'Knockout game' as hate crime? Second Brooklyn man charged

With coverage of 'knockout game' attacks growing, so is prosecution of the attacks under federal and local hate-crime laws. Friday's arrest is the second in Jewish Brooklyn in six weeks

For the second time in six weeks, New York City police have arrested a man in Brooklyn and charged him with assault as a hate crime in connection with the "knockout game."

The arrest comes as a spate of attacks have focused national attention on the knockout game, in which an assailant tries to knock out an unsuspecting bystander with one punch. The attacks have stirred controversy over whether the game is part of a growing trend or whether national media coverage and social media have inflated isolated incidents.

Moreover, the Obama administration raised eyebrows when the US Justice Department on Dec. 26 charged a white man in Texas with a federal hate crime for attacking a black man as part of a knockout game, though the vast majority of recorded knockout assaults have been by black men against whites.

In the case announced by New York police Friday, Brooklyn resident Barry Baldwin, who is black, was arrested in connection with seven knockout game attacks. The assaults occurred from Nov. 9 to Dec. 27 in predominately Jewish sections of Brooklyn. All the alleged victims were women, including an elderly woman pushing a stroller and a mother walking with her daughter.

The case echoes that of Amrit Marajh, a black man who was arrested on Nov. 23 and also charged with assault as a hate crime. The alleged victim in that case was a young Jewish man.

Both the cases will be turned over to the New York Police Department's Hate Crimes Task Force. The two Brooklyn cases and the case in Texas remain the only knockout game assaults that have brought hate crime charges at either the local or federal level.

Many criminologists dismiss the idea that the knockout game is growing, saying this sort of crime has been common for decades. "At least nine suspected knockout attacks have been reported since October in New York, but police have said they see no evidence of a trend," according to CNN.

That would be so racist to charge the subculture that does most of the knockouts with hate crimes.

One never knows what kind of health issues another may have, most especially if they've never met them. In most of these cases and in particularly when someone tries to knock out an old woman or any elderly I think they should step up the charges to attempted murder. That'll make these idiots think twice about playing the Knockout Game.

Holder and oButtma might view that as racism also.

Of course the only image of the perp that we are allowed to see is this one:

well the race of the perpatrator may contribute to whether this is considered a hate crime IDK that much about it....I do know that anyone who commits this nonsense needs to feel the full force of the law come down on their backs....for a long long time..irrespective of race

not a bad idea...it reminds me of the ganging in philly in the 70s.

What really makes me ill is the number of times this kind of crap pops up on the Internet and is considered "entertainment".

Are we that disconnected that when we see assaults that it is now acceptable to promote it as a game? Or even call it a game?

I don't care what the age of the victim knocking someone out in this manner should be seen as attempted murder because the reasonable assumption is that you have attempted to cease the function of a vital organ for however long the brain is unable to respond.

I think society is missing the bigger picture which is someone is making another often permanently impaired at some level which is an assault on everyone since we all share the expense of the crime and treatment. Sometimes catastrophic medical care and dependency.

interracial crimes are not automatically hate crimes,, so this would be prosecuted as an assault UNLESS there is shown to be a specific bias as motive,, like the persons race or sexuality or gender

Well it shows the quality of the legal system. Why make something very easily proved reckless endangerment or even attempted murder, as a race issue?

Medical doctors will confirm every time a person is knocked out an amount of brain damage is dealt, and there is a chance of maiming injury, coma or death.

That's reckless endangerment at the least, attempted murder at its most callous. Those are serious charges.
So why abandon serious charges and make it a race thing. Nobody gets serious penalties for racism so it's really just downsizing to a lesser charge.
I find that abhorrent, personally. It means the US legal system doesn't give a hoot whether people are bashing each other's skulls in for giggles on the street.

Mostly it is an act of cowardice. I mean, they even do women!

Charge 'em with attempted murder.

Perhaps if there was a law making it ok for bystanders to shoot "knockout game" players ...

Among many blacks perpetrators these assaults are known as "polar bear hunting and are definitely racially based which by definition makes them hate crimes. They should be charged accordingly just like the white guy in Texas who was targeting elderly black men to find a victim to assault.

If white perpetrators start referring to assaulting black people as "black bear hunting" they should face hate crime charges.

However I'm inclined to believe the severity of the punishment associated with a hate crime charge will not have any impact on reducing the crime. The consequences of being convicted of murder hasn't had a notable effect on the murder rate.

actually, in the US, if one is charged with a crime as a hate crime, it automatically 'upgrades' the offense,, it doesn't result in any lesser charge,,,

basically, regardless of the race of the offender, if there is a racial element determined,,it can be charged as a hate crime

For some reason, only news that comes out is Caucasians being charged with hate crimes against Negros.

Hmmmmmm.

not really,,,


this thread is case in point,,,lol

This thread isn't news.

really? so is it a first person account?,.lol

No, it is a Mingle2 account.

Fox, CNN, ABC, NBC, etc., are news agencies.

Some report and some do not according to their agenda.

Polar Bear hunting is a hate crime.