Bystander intervention training can save a life
Last month, I was one of a hundred New Yorkers who peacefully protested anti-Asian racism in Times Square. We marched to 360 West 43rd Street, the Midtown Manhattan luxury building whose security guards sparked national outrage after footage showed them closing the door on 65-year-old Vilma Kari as she was brutally attacked by 38-year-old Brandon Elliot. While the security guards did emerge to assist Kari after Elliot left and flagged down a NYPD car, they were fired for not following “emergency and safety protocols,” including calling 911 or an ambulance.
On her mother’s GoFundMe page, Elizabeth Kari thanked the anonymous bystander across the street “who yelled and screamed to get the assailant’s attention.” Elliot said anti-Asian slurs and repeatedly stomped on Kari’s head and chest, fracturing her pelvis and contusing her head, before crossing the street towards the bystander intentionally distracting him. It’s hard to imagine what further potentially fatal damage Elliot could have unleashed on Kari, half his size, had he not been interrupted.