Bernard Goetz, known as the subway vigilante, shot four teenagers he believed were going to mug him. He felt the system failed to protect the public and invested too much in prosecuting him. He was acquitted of attempted murder but served eight months for carrying a weapon.
Bernard Goetz, after suffering a brutal beating from the robbers and not receiving justice, later took the law into his own hands. Nicknamed the subway vigilante by the press, Bernard Goetz shot four teenagers whom he described as thugs. He said he believed they intended to attack him because they surrounded him in a menacing way and told him to give them money.
He believed he was literally about to be mugged. They claimed they were simply begging. Because the teenagers were black and Bernard Goetz was white, there was also racial tension associated with the case.
Bernard Goetz said he was “offended” by the system, a system that allowed the public to be preyed upon, but then treated them like a criminal for defending themselves. That the system invested so many resources in prosecuting him, but so few in protecting the public and assisting victims, was incomprehensible to him. Many people have supported his position. Others believed he was a racist or no better than a thug for shooting the boys.
Goetz felt that the New York City subway, and New York City itself, was dangerous and lawless at the time. He said people could not expect help from the authorities and that the police had been told not to make arrests because the courts and prisons were overburdened. He refused to live in fear or take another brutal beating without fighting back. He said he didn’t regret what he did. He admitted it hadn’t been good for his life, but at the same time he felt it was a turning point for New York and that he had come out good.
While it is not advisable for people to become vigilant, many agreed that Bernard Goetz’s actions forced the authorities to take action. Some have even offered money to help pay for his defense. Bernard Goetz was acquitted of attempted murder, but was convicted of carrying a weapon. The jury found that he had the right to use the gun but did not have the right to carry it. Goetz served eight months in prison for carrying the gun.
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