[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0E4hySPj6Y[/youtube]
I told you yesterday that 40% of mobile terminal thefts that take place in New York have iDevices in the foreground and now we have it proof the fact that citizens have the power to stop such actions. The story focuses on a woman whose iPhone was stolen from her hand by a thief who was then run away and caught by several citizens who witnessed the whole scene. Some of them were injured trying to catch the thief, but in the end they managed to corner him and hold him until a police crew arrived to arrest him.
"I was surfing through the Internet, and this guy just snatched it," she said. "She was screaming, 'Help!' Hester told The Post. "They were wrestling. He snatched the phone and pushed her." Hester — who sells office space when he's not battling bad guys — sprung into action. "I just ran," he said. "My coffee went everywhere, and my phone fell out of my pocket." Bunn was the first to grab Udell, 26, but hurt his knee in the attempted citizen's arrest. Hester then knocked the suspect to the ground but got slightly dazed himself in the fall. That's when a crowd of other outraged bystanders started to gather, and one man stomped his foot onto Udell's throat. Hester said he actually had to hold off angry onlookers. In the process, Udell jumped up and once again bolted. Hester chased him a second time, catching him on Barclay Street near West Broadway. "I was like, 'I don't have all day to be chasing you,'" Hester said he told Udell. Hester then held Udell until the cops arrived. "Thieves need to know, 'You're not going to get away with this in broad daylight,'" Hester, of Wayne NJ, said.
I don't know how many cities in the world the citizens would be able to make such a gesture, but in New York anything is possible.
