Crazy Homeless Guy
I met Peter while working at the Greenhouse, a resturant in the Kahler Grand Hotel. He was a regular who hung out daily having few drinks and playing NTN Trivia, before the bands started at another bar next door.
The first thing you’d notice about Pete was his wheelchair; he was a quadriplegic from a C4 fracture of his spinal column. Pete was a intelligent guy, he managed to graduate from Berkley’s Astrophysics program. His goal in college was to become a rocket scientist. Unfortunately, while he was nearing completion of his degree President Reagan started to cut the budget on the Department of Defense. Bush senior made more DoD cuts and all the defense companies merged, changed direction, or went away.
Our friendship started because Pete had a VCR and recorded The X-Files for me, and he’d usually wait to watch it with me on Saturday. As a waiter I tended to work Fridays, and would miss it every week. One reason Pete and I always got along so well was his sarcastic sense of humor. Pete had that knack of making fun of a person to their face without them realizing it.
Pete’s mother visited often. She was a real treat; you never knew what version of her would show up though. She could be a bear or a sweetheart, so I’d have a plan to back out. I went to a movie with Pete and his mother on this particular visit. Pete lived close to downtown, where everything was, so we just walked (and rolled) to the theater with his mom.
After the movie Pete wanted to head to the pharmacy to grab a pack of smokes. Well, this particular weekend Rochester was having one of those special sidewalk sale days. The streets were full of local venders with all their crap set out for sale. The sidewalk was crowded with people looking for deals. We walked along the sidewalk, Pete stops at the Pharmacy for his pack of smokes.
Outside the pharmacy we notice a nutjob walking his bicycle and mumbling to himself. He wasn’t harming anyone, just being annoying like street nuts are supposed to. As he was hanging around babbling and pushing his bike Pete says something. Pete uttered the three sounds, that would forever change the course of the day. I say sounds, because they aren’t exactly words. Pete said,
“Ah, shud’dup!”
The nutjob looks over to the direction where it came from and decides there’s no way a cripple would ever holler like that to him. Yup, he’s pissed! Immediately he confronts me and starts yelling about what I said. I told him,
“I didn’t say anything; go back to walking your bike and talking to aliens or Alah or watever!”
I walked away from Pete and his mother, trying to draw him away from the weaker member of the pack. I didn’t need either of them to be hassled by Nutjob. I lured Nutjob away, and signaled Pete to take his mom back to his place. I guess it was a form of protecting a friend, even if he had it coming.
The disturbance was escalating – Nutjob was getting louder and more daring. He’d set his bike down for a minute and then come at me. He didn’t try to hit me or anything, but people were taking notice. I’d have to put my hands up in defense and shove him back.
He finally wandered off, got back on his bike, and started to ride away. But he turns right back around and comes at me again. He was only retrieving his bike so it wouldn’t get taken. Now he’s getting more upset and swearing at me. I think Nutjob flipped his lid! He wanders back across the street, and yells at me from a distance. I made it to the edge of the sidewalk sale, so there are fewer bystanders near me. Pete and his mom didn’t make it far. Pete wanted to watch the chaos he created, so he was only a few yards from me. He was pretty amused with himself, and had already prepared the story he would tell at the bar that night.
Suddenly a cop pulls alongside and skids to a stop - lights on but no siren. He was going pretty damn fast for there being a sidewalk sale as close as it was. The cop looks at me like I’m the bad guy, and I think I’m going to get into trouble over this. At his point I can only wonder if Pete and his mother can back me up, and whether the shop owners who called the cops saw me or Nutjob as the instigator.
Seconds after the cop pulls along side me Nutjob leaves his bike, and runs across the street at me again – this time in front of the cop. Nutjob yells to the cop,
“There he is, it was him, arrest him.”
He actually runs right up to me and hits me in the stomach in front of the cop. Then he yelled at the cop again, this time to have me arrested and jailed. I took one in the chops out of shock. It didn’t hurt or anything, I just had no idea he was finally going to hit me. I explain to the cop, if he comes at me again, I’m going to wipe the sidewalk with his face in self defense.
Two other squad cars arrive on scene, immediately after my being hit. They both pulled over to the other side of the street where Nutjob had run to. The cops tackled Nutjob as he started to run away with his bike.
The first cop on scene wouldn’t arrest the guy. He tells me that I have to do a citizen’s arrest. I have to write the whole thing up on some cop form and turn it in. It would become a public document. I figure there’s a chance I could get sued before it’s over with, because the guy was a nut. I wrote the whole story down for the cop, even the part about Pete actually saying “Ah, shud’dup,” and how I took the fall with Nutjob to protect him and his mother. The cops had Nutjob in the back of one of the other squad cars. They took him away after we all gave statements and I did my citizen’s arrest.
The only other time I came close to seeing a citizen’s arrest was while working at a mortgage company. A loan officer (Darrel Williams) wanted his processor to do something he was ethically unable to do and before it was over Darrel was on top of his desk yelling down at the processor. Debbie, another loan officer came out of her office and yelled,
“Darrell, you goof-ball get down from there!”
Her voice was so commanding, it just worked. One of the other processors was a former cop, and just feet from bringing Darrell down and performing a citizen’s arrest for disturbing the peace. Our manager came out and settled everything. All he wanted was for Darrell to quit and leave his current loans with our company to save the commissions.
Back to Nutjob, they took him to the jail, but he didn’t last long. They then had to take him to the psychiatric ward of the Saint Mary’s Hospital, because they couldn't control him. I did get follow up from the local court system. Nutjob was deemed a harm to himself, and others and was committed.
We looked up the case at the courthouse while trying to pay a parking ticket, and leared the public record was heavily redacted because of his mental situation. We also learned he came from a wealthy local family who couldn’t control him.
I haven’t had to arrest anyone since.