Video shows people stepping over dying woman

[Secret Squirrel]

WICHITA, Kan. - As a stabbing victim lay dying on the floor of a Kansas convenience store, five shoppers, including one who stopped to take a picture of her with a cell phone, stepped over the woman, police said.

The June 23 incident, captured on a store surveillance video, received scant news coverage until a columnist for The Wichita Eagle first disclosed Tuesday the existence of the video and its contents.

Police have repeatedly refused to release the video, saying it is part of their investigation.

"It was tragic to watch," police spokesman Gordon Bassham said Tuesday. "The fact that people were more interested in taking a picture with a cell phone and shopping for snacks rather than helping this innocent young woman is, frankly, revolting."

LaShanda Calloway was stabbed during a fight at the store, but it was not part of a robbery, Bassham said. It took about two minutes for someone to call police to report the crime, he said.

Calloway, 27, died at a hospital from her injuries.

"The lack of concern for humanity over this young woman's life is deeply troubling," Bassham said.

Bassham said the district attorney's office would have to decide whether any of the shoppers could be charged.

It was uncertain what law, if any, would be applicable. A state statute for failure to render aid specifically refers only to victims of a car accident.

Two suspects arrested
Two suspects have been arrested in the stabbing. Cherish M. McCullough, 19, was charged with first-degree murder. Another suspect, who turned himself in a few days later, had not yet been charged Tuesday, according to the Sedgwick County prosecutor's office.

Eagle columnist Mark McCormick told The Associated Press he learned about the video when he called Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams to ask about a phone call he had received from a reader complaining about a Police Department policy that requires emergency medical personnel to wait until police secure a crime scene before rendering aid.

"This is just appalling," Williams told the newspaper. "I could continue shopping and not render aid and then take time out to take a picture? That's crazy. What happened to our respect for life?"

link (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19586738/)

I hope they find some way to charge the people who just stepped over this woman who died...the person who took the cell phone pic needs to be removed from society.

[MEGR]

I agree with you man. What is this World coming to? It's just plain insanity.

[KillerBD]

Thats terrible how people can act sometimes, RIP to the women who died.

[Herrmannek]

As a side note. In Poland not giving help to the person in trouble is a serious crime punished by 3years in prison... Only if there is imminent danger to the helping person or professional help is close, that person could bee freed from that responsibility...

[Con-man]

RIP, you'd think at least one person would've had the decency to call an ambulance and police in UNDER two minutes, where on earth has respect for innocent-wellbeings gone?

[Calanen]

I once walked past a park where two guys were involved in a fight. The much larger guy was pummelling the head of the guy on the ground. My kickboxing class started at 6, and I was on my way over so this was about 5.30 or so. The park in Sydney (Moore Park) is used as a shortcut to central railway station by 1000s of office workers en masse going home. A crowd of onlookers, maybe 100 people had surrounded in a semi circle, as blood splashed up from the guy on the ground while the far bigger guy punched him. I came from behind them, and grabbed the bigger guy by the biceps to pull him off, and realised that I couldn't get my hands around them. This sort of made me think, if he decides to hit me, Im in trouble.

I just said 'Cmon, you've won mate, don't kill him.' Without much more prompting, he got off him. The big guy was saying 'The guy's a dog! He said he would go to the cross with me (Kings Cross, Red Light District) and now he wont go the dog!'. I said 'Ok, you've made your point.' Shakespeare's 'Low Characters.'

I then lectured the crowd of onlookers and said 'You people should be ashamed of yourselves. This fight was going on before I got here, this man could have died and anyone of you or altogether could have helped him.' They just sort of stared and then one by one walked off. The guy on the ground started to stir and ripped his t-shirt off to use to mop the blood off, and did not want to stick around while I got an ambulance.

This was in 1994 - so a fair while ago. I imagine the situation would be exactly the same today.

[Con-man]

Ouch, I haven't seen things get quite that bad around here, there are alot of fights in Canberra, but most of the time the police are there within a few minutes. But hey, I guess live action blood sports entertain people a little too much.

[INAT]

Classic example of the Bystander effect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect

[8thidpathfinderpower]

Classic example of the Bystander effect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect


I would not say that....it is a shame when people will not get involved in someone enough to stop them from losing their life.

We have people who will drop a dime for someone who will not mow their lawn, who will drop a dime for someone who spanks their kids for misbehaving, but most people would not stop and help keep someone from dying...a very sad state of affairs indeed....





please note...spanking= spanking a kids bottom with out breaking his legs, arms, skull or killing him...thats called abuse.

[Kaapeli]

Most people do not know first aid nor have any idea how to help a stab victim correctly without any first aid equipment. And I don't think all of you have either.

Two minutes of reaction time is perfectly normal when you consider the situation where you are in a shock and your own life might be in danger too. Takes maybe a minute to asses the situation and another one to dig up your phone from your purse with shaking hands, dial 911 and get through to the often busy call center.

