. The one thing that we learned in my CPR class that I think pertains to this is if you are called to the scene of a crime is to look at the situation and make sure you don't become a victim yourself. You can't help someone if you become incapacitated.
 
Yeah, I can see that. Though, the biggest risk for me would probably be getting raped myself or killed. The one thing that we learned in my CPR class that I think pertains to this is if you are called to the scene of a crime is to look at the situation and make sure you don't become a victim yourself. You can't help someone if you become incapacitated.

As I said, it's not black and white. It's a variation of a Jewish proverb concerning charity: give not so much lest ye be a beggar yourself. Or, as in the case may be, do what you can to stop a rape, but actually dying over it may be a bit much. But a broken nose? I should be able to take that and be able to look at myself in the mirror.
 
As I said, it's not black and white. It's a variation of a Jewish proverb concerning charity: give not so much lest ye be a beggar yourself. Or, as in the case may be, do what you can to stop a rape, but actually dying over it may be a bit much.

Yeah, it's all about assessing risk. If I had a gun it would be a completely different story. The ****er'd get one warning shot.
 
Yeah, it's all about assessing risk. If I had a gun it would be a completely different story. The ****er'd get one warning shot.

Your generous.
 
There's also the possibility that some people thought it was consensual and kept it moving. However maybe that's just my way of wanting to believe that over the other.
 
This is ridiculous. The story reads that the bystanders were so concerned for a woman being raped--that they'd rather videotape it than help her. We are living in an age where we are replacing humanity for our cell phones!




Teen raped on lawn at Keith Urban show, police say - CNN.com

I butt in, and have many times, not for rape, but for domestic violence, street fight, a group of kids that beat a neighbor boy with a baseball bat, neighbor's vehicle being broken into, etc. I just can't help myself. My daughter was with me when I saw a fight just outside the food court at the mall, and she even reached out, tried to grab, and sternly said, "NO!", and yet I did. And I was lucky and didn't get hit that time, but broke it up.
 
I butt in, and have many times, not for rape, but for domestic violence, street fight, a group of kids that beat a neighbor boy with a baseball bat, neighbor's vehicle being broken into, etc. I just can't help myself. My daughter was with me when I saw a fight just outside the food court at the mall, and she even reached out, tried to grab, and sternly said, "NO!", and yet I did. And I was lucky and didn't get hit that time, but broke it up.

When I was in my early twenties--I was at my friends house and her husband went off and smacked her in the head right in front of me. I was shocked, but moreso embarrassed for her. She ended up staying with me a few weeks later after he pushed her down the stairs. Thankfully she divorced him after that. I didn't do anything bc it happened so fast, but if he kept wailing on her I would have stepped in.
 
Depends on the crime (and assuming I am unarmed).

If a gang is raping a lone woman, I would call 9-11 and then try and distract them. There is no point in trying to stop them by force, unarmed, by myself. And if I could not stop them with distraction, then I would probably film it so they could be brought to justice if the police did not arrive in time.

If it was an individual, I would try and distract him/her while calling 9-11. If that failed to stop them, then I would intervene.

It's all well and good to go charging (unarmed) into an unknown situation...but assuming the attacker is unarmed or alone could get you killed for nothing. Especially if the police have no knowledge of the situation.

I say call the cops first (obviously keeping it as brief as possible) and then do what you can to stop the attack.

As for filming...not unless there was nothing else I could do.

All if the above is assuming I do not know either the attacker(s) or especially the victim.
 
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