Let it be a lesson to all good Samaritans: Kids will be kids. Sometimes, they will also be hoodlums.
A week ago today, an unidentified off-duty 38-year-old firefighter confronted six teens who were harassing an elderly couple on a Manhattan street. His punishment for spoiling their “fun” was a beating that resulted in a trip to the hospital where he was treated for a concussion, broken teeth, and wounds that required 25 stitches.
After delivering the beat-down, the teens literally danced down the street, laughing and smiling, not a care in the world.
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NYPD looking for 6 smiling teenagers who allegedly attacked an off-duty firefighter who tried to stop them from harassing an elderly couple in Manhattan over the weekend – WNBC
The victim suffered a concussion & broken teeth.
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 21, 2019
The merry-making ended for one of the teens on Wednesday when he was arrested by New York City Police based on a surveillance video. He has been identified as Damir Johnson, 17, and faces a charge of second-degree assault.
An ARREST has been made re: the May 18 assault in the @NYPD19Pct. The subject, a 17-yr-old male, is in custody. The victim, an @FDNY firefighter who acted as a good samaritan, continues to recover from serious injuries. We thank him for his actions & wish him a swift recovery. pic.twitter.com/eB8lyfDJzW
— Chief Dermot F. Shea (@NYPDDetectives) May 23, 2019
As WABC reports, Johnson was no longer smiling when he was perp-walked past a line of New York’s bravest as he was escorted in handcuffs out of the 19th precinct on his way to juvenile hall.
Johnson has three prior arrests, for grand larceny, robbery, and attempted robbery. All three have come since January of this year.
If there is anything positive to come out of this story, it is the source of the CrimeStoppers tip that ultimately led police to the teen’s Harlem apartment, where he was arrested. That tip came from the Johnson’s own mother.