NYC doormen fired for not coming to aid of Asian-American woman attacked outside luxury building

[Judi Lynn]

Source: New York Daily News


By MOLLY CRANE-NEWMAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
APR 06, 2021 AT 12:29 PM

A pair of New York City doormen were fired Tuesday for failing to come to the aid of a Filipina woman who was brutally attacked in front of their eyes by a homeless ex-con who also spewed racial insults at her.

The Brodsky Organization announced the dismissals a week after video of the horrific attack surfaced, which shows the woman struggling to fend off her attacker while the doormen move quietly to close the front entrance to their luxury building.

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The men, both members of the 32BJ SEIU union, were initially suspended in the aftermath of the assault, one of a string of hate crimes in New York City and nationally in recent weeks against Asian-Americans.

An internal investigation led by Brodsky resulted in the doormen’s firing Tuesday, according to Carolina Gonzalez, 32BJ’s regional communications manager.

Read more: https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/ny-brodsky-organization-doormen-anti-asian-attack-shut-door-fired-20210406-dyz2vuwakzgh3dz2aakucq2rxi-story.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Daily%20News%20Flash&utm_content=5291617729477#nws=true

[Joinfortmill]

1. Sad situation. Poor woman.

[FailureToCommunicate]

2. Good riddance.

[ruet]

3. So This is OK to You?

No person who isn't trained and paid to do so is under any obligation to render aid to anyone. They would be putting themselves in physical and legal jeopardy to do so.

ON EDIT: The guy is a convicted murderer.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/2-doormen-fired-for-not-acting-in-brutal-nyc-beating-of-65-year-old-asian-woman/2983812/

https://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2013/12/yes-you-can-get-fired-for-being-a-good-samaritan.html
https://www.westword.com/news/16th-street-mall-mcdonalds-good-samaritan-fired-after-being-stabbed-11261822
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/25/walmart-worker-fired-helped-assault-victim/3187049/
https://people.com/crime/good-samaritan-tried-to-intervene-fight-dies-3-others-wounded-stabbing/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/good-samaritan-killed-in-arlington-last-year-was-beaten-to-death-medical-examiner-testifies/2019/06/24/47c65efa-96b7-11e9-830a-21b9b36b64ad_story.html

[FailureToCommunicate]

5. Yes. The attacker had walked away, and not only did the doormen not help her, they closed...

the door to their lobby.

So yes, I'm fine with them being fired. If companies fire employees for trying to be good Samaritans, then they should be able to for NOT helping an injured person.

Studies show that 90% of the time bystanders do attemp to render aid, whether they get injured in the process or not.

[ruet]

6. "If companies fire employees for trying to be good Samaritans,...

then they should be able to for NOT helping an injured person."

What? What does that even mean?

[FailureToCommunicate]

12. The links you listed showed companies firing people for helping.

[LanternWaste]

40. I think it means you failed to read the very links you supplied.

As well as a failure to realize that six of one is the same as half a dozen of the other.

[spooky3]

7. They should have opened the door and shouted, and called police.

Given that there were two of them, the perp likely would have been scared off, as he was when another single passerby yelled.

Even if they cared nothing about the defenseless victim, they should have been thinking about the safety of their residents and that this perp needed to be apprehended. Why would residents pay for door staff otherwise?

I’m assuming that’s what the investigation showed, and that’s why they were fired rather than brought back after suspension.

[sarisataka]

9. I would like to see those studies

Since most often I see people go about their business or film the incident

[FailureToCommunicate]

11. From Boston Globe article April 3

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/04/03/nation/would-you-jump-stop-an-assault/

"In a 2019 study published in the journal American Psychologist, researchers in Britain and the Netherlands reviewed surveillance footage of 200 violent altercations in three countries and found that bystanders had intervened about 90% of the time. In many of the instances, several strangers worked together to calm a fight.

The authors of the study found little variation in the rates of intervention in the three cities — Amsterdam; Cape Town, South Africa; and Lancaster, England — suggesting that the human impulse to help strangers despite risks to one’s own personal safety is universal.

Richard Philpot, lead author of the study, said the uniform rate of interventions was especially surprising given the climate of fear in Cape Town, a city with a comparatively higher rate of violent crime."

[sarisataka]

13. Thank you, I will read it over when I have some time

[Skittles]

19. thank you

I know I am not alone when I say I WOULD HAVE HELPED THAT WOMAN, whether or not I was working.

