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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44848642/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/?GT1=43001#.TpPN4f5CqU8
Superhero arrested for breaking up an alleged fight among street dancers
Instead of the bad guys, it was Seattle's most prolific self-styled superhero that ended up in handcuffs.
Police officers arrested the 23-year-old man who calls himself Phoenix Jones early Sunday after he was accused of assaulting several people with pepper spray. He was booked in county jail on four counts of assault, with arraignment set for Thursday, police said Monday.
Jones, who wears a black mask with yellow stripes and a bulging muscle bodysuit inspired by his comic book hero Batman, whose costume mimics that of Nightwing, the current alter ego of former Batman sidekick - Robin, said he was only trying to stop a street brawl.
Video: http://www.vimeo.com/30307440
"Just because he's dressed up in costume, it doesn't mean he's in special consideration or above the law. You can't go around pepper spraying people because you think they are fighting," said Seattle police spokesman Det. Mark Jamieson.
In capital letters, Jones wrote on his Facebook page that said he wouldn't "ever assault or hurt another person if they were not causing harm to another human being."
Phoenix with his side-kicks, Ghost and Pitch Black
(Aka "Batman", "Robin", and "Nightwing")
Jones was accompanied on patrol by a second superhero, known as Ghost, videographer Ryan McNamee, and Milwaukee-based writer Tea Krulos, who is writing a book about real-life superheroes.
Krulos told msnbc.com that the entourage definitely came across a brawl.
"Six or seven guys were beating up two other guys," Krulos said, adding he heard "loud, aggressive noises." One victim was thrown to the ground and kicked in the ribs. "Two other guys were wrestling with each other but not in a playful way -- and people were screaming."
"Nobody was dancing, it was not ambiguous, there was definitely fighting," he said.
"I was on the phone calling 911 and a guy came up to me and punched me in the face; Ryan was also punched," Krulos said.
Two women who were apparently girlfriends of attackers punched Phoenix Jones after they were caught in the pepper spray cloud, Krulos said. Jones appeared uninjured, he said.
Jones and his group ran to the nearby waterfront Washington ferry terminal to seek shelter as members of the group that was fighting followed, Krulos said. Two from the brawling group hopped in an Escalade, followed Jones, and threw stones at him, Krulos said.
The Escalade pulled under a nearby viaduct as two patrol cars pulled up, he said.
The often shaky video shows Jones and Ghost running toward a group of people. Jones said there was a fight in the group. Police said there's no indication there was a fight.
The footage goes on to show Jones breaking up the group. Then a woman screams at him, hitting him with her high-heel shoes. Jones appears to be holding his pepper spray canister. Moments later a BMW car appears and speeds away on the street, almost hitting an unidentified man. Jones chases after the car to get the license number. A person with Jones is heard calling police to report a hit-and-run.
Jones and his followers then approach the rest of the group down the block. A woman screams at them to "stay away." Another woman runs up to Jones and hits him, screaming at him, "You sprayed (expletive) pepper spray in my eye!"
Two men in the group approach Jones, who then appears to pepper spray them.
Jones in an interview on Seattle radio station KISW blamed his arrest on one officer who doesn't like him and denied any wrongdoing.
"I'm never gonna pepper spray a group of people for dancing," he said. He added that he didn't respond to the assault by the woman with the high-heel shoes, claiming she delivered 38 blows to his head.
"I don't touch women," he said.
On his Facebook page, Jones has nearly 4,400 friends, and says that he's married to a woman with the name PurpleReign.
Police weren't buying his Phoenix Jones handle, however. He was booked under Benjamin John Francis Fodor. Authorities are also keeping his suit, at least for the time being.
It has been publicly reported that Phoenix Jones has a criminal record that includes 22 different violations. The majority are for minor traffic violations, mostly speeding tickets. He has been cited 6 times for driving without a license, driving without insurance, or driving with his license suspended.
ing mayhem down there. I didn't watch the whole 13 minutes but geez. Definitely looked like a fight to me, and why would someone almost get run over for dancing?