[Calanen]

Most people do not know first aid nor have any idea how to help a stab victim correctly without any first aid equipment. And I don't think all of you have either.


Bit of a big call - there are plenty of people with First Aid training here..ranging from the basic (i.e. just St John's First Aid Course) to the professional (like the combat medics.)

But I do accept your point that you cant really say what you would do unless this or similar has happened to you. I have never been in the position of needing to render first aid to a stabbing victim.

[Kaapeli]

Majority of the members on this forum have propably had military training and through that know the basics of first aid.
But I really meant the general populace. The average joe there on the streets is unlikely to have taken a first aid course in his life or has any fresh experience or training on the subject. And even then helping with stab wounds isn't the easiest task.

[superbuzzmetal]

Still trying to do something to help would be alot better than take pictures of the woman dying ?

[Invisigoth]

States should get some laws similar to those mentioned with regard to Poland, or like § 323c of the German penal code, which basically states that "whoever doesn't help during accidents or 'common danger', even though it would be needed or would be reasonable for him/her to do so, especially without serious danger to one's own life and without violation of other duties, will be punished with 1-year in prison or a fine."

Obviously noone is forced to risk their life by stepping in during a violent crime etc but if you get injured, for example when trying to help someone in an accident, you are insured through statutory accident insurance, which covers damages to property and health, pays for hospitalization, rehabilitation, repays loss of income and sometimes even pensions, all free of charge.

Unfortunately this is still way too vague, but I've read about a few cases where people have been sentenced because they stood by and watched people die, like in the aforementioned case. This is especially common and disgusting during car accidents. One shouldn't forget that, albeit very brief, technically every driver in Germany is required to take a mandatory basic first aid course, that teaches the absolute basic techniques required to ensure survival of accident victims.

I've personally been in a few situations where I stepped into a fight and got threatened in return, but I'd rather do that than be the victim one day and have people walk by and do nothing.

[seraosha]

Most people do not know first aid nor have any idea how to help a stab victim correctly without any first aid equipment. And I don't think all of you have either.

Two minutes of reaction time is perfectly normal when you consider the situation where you are in a shock and your own life might be in danger too. Takes maybe a minute to asses the situation and another one to dig up your phone from your purse with shaking hands, dial 911 and get through to the often busy call center.

Utter manure. Explain the person taking the time to take a cell phone pic.

[Calanen]

I've personally been in a few situations where I stepped into a fight and got threatened in return, but I'd rather do that than be the victim one day and have people walk by and do nothing.

Knowing what I know now - I would not step into that fight again 13 years on. I just would have called the cops. I see too many cases of good samaritans stepping in to stop fights and being killed for their trouble. Call me cowardly, but unarmed, its too easy to be killed in street violence. Happens every day.

When there is no danger, helping a civilian (if you know how to) is of course the right thing to do, and what I would do.

[Mastermind]

Yes...it is a sad statement on our society. But, here is a good opportunity to retell a short tale of a man who tried to be a hero. One night my employee (Dave) head a commotion outside his apartment...and shots ...he went out to find a man ****e in the parking lot, bleeding from the mouth. the man had been shot twice in the chest. Dave dashed back to his apartment, called 911 for police and ambulance and returned to the victim to render what help he could until the ambulance arrived. the man stopped breathing and Dave began administeirng mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions. A police officer arrived first and ridiculed Dave for doing what he was, warning that the bleeding man was a well known drug user and that he probably had AIDS. Dave ignored the warning and begged the officer for help, since he was rapidly tiring. The ambulance finally arrived and relieved Dave....but the man was ****ounced DOA at the hospital. Autopsy revealed the dead man did have active AIDS. Dave put the incident to the back of his mind until a year later when, during a routine physical, blood test came back positive for AIDS. There was no doubt where the infection came from....Dave died three years later of full blown AIDS...left behind two teenaged boys and a widow. He was unable to get insurance to pay for his expensive drugs and chose to not bankrupt his family for the drugs....he just surrendered to the disease. No one from the dead scumbag's family bothered to even send a note of condolence.
Moral of the story...just be careful who you help.

[Jaegermeister + Red Bull]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Funeral-held-for-Melbourne-shooting-hero/2007/06/22/1182019326060.html

We are often quick to advocate government/group intervention (whatever form or purpose it may be) often to events/issues that we do not even fully understand and/or does not directly affect ourselves, to people whom its effects we will not fully comprehend.

Yet individually few would do what the person above did for someone they barely know.

Charity begins at home.

Responsibility begins with thyself.

Change yourself, you change the world (the world can still be the same damn place it was yesterday, but you have changed, your perspective have changed, is not the world different to you?)



Argh...its not me, the above isnt me, but for some reason I felt compelled to write it. End of rant.