[oldsoftie]

34. I guess we found the 10%

[pazzyanne]

29. + 1 nt

[marble falls]

10. ...

https://newyorkinjurylaw-blog.com/good-samaritan/good-samaritan-laws-liability-for-voluntary-acts-new-york-personal-injury-attorney/

[Auggie]

16. Agreed

I'd do everything I could to aid the victim and call for assistance, but no way I'm going to try to subdue the attacker unless it's a clear matter of life and death ... and even that decision is a bit of gray area.

Anyone can be tough on a message board. It's different on the street.

[Skittles]

20. see I already know, because I have already done it

I jumped on the guy's back.

[Auggie]

31. It worked out in your instance. Congratulations. (n/t)

[Skittles]

33. I didn't think twice

pure instinct

obviously not the case for.....many others

[Auggie]

35. You're one tough cookie!

[Skittles]

37. I think five brothers did the trick

heh

[oldsoftie]

38. They did nothing even after the attacker left.

[pnwmom]

23. According to the NBC article, they waited till the attacker had left before they even

flagged down a police vehicle.

Why the hell didn't they instantly call 911? That wouldn't have put them at any risk. They didn't have to wait till the attacker left to do that.

[oldsoftie]

32. Bullshit. Being HUMAN means doing SOMETHING

The attacker was LONG gone. It was obvious.
Its paramount that we all TRY to help someone in that state.
Plus, these guys were supposed to be SECURITY. I guess they shouldnt have done anything if someone walked into their bldg either.

[YorkRd]

4. Glad to see this.

It seemed the doorman’s negligence was part of the crime.

[sarisataka]

8. Pretty much was the outcome

No matter what they did.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. It this case, doing would have been morally better

[wryter2000]

18. You don't think the two of them could have chased the attacker off?

It seems to me they could have stopped it, even if they couldn't have prevented the first blows.

[LisaL]

27. The attacker killed his own mother.

I don't know why you assumed he would have just run off. He also had a knife (he killed his mother using a knife, by the way).

[wryter2000]

55. Two big guys

Versus one guy with a knife. If he'd had a gun, yes.

[sarisataka]

42. They may have chased him off

But they still would likely have been fired

[SharonClark]

45. How do you know that!

[sarisataka]

49. I worked as a security guard

For a couple years. We had strict rules about what sort of actions we could take; mostly it was summed up as 'be a good witness'.

Interfering in a physical attack (especially outside of the property you are responsible for) could make the company liable for any injuries to any party. Taking such action would have been immediatel termination.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

52. Exactly ... their chances of not being fired if this video had NOT gone viral

would've been better given what they did vs. what they morally should've done.

The fact that it went viral is WHY they got fired.

Nobody should kid themselves on this point.

[pnwmom]

24. They didn't even call 911. They waited till the attacker left before flagging down a police car. nt

[pnwmom]

25. If they had quickly called 911, the police might have arrived sooner. n/t

[sarisataka]

43. Unless the cop was across the street

The attacker would have been gone before they arrived.

[pnwmom]

44. How do you know? Do you know how many minutes from the beginning to the end?

I didn't see that.

And the security man couldn't have known how long the attack would take AHEAD OF TIME, so he should have immediately called 911 instead of waiting to run outside and flag down a police car till AFTER the attacker ran away.

[sarisataka]

47. I saw the video of the attack

It took about 15 seconds from the first kick to him walking away.

[pnwmom]

54. And then the security people closed the door between the prone victim

and the hotel, instead of immediately running out to assist her.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

14. I'd bet the Brodsky Organization gets sued and loses.

The doormen are in a union. I'd bet their job description includes "protect the building from outside havoc", and doesn't include "help non-residents who are outside".

Ok, they're no heroes, but did they commit a "firing offense"?

Their union should help them with lawyers, etc.

Solidarity forever.

[renate]

17. I must reluctantly concede that that's a good point

Their actions afterwards matter, though... I hope they called the police or went back outside to help her after the guy left. (I don't know what they did so I'm genuinely open to information.)

[wryter2000]

21. Good point

They might have called 911 while it was going on. I hope.

