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A shocking video shows the moment an innocent dog walker was left unable to work after being mugged by a group of homeless people in San Diego’s Ocean Beach neighborhood.
Resident nurse and anesthetist Woody Boethel, 50, was violently punched and kicked by at least four men who demanded money while walking his dog last month.
Police say one of the men has since been arrested, but area residents say they still fear the growing number of similar incidents among the area’s homeless population.
“I told them to leave me alone or there’s going to be a big problem, not just that night, but the rest of the time because we’re not going to put up with this in this city anymore,” Boethel said. NBC San Diego.
The shocking video shows four men attacking Woody Boethel while he was walking his dog in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego.
The spontaneous attack took place on November 18 along Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach, a typically vibrant street with local shops and restaurants.
Dajour Hardaway, 24, has since been arrested and booked into the San Diego County Jail, while warrants have been issued for the other suspects in the case.
Video of the attack was shared with local media by the owner of Hodad’s, the restaurant Boethel jumped in front of.
Boethel had been walking his dog, seen in the video, down Newport Avenue when the four individuals asked him for money, to which he said no.
The group then turned violent, dominating punches and kicks, even kicking the dog as they went to kick Boethel, a nurse anesthetist who said she was unable to work after suffering a hand injury in the attack.
The dog even tries to stop the group of men, repeatedly barking and biting them. At one point, Boethel is dragged by the neck and crashes into a car.
Boethel (red jacket) was repeatedly punched and kicked by the group of men in the video.
The dog with Boethel tried to intervene in the fight several times, even kicking him at one point.
The victim was dragged by the neck and rammed into a car on the street.
“I thought I was going to die… my life was in danger,” Boethel said. SBC 8. “They surrounded me and I said, ‘You better leave me alone…I just want to go home.'”
Residents and business owners say incidents like this aren’t isolated either.
“This is becoming commonplace in OB, which is really unfortunate,” Hodad’s manager Chris Saltzman told local media.
“During business hours, fights break out and problems break out all the time.”
Woody Boethel suffered a hand injury during the attack and was unable to work
‘The city needs to take control of the situation. Todd Gloria, Jen Campbell — This is anarchy. It’s out of control,” Boethel said of the mayor and city councilwoman.
In a statement to local media, San Diego Police Department Lt. Adam Sharki said the matter is under investigation and they are working to ensure the city and its residents are safe.
“We understand why this incident is distressing for our community. The video is hard to watch
‘The San Diego Police Department will continue to respond quickly to calls for service and work proactively to keep our neighborhoods safe. This is an active investigation.
While the suspects in this attack remain at large, our detectives have identified persons of interest and are working to build a case against those involved,” he said in a November statement.
This is the spot outside Hodad’s restaurant in Ocean Beach where a man was brutally attacked by a group of homeless men.
The attack comes as the city and state at large experience a homeless crisis of massive proportions.
In February, San Diego County Regional Task Force on Homelessness reported an estimated 8,400 homeless people citywide, while some Dear indicate that California has as many as 174,000 homeless people statewide.
By comparison, in 2015, the state had approximately 115,000 residents who did not have a stable place to live.
“We have to solve this rotten core in central California, which is that we are short a million units of extremely low-income worker housing,” said Margot Kushel, director of the UCSF Benioff Homeless and Housing Initiative.
California has up to 174,000 homeless people statewide
In 2015, the state had approximately 115,000 residents who did not have a stable place to live.
Less than 24 hours after taking office, newly elected Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared a state of emergency Monday, fulfilling a campaign promise to take action against the homelessness epidemic on her first day in office. The charge.
In a press release sent out by her office Monday, the Democratic mayor confirmed the statement was issued as she seeks to alleviate the growing number of homeless people in Los Angeles.
Bass said Monday that he is “using the emergency order is our ability to speed things up.”
He also added: “My mandate is to move Los Angeles in a new direction with an urgent and strategic approach to solving one of our city’s most difficult challenges and creating a brighter future for all Angelenos.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared a state of emergency over the city’s ongoing homelessness crisis Monday, less than 24 hours after taking office.
In October, Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino described in gruesome detail to Dr. Phil how children in his city are forced to “step over needles” and “human waste” on their way to the school.
The TV doctor discussed recently passed legislation on his show that aims to address the growing and dangerous tent cities in Los Angeles.
“At a recent Los Angeles city council meeting, members voted to ban homeless people from setting up tents within 500 feet of schools and day care centers,” he said.
But not everyone is happy with the steps being taken to address the city’s difficult problems with homelessness.
“Protesters at one point closed the meeting, angered by new restrictions that will expand the number of places where sleeping and camping are prohibited,” he continued.
A mother walks her children to school near the homeless encampment near Larchmont Charter School in Hollywood
Another mother was seen taking her high school-age daughter to school through a homeless encampment in Los Angeles.
In Sacramento, the state capital, there were more than 5,000 people without shelter, categorized as those living in vehicles and tents, as of June.
Another Northern California city, San Francisco, reported just over 4,400 homeless people.
The latest numbers surprise Sacramento, which has a total population of 525,000 compared to San Francisco’s 874,000.
Many of the eviction protections in place during the COVID-19 pandemic have also ended, exacerbating the current homelessness crisis in the state.
Sacramento’s homeless population has skyrocketed in recent years, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic
In Sacramento, the state capital, there were more than 5,000 people without shelter as of June 2022.