NEW YORK – […] “I hit a lady on the head in self-defense,” Baldwin wrote in a statement to police when asked about the Nov. 7 attack, according to court papers.
The women he attacked were between the ages of 20 and 78, cops have said.
Baldwin made similar written statements about self-defense when investigators asked about his attacks on Dec. 7, Dec. 24, and Dec. 26.
“I was passing by a lady using a phone and I hit her head in self-defense because of the way she looked,” Baldwin wrote of the Dec. 27 attack.
Baldwin attacked a 33-year-old mom walking with her 7-year-old daughter on Elm Street near East 12th Street on Dec. 21 in Midwood, cops said.
The surprised mom fell onto the child before crashing to the ground, cops said – and sufffered cuts and bruises to her head, hands and knees, according to Baldwin’s criminal complaint.
He had a different take. “There was a Dunkin’ Donuts beverage in his hand and the woman almost bumped his coffee so he swatted, but didn’t attack her but that she had a kid with her,” Baldwin told investigators when asked about the Dec. 21 attack.
“Defendant stated it wasn’t a whipping, but he was trying to protect his drink,” court papers say Baldwin said. “It was just a love tap.”
The crazed attacker also punched a 78-year-old woman sitting on a bench in Canarsie Park on Christmas Eve and 15 minutes later attacked another elderly woman nearby at corner of East 93rd Street and Seaview Avenue, court ¬papers charge.
“I was passing by two ladies at the Canarsie Park but I hit them in self-defense because … I was feeling ill,” Baldwin said, according to court papers. Baldwin pleaded not guilty and walked out of court on a $13,500 bond. (continue reading)
Meanwhile,…. School officials at the University of Minnesota are working with black student and facility organizations after they wrote a letter to the school’s president about the racial descriptions given in crime alerts.
The letter, sent on Dec. 6, 2013, was issued by members of the African American and African Studies, Black Faculty and Staff Association, Black Graduate and