In late August 2012, Rain Dove, a 22-year-old unarmed woman, saved the life of a man who was being savagely beaten in Oakland, California. Several men attacked a man and his female friend. Ms. Dove said, “There were about 40 people around, so at first I didn’t think anything horrible would happen.” But two men slammed the female friend against a wall, and the other men attacked the man and kicked him in the head several times. Ms. Dove said, “I asked the guy next to me why no one was helping, and he said that ‘there’s an unspoken policy in Oakland that we let things happen and clean up afterwards.’ Right then, I ran across the street and pulled two of the guys off of him who were kicking his face in.” She applied pressure to try to stop the bleeding, and some of the men fled. She said, “It’s a really humbling feeling when pieces of someone’s brain fall into your hand.” Some of the men yelled at and sexually harassed Ms. Dove. Witness Damien Hazel said, “She told them, ‘You’ve done enough. You can either keep threatening me, a defenseless unarmed woman trying to provide medical services to a dying man, or you can go get this guy some water like a decent human being.’” One attacker got water for the victim. Mr. Hazel said, “I was really proud of him for helping out and trying to redeem himself.” Police arrived, but by then the attackers had fled. Ms. Dove said, “I don’t know if I’m going to meet [the victim]. I just hope that he and his girlfriend are OK and that they get to go on another date.”
For More Information: Carolyn Copeland, “Woman braved angry mob to stop attack, witness says.” San Francisco Examiner (California). 3 September 2012 <http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/crime/2012/09/woman-braved-angry-mob-stop-attack-witness-says>.
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