[oldsoftie]

39. Yeah, THAT will get the union a lot more public support.

Stuff like this is exactly what gives anti-union views more power

[SharonClark]

46. Exactly.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

51. I suspect you're correct, depending on their job description ...

They're total wussies (at least of them was a big boy too), and worthy of public and private scorn, but not sure this is a legit firing offense.

[FlyingPiggy]

15. Good. What they did was an affront to basic human decency.

Absolutely shameful.

[Jimvanhise]

22. A narrow job description

Some years ago at the San Diego Comicon, they had hired people to help with convention security due to the crowding. A fight broke out when some people tried to cut the line and sneak into the room where Halley Berry was appearing. When someone asked them to do something, the security people said, "We were hired for crowd control, not to break up fights." Convention volunteers (people who work to get free admission) had to come and break up the fight. I don't think that security company was rehired the next year.

[LisaL]

26. Can you really require people to interfere during an attack?

The attacker (a guy who spend years in prison for killing his own mother) was clearly dangerous.

[SharonClark]

48. No one knew that during the attack.

The guys who were fired hurt the image of the company by failing to take action to defend a woman who was slammed and kicked by that lunatic.

It infuriates me that there are people on DU who are defending those two.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

53. They hurt the image of the company because the video went viral ...

Which no one knew during the attack either.

They infuriated me as well, and I said so on the thread that night.

They should be shunned by polite society, but I don't know that it was right to fire them if their job is to protect the building and its residents. Many people in these jobs are strictly told they're not to get involved with what goes on outside the doors.

To me it depends on their job description and what they were instructed by their superiors to do if there's crimes outside the door.

This is not to 'defend them', they're freaking cowards ... but rather a elaboration of what I suspect the Union contract would dictate

I suspect the Union will get them other jobs fairly quickly. Unfortunately, there are plenty of building owners who'd look at that video and go 'you know, that's unfortunate, but that's exactly what I'd want my doormen to do'.

[llashram]

28. good!!!

[JenniferJuniper]

30. "Look outside the window,

There's a woman being grabbed,
They've dragged her to the bushes
And now she's being stabbed.
Maybe we should call the cops,
Try to stop the pain.
But Monopoly is so much fun, I'd hate to blow the game.

And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody,
Outside of a small circle of friends."

[vanamonde]

36. touche

Weird, can't put an acute é in the title.

[Polybius]

41. This is a real though one, but it's not in his job description

I remember when I was about 20, working in a diner doing the overnight shift. I go to the lobby and see two guys and two woman (the guys and women were two separate tables coming in), and late 20's or so. One of the women rejected one of the guys hitting on her, and apparently said something to piss him off. The guy starts screaming in the woman's face, telling her to STFU or he's gonna beat the shit out of her. I wanted to jump in, but I knew there wasn't a damn thing I could have done at the time. Had I said something, I would have gotten my ass kicked.

Some people are just no match to do anything. The doormen probably weren't fighters, and wouldn't have been able to do much to stop an ex-murderer.

Now, if I was Brock Lesnar (UFC beast), I would have thrown that jerkoff through his car windshield. But sad to say, I'm not.

[dalton99a]

50. Fuck them. They never bothered to call 911.

Assholes

[ruet]

56. One for the Mob

Longer video clip of hellacious NYC beatdown shows two lobby workers helping victim, flagging down cop

A longer video clip of a heinous attack on an elderly woman as she walked by a residential building in Hell’s Kitchen shows lobby workers who initially shut the door as the beatdown unfolded later went outside to help the victim and flag down a cop.

The extended clip was released to the Daily News Wednesday by The Brodsky Organization, owners of the building at 360 W. 43rd St. near Ninth Ave. — the same day paroled killer Brandon Elliot, 38, was arrested in the horrifying assault.

Video released by the NYPD after the Monday attack ends with a doorman at the building closing the door after seeing the woman on the ground and her attacker walking away — footage that triggered an outpouring of criticism from New Yorkers who viewed the damning clip.

The fucking instant knee-jerk reactivity and mob mentality of this site has gotten out of hand. Most of the responses in this thread are the very antithesis of what being a liberal has historically meant. I'm going to take a little time off from DU and decide if this is a place I want to devote any energy to. Don't bother posting some spur-of-the-moment contrivance to justify your position. I don't care.

[Ron Obvious]

57. Thanks. Completely agree.

It isn't just this site, of course. It's all over social media and every discussion site: mob outrage all the time. I'm sick of it too.