WE are all responsible for the death of this man. Yes, WE are.
We have been alienating, ostracizing, dehumanizing homeless men, women and children for so damned long that some idiots now think they can act with impunity upon them simply because they are looked down upon in our society.
The simple fact is, whether you beat the person to death; slowly starve him/her into the grave; force him/her to live outside because of ridiculous, ass-backward policy implementation and/or regulations that keep them from housing; withhold medical care because of lack of insurance; delay treatment for their drug addiction; or merely ignore the fact that they exist, you and I and everyone who can help in our society but doesn't has the blood of our most impoverished, most vulnerable citizens upon our hands.
We ought to be ashamed of ourselves...
Teens beat homeless man to death in Ohio
Associated Press - June 27, 2008 4:23 AM ET
CLEVELAND (AP) - Police are looking for a group of teenagers who beat a homeless man to death in Cleveland.
A surveillance video caught the attack Wednesday night outside a towing company. It shows three youngsters who appear to be between the ages of 14 and 17 beating 42-year-old Anthony Waters and stealing his music player and headphones.
It also shows a number of motorists slowing down to watch but doing nothing to help Waters.
Finally he staggers to a parking lot where employees of the towing company did help, but too late. He died at a hospital from injuries that police say included a lacerated spleen and broken ribs.
The police commander told a news conference yesterday, "The pack mentality going on in the city of Cleveland must end."
Thugs beat him on street that he cut through as a safe route
Friday, June 27, 2008
Stan Donaldson
Plain Dealer Reporter
Anthony Waters didn't like to walk on busy streets in Cleveland because people sometimes threw rocks and yelled obscenities at him, his mother said.
So whenever Waters walked from the homeless shelter where he lived to his mother's house near Broadway, he cut through an industrial area until he got to East 55th Street, she said. Then he took side streets to get to his final destination.
On Wednesday night, his walk was fatally interrupted.
At least three teens beat Waters about 9:15 p.m. while he was in the 3000 block of East 55th, outside the G&M Towing Co., police said.
Waters suffered a lacerated spleen and broken ribs. He died at MetroHealth Medical Center from injuries he suffered in the attack, police said.
"He was savagely beaten by a group of thugs," said 3rd District Police Commander Calvin Williams.
Williams said the department will "pull out all the stops, bring all our resources to bear, to make sure that these thugs don't get away with this."
A surveillance camera outside the towing company caught portions of the attack, Williams said.
The videotape showed passing cars slow as they watched the teens attack Waters.
Workers at the towing company ran to Waters' aid after the assault and called police, he said.
"We have a pack mentality that is going on in this city," Williams said.
Joyce Watkins, the victim's mother, said her son worked on and off as a welder and battled alcoholism for several years.
She said that her son often stayed at 2100 Men's Shelter on Lakeside Avenue but that she remained in contact with him, and he often visited.
Watkins said that her neighborhood has gotten worse over the years and that her son didn't like to walk on main streets.
"He may have been hurting himself with his drinking, but he would never do anything to hurt another person," said Watkins, 64.
"This is ridiculous, and I can't understand why they would beat him like that. My heart is broken."
City Councilwoman Phyllis Cleveland said she feels sad for Waters' family and said more must be done to prevent young people from committing violent acts.
"The village is broken and we've got to fix it," she said. "We have to step up and stand strong to prevent violence."
Lt. Thomas Stacho, a Cleveland police spokesman, said the attackers appeared to be between the ages of 13 to 18 and all wore white T-shirts. He said one of the suspects rode a silver BMX bicycle.
Police ask anyone who may have witnessed the attack, or who may have information about the attackers, to call Crime Stoppers at 216-252-7463, or visit 25crime.com.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
sdonalds@plaind
.com, 216-999-4885
END
Friday, June 27, 2008
WJW
A family photo of Anthony Waters.
CLEVELAND — A group of teenagers beat a homeless man to death as passers-by slowed to watch the attack, some of which was caught on videotape, police said.
Anthony Waters, 42, suffered a lacerated spleen and broken ribs during the attack Wednesday night and died at a hospital, police said.
"The pack mentality going on in the city of Cleveland must end," police Commander Calvin Williams said Thursday at a news conference where he urged the attackers to come forward.
Portions of the attack were caught on a surveillance camera outside a towing company on the city's east side. Police said the videotape shows passing cars slowing to watch three teens attack Waters until he staggered into the parking lot, where he was assisted by employees of the towing company.
Watch a video report from MyFoxCleveland.com
"It was just horrifying the way he looked," said Marlo Massey, Waters' sister, who saw her brother's body after the attack. "They beat him to death and I just can't stop thinking what was on his mind while it was happening."
Waters suffered from blunt abdominal trauma, a head injury and damaged internal organs, the Cuyahoga County coroner said.
The attackers, who appeared to be between the ages of 14 to 17, robbed Waters of a music player and headphones, police said. No arrests have been made.
Waters was a welder by trade but had been staying at a Cleveland-area homeless shelter, said Paul Eadeh, a friend.
"He's a good guy, a hardworking person," Eadeh said. "He was just trying to make some money to eat and to live."
Eadeh said Waters worked odd jobs for him at a beverage store.
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