I thought I'd post this video from an arrest in Chicago by an Angel I've known since 1992. His GA name is Third Rail. Some chapters use nicknames to avoid criminal retaliation. This situation is typical. A few seconds of excitement followed by 20 minutes of waiting for the police. Listen to how the guy blames the girl for being arrested. He also starts claiming he's being hurt by the Angels. People who see the truth with their own eyes will still say that we are brutal. Notice the crime is something you'd walk right by. Later she would have been found with her face beaten or badly injured on the tracks. After she recovered, you would see her hobbling along and not wonder how she got that way. Very common, but very invisible. I have taken 4 35mm cameras on patrol with me over the years. All got broken. Though I did take several hundred pictures. No electronic camera would last. I have NEVER seen a movie or TV show that reflects reality. WARNING: BAD LANGUAGE, AND 3RAIL IS ALMOST AS UGLY AS ME. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzYrPslnPtE
Re guy blames girl: Most abusive men see themselves as the victim. Re movies, tv: I've never seen one, either. Being a GA must be fraught with danger. Especially regarding incidents with gang members. Does retaliation happen very often? How do you prevent it? Or is that another tv thing?
Actually, gang retaliation is rare. The easiest way to get back at Guardian Angels is to simply wait in their patrol area until they come around again. But when we are on patrol, we are expecting some sort of trouble anyway, so we are already alert. To us, some sort of retaliation is a lot like the usual business out there. These guys are violent, impulsive people. So sudden violence doesn't really act as much of an ambush for us. For these guys to come after us on patrol is like the 3 little pigs attacking the big bad wolf from inside his oven. It might not go well for them. We are used to them. They don't know us. Most criminals rely on intimidation, violence and surprise to get their way. That's why the police say to stay alert to your surroundings. It really doesn't take much to thwart these guys. They are stupid, impulsive, violent, unskilled in (opposed) combat, often in physically poor condition and, in many cases, chemically impaired. The doesn't mean they are harmless, but they can be dealt with if you are prepared. Most "gang hits" you see in the news are against people they know, almost always other criminals, often drug dealers. They aren't competent to track down someone in another area of town. So unless you live in their neighborhood, or invite them to your house, they aren't going to find you. The best way for gang-bangers to thwart us is to simply NOT commit a crime in front of us. Simple, huh? :shrug:
when i saw that this was in chicago i had to watch it, good clean collar with out anyone getting hurt. by the way how many GA are in chicago, i've lived here my whole life and i've never seen one?
Most arrests are like that, that's why I posted it. These were trained and experienced Angels. Before they made an arrest, they were simply stopping that women from getting from getting hurt more. I don't have up to date numbers on chapter size. You might try the phone number. The thing is, the guy who answers might not know either. If you never see Angels, it usually means you stay out of certain areas of town. We rarely patrol where crime is low.
Amazing video, GA82, and to see you guys doing such a great job in my hometown, awesome!! :thumbsup: Keep up the great work. I've you're ever coming to Chicago, drop me a PM, I'd love to meet you and shake your hand!!
Thanks, I will. :thumbsup: The Chicago GA has been around forever. I can't take credit for their work. 3Rail has been an Angel for 20 years. I'm happy he's taking a video camera on patrol. People watch TV and movies and get weird ideas about what we do. We're the same as everyone else. We're just better prepared to help.
I remember when they first made their appearance in Chicago sometime in the late 70's or early 80's, IIRC, and some of the flap that went up over their involvement and activities. Nice to know worldwide media can finally dispel some of the nastier rumours about the GA's.
I we were doing the wrong things, the police would arrest us, same as you. In fact, we would be easier to find. In Houston, HPD alone has recruited 4 of our guys. The sheriff's department has 3 or 4. Our kids make good recruits. They already have their "street degrees", are in good physical shape, can take orders and are cool in a situation. People join for a lot of reasons: to make a difference, to get in shape, free karate lessons, boredom, too young to be cops, etc. Me, I just hate the idea that people can get hurt and no one will help. Sometimes I can't help myself, so I help someone else.
Good friend, i hope you never get gangbanged! :giggle: :hug: Now seriously, what you all do is cool. We could use something like that around here. Unfortunately, it wouldn't work. GA should be armed and with bullet-proof equipment
Uh...gangbang is multiple sexual partners simultaneously. You can guess my horror of that. :yes: You must mean gang-raped. We have female gangs here. They rely on surprise and numbers, same as the guys. But I'm old and ugly, so no such luck. :cry: It works everywhere. The are Angels in Peru and Brazil. Japan has almost as many chapters as the U.S. The government has to actively suppress citizen patrols to stop the Guardian Angels. We are even welcome in neighborhoods that don't like police, mainly because the Angels that patrol there are mostly FROM that neighborhood. Most police and governments like Angels because they don't cost anything. Houston cops didn't like us at first. But we were professional. And cops like having a half-dozen guys across the street watching and waiting to provide back up if needed. I've been told by police that we need bullet-proof vests, too. But, no Houston Angels have been shot in the line of duty. Our first arrest was a gun incident, ten days after they finished training. I've been in 5 gun incidents. You don't have to be an Angel to help in your community. And helping your neighbors is helping yourself. Many of the Co8 community probably already help. You have the attitudes for it. :thumbsup:
GAs seem to be more common in urban areas. But I guess that is where a lot of crime happens. I've never encountered any GAs myself. But it sounds like good stuff. Around here, we have some legacy motor bike gang. But they seem to be about only helping themselves. On top of that their gang symbol is a Dixie flag with an SS insignia in the middle. If that is not a redneckathon I don't know what is. How they are able to get away with this I have no idea. They dont seem to cause any trouble. But I've heard that if you mess with one of em, they'll come out and give you a boot bath.
Actually, there is a LOT of crime in small towns, often to worse effect because of the lack of big town resources. But, you are right. Angels are more appropriate to areas of high population concentration, so a foot patrol can cover it. The crimes are not so far apart. From my experience, most motorcycle gangs are ok guys. Their lifestyle is frowned upon by society in general, with reason. We get along with them in Houston. In fact, many "gangs" (clubs), are just middle-aged men who do that only on the weekends. Many are cops or military veterans. As far as what they wear on their clothes, there has to be a law against it. Otherwise, it's just free speech. That it offends people is not sufficient to stop them...which is kind of the point. If you are threatened with a boot bath, run where their bikes can't go. It'll take them a half hour to drag their fat asses off their hogs.
Today, Friday, Feb 13, is the 30th Anniversary of the Guardian Angels Safety Patrol. To celebrate here in Houston, we patrolled in the rain. Thirty years ago, Curtis Sliwa was the night manager at a McDonalds in the Bronx. People would get mugged on the D train, and get off to call the police. Since the McD's was the only thing open, they went there to use the phone. Curtis got 12 of his friends together, and they rode the subways wearing red berets to deter crime. They called themselves the Magnificent 13. So many people joined them, they changed the the name to the Guardian Angels after a magazine article. Houston was the 16th city to start a chapter, 1981. 750 people signed up, 50 people graduated. Their first arrest was 10 days later: a gun incident, of course. The GA is now in many countries around the world. The biggest chapter is in Tokyo, Japan. It's still hard to imagine polite Guuardian Angels.
