Posted on 09/04/2009 6:42:54 PM PDT by Chet 99
Ventura County Sheriff’s authorities released a recording of the 9-1-1 call made after a Newbury Park man had part of his left little finger bitten off during a pro-healthcare-reform rally in Thousand Oaks this week.
The recording, which is posted on the Ventura County Star’s Web site, has Scott Bush telling the 9-1-1 dispatcher that there has been a fight. Bush was standing with William Rice, whose left pinky was bit off near the second knuckle during a scuffle.
“A gentleman’s finger has been bitten off, and I have the finger wrapped up in a napkin,” Bush said. He said he wanted to find out what hospital Rice was taken to “so that we can get his finger sewn back on.”
The dispatcher then asked what kind of vehicle Rice was transported in. Bush responded that he didn’t know, and said he was very surprised when he learned that part of Rice’s finger had been bitten off. He said the stump of the severed finger was “dripping blood.”
He described looking for the severed finger. “It must be around here somewhere unless the gentleman swallowed it,” Bush told the dispatcher as he searched.
Bush later found the severed fingered, which measured about an inch, some 20 feet away. He said he took the finger to Los Robles Hospital.
Sheriff’s investigators also released a short video showing the suspected finger-biter walking away from the rally at Lynn Road and Hillcrest Drive. The man was wearing a dark shirt and shorts and a blue baseball cap.
“Anybody know who he was?” another man asked as the biter walked away.
Police had yet to identify the biter as of Friday afternoon.
The fight came as a small group of counter-protestors showed up at Wednesday’s vigil. The vigil, which included about 100 people, was organized by MoveOn.org.
There were about 15 counter-protestors, witnesses said.
Witnesses said Rice got into a heated argument with one of those supporting health-care reform.
Rice later walked back to his group. The unidentified man then walked over and verbally confronted him, witnesses said, allegedly calling him names and acting aggressively.
Rice told police he felt threatened by the man and punched him in the nose. A fight ensued and part of Rice’s finger was bitten off, witnesses told police.
Thousand Oaks police later said Rice drove himself to Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks. The bitten-off portion of his finger was taken to the hospital.
Doctors told Rice they could not reattach his pinky because of high bacterial levels that came from the bite.
Rice said he did not plan to participate in any demonstration on Wednesday. He said he was driving by when he saw Code Pink members, an anti-war group many composed of women.
Rice, whose son is a Marine Corps officer, said he stopped to see if the group was protesting the military.
After briefly speaking with the group, Rice said he was leaving, satisfied they were not protesting the military.
He said a man wapproached him, walking over from the MoveOn.org group. The man asked if the group supported a public health insurer option. Members responded “no,” Bush said.
Rice told the man he didn’t want the government involved in anything and the man moved toward Rice and yelled, “You’re an idiot,” Bush said.
Bush said Rice hit the man and the man then pulled Rice into the street.
The fight lasted only a few seconds, Bush said. Afterward, he heard Rice say, “He bit my finger off.”
The perp has to be either an knuckledragging ACORN or a Neanderthal union thug.
That’s awful! What kind of thug bites his opponent?
Mike Tyson?
> That’s awful! What kind of thug bites his opponent?
A Marxist. That’s who.
If Rice was the first one to turn a verbal conflict into a physical one, I really don't give a cr*p that he lost the tip of his pinky. Maybe it'll help him remember to keep his hands/fists to himself. If somebody calls you an "idiot" and you respond by hitting or punching them, you've just proved their point.
Yeah, that’s right, let some guy intimidate you. You don’t have a right to defend yourself, wait until he kills you before you lift a hand. That way nobody can say you started it.
You really aren't required by law to wait until the punk smacks into you to protect yourself.
I hope you understand how this works ~ alas, having debated you before I am not at all surprised that you would find reasons to justify cannibalism.
Given that description, he may have been justified
***Bush later found the severed fingered, which measured about an inch, some 20 feet away. He said he took the finger to Los Robles Hospital. ***
Hope they got a good DNA saliva sample from the finger!
Anyone have a description of the biter, not just of his clothes?
LOL
Gotta love a guy who gets part of a finger bitten off and then drives himself to the hospital. Don't make them like him anymore. Especially since he's a Medicare recipient and could have gotten a free, government-paid ambulance trip. Bless'em.
I wasn’t there and there apparently isn’t any video of the actual incident. But if witness reports are correct that the first physical contact was initiated by Rice, who punched the biter-to-be in the nose, then I’m not sympathetic to Rice. It doesn’t help our cause to have people going to rallies and protests as opponents of socialized medicine and initiating violence there. If you really feel threatened by someone who is yelling insults at you, you’re an idiot if you think punching them in the nose will make you safer, especially if you’re elderly and not very strong, and the person you’re punching is younger and stronger. This can easily set off a violent melee in which a lot of innocent people get hurt. If a pit bull is growling and baring its fangs at you, don’t try to smack it in the face — you’ll be lucky if it only bites your finger off.
And I’m not “justifying cannibalism”. Obviously I don’t think anyone should have bitten this guy’s finger off, but even if they track down the biter, the biter will have a much stronger “self-defense” claim than Rice, who started the physical phase of the altercation by throwing a punch.
I’m with you one this one. I wasn’t there....BUT Rice threw the first punch. On the second punch he left his finger in the guys mouth.
Dear, “I really don’t give a cr*p that he lost the tip of his pinky...type of guy.
I believe this falls under the term of Mayhem; California Penal Code Section 203
“Every person who unlawfully and maliciously deprives a human being of a member of his body, or disables, disfigures, or renders it useless, or cuts or disables the tongue, or puts out an eye, or slits the nose, ear, or lip, is guilty of mayhem.”
This is a felony! To the fact that, the aggressor pursued Mr. Rice, then indirectly attacked him, once Mr. Rice fearing for his safety attempted to defend himself. Only a useful idiot would make statements regarding not giving a cr*p. So, what does this say about freedom from tyranny?
The libtard's fondest hope is that we continue to engage them in "dialogue". Since their arguments for the most part are based on tightly held feelings, no amount of reasoned and rational "dialogue" will affect them in the least; it's a waste of time. They can continue their foaming-at-the-mouth diatribes and animated, in-your-face behavior without fear of reprisal. And since they didn't get punched out, they feel they won the contest. It only emboldens them to move on to the next encounter.
Libtard's greatest fear is that conservatives will move beyond pointless "dialogue" and begin to engage them in a more proactive manner.
I don't know about where you come from but around these parts, getting in someone's face is tantamount to asking them to step outside. It's sort of an unwritten law. If you're inclined to shoot your mouth off, you best be prepared for a bare-knuckle contest.
What does “indirectly attacked” mean, and how do you know this is what the biter did before he was punched? Were you there? If so, I suggest you go give a statement to the police who are investigating this incident, and tell them exactly what you saw.
Calling somebody an “idiot” isn’t an attack, no matter how loud you shout it or how close the shouter is to the target of the insult. It’s rude and obnoxious, but it doesn’t justify a physical assault in response.
It’s a felony to shoot somebody too, but not if they physically attacked you first.
At the age of 65 no law assumes you can just run away.
And yes, you are attempting to justify cannibalism if commited by a Democrat
The person who bit off that man’s finger was probably a member of Code Pinky.
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