Posted on 08/17/2004 11:33:54 AM PDT by KC_Conspirator
Fatal Beating of Bar Owner by Homeless Man in Tulsa, Okla., Sparks War Against Indigents
The Associated Press
TULSA, Okla. Aug. 17, 2004 — A homeless man's fatal beating of a brass-knuckle-wielding bar owner has triggered something approaching a war against Tulsa's homeless population. T-shirts around town blast homeless people with a four-letter word, and some people are warning of vigilante justice. Downtown bar owners have stapled wanted posters to telephone poles with a picture of Terry Badgewell, the man who used a length of pipe to kill Deadtown Tavern owner Shawn Howard.
A prosecutor said the killing was self defense and refused to file charges, but the victim's family is gathering thousands of signatures on a petition to force a grand jury investigation.
"We're very committed," said Howard's mother, Kay. "Shawn deserves this."
Meanwhile, Tulsa's homeless are feeling the heat. Michael Cypert, 31, who usually stays at a Salvation Army shelter near downtown, said patrons of the Deadtown Tavern chased him away from the area during a memorial for Howard a few days after his June 25 death.
Police have warned homeless people to stay away from the bar, and Cypert said has seen people downtown wearing "F--- the homeless" T-shirts handed out by bar owners.
"I think it's crazy to say 'F--- the homeless.' I don't think it's right," he said. "Most of the people I see around here are either mentally ill or have family problems. We don't panhandle over there or anything."
Badgewell left Tulsa after the wanted signs and T-shirts surfaced, said his attorney, Steve Hjelm. He won't say where Badgewell has gone for fear of retribution.
"We took it as a kind of vigilante effort," Hjelm said.
It started in the wee hours of June 24, when Howard and bar manager Josh Martin left the Deadtown Tavern wearing brass knuckles, as usual, for protection against the many vagabonds and drug dealers who inhabit the dimly lit neighborhood.
A fight began with Badgewell, who was resting in a warehouse stairwell across the street. Howard struck Badgewell in the jaw, and the homeless man grabbed a pipe and began swinging.
How it started is unclear. Martin said he and Howard encountered Badgewell while chasing two crack dealers away. District Attorney Tim Harris said the pair told Badgewell to leave the spot where he was preparing to sleep, starting an exchange of words that escalated into violence.
Police called to the scene about 4:30 that morning found Howard unconscious in the parking lot. He died of head injuries the next day.
Badgewell, 38, was arrested on two complaints of assault with a deadly weapon, but he was released June 30 after Harris declined to file charges.
"It is a tragic, tragic deal," Harris said. "But under Oklahoma's law, he has a right to defend himself with as much force as he thinks is necessary."
The Howard family and fellow bar owners were outraged, saying Howard was chased down and bashed repeatedly in the back of the head.
"It just really makes me sick to my stomach that Harris could even consider this self defense, that this man is released into the community," Kay Howard said.
Martin said the decision would spur Tulsans to take vigilante justice against the city's many homeless, who comprise the vast majority of downtown residents after dark. Estimates on the number of homeless in Tulsa at any given time range from 700 to 1,500 in a city of nearly 400,000.
"It's actions like the sort of inaction that's being taken that leads people to chase bums around the back of buildings in downtown Tulsa," Martin said.
Sandra Holden, executive director for the Day Center for the Homeless, said she has warned those who stay at her shelter five blocks from the tavern against sleeping outside while tensions are high.
"Those kinds of things (posters and the T-shirts) concern me greatly," Holden said. "Backlash is a very serious problem. We have seen some of that happening as a result of this incident."
Hjelm maintains that Badgewell, whom he describes as a "cordial" and "soft-spoken man," was merely acting to defend himself.
"Who can say with any degree of certainty what you would do if you were in a deserted warehouse at 4:30 in the morning and two armed men with brass knuckles attack you?" Hjelm said.
However, he thinks Howard's family will have no trouble getting the 5,000 signatures they need from registered voters to force the state attorney general to convene a grand jury, "given the media attention this case has gotten and the fact that Shawn Howard was a very well-liked man."
Hjelm warned that any indictments coming from a grand jury investigation would likely come against Martin, as the sole survivor, for assaulting Badgewell with a deadly weapon.
"It's going to force the hands of the district attorney and the grand jury to go back and look at all the offenses that were committed that night. Terry Badgewell will be exonerated."
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
They are Bums, not homeless.
>>They are Bums, not homeless.<<
Precicely.
This aint India.
Please see the first word in "Keywords".
I like to refer to them as urban outdoorsmen
What the good people of Tulsa shoudl do, IMHO, is collect funds to purchase many non-exchangeable or non-refundable Greyhound tickets to San Francisco..and hand them out..they should give each person a box lunch, $10 walking around money, and a guidebook to the City by the Bay...
WOW! There's a lot of homeless going on!! OH, I forgot, it was UTOPIA when Bubba ruled! It's Homeless, misery, third world outlook when a republican is in office....ME BAD! (sarcasm/off)
Given that the cops released the guy, I suspect there is more to this story than is reported here.
I've known lots of bar owners, but haven't met any that closed up then put on brass knuckles to leave the bar.
Seems possible to me that these two left the bar looking for a fight. I've certainly seen that happen. Homeless guys are usually pretty easy to kick the heck out of, since they're generally undernourished and often mentally ill.
Could be they picked the wrong homeless guy to rough up that night.
I'd like to hear more of the story.
There is no such thing as "the homeless" when a Democrat is in the White House.
400,000 people in Tulsa???? Really?
That's what I was wondering too.
I'm sick of the homeless here in JAX. They like to walk their woven wire wheeled homes (aka Grocery Carts) down the middle of the road, and they DO panhandle, normally around restaurants downtown around lunch.
I do feel slightly bad for them, but I believe homeless are that way because of choices THEY have made over the years or just straight out CHOOSE to stay on the street.
Also, once they know you'll give them $$$ they'll be waiting for you everyday trying to get more out of ya.............< /rant>
I was in DC this past weekend, and an "alleged" bum was sitting there watching movies on his portable DVD player. It pissed me off like you wouldn't believe.
I wonder what Martin was doing while that bum beat up his buddy.
Perhaps he was trying to do a "BumFights" reenactment.
Oklahoma is shall-issue for concealed firearm carry permits, and in most states, brass knuckles aren't considered a "defensive weapon." If the guy was concerned for his safety, pepper spray and a Glock 30 would be more sensible self-defense than brass knuckles.
But a shirt saying "F*** the Bums" might be misinterpreted.
"Anyone who wears brass knuckles is looking for trouble. If they want protection, they should carry, though I'm not sure what the OK laws are."
I don't know either, but I think you're right. I don't know about OK, but brass knuckles are illegal in most states.
I'm not saying this is not worth pursuing, but the local cops and DA held the guy and investigated and came to the conclusion that it was self-defense. Perhaps it was.
Bump to read later.
how about "GEt a job, bum"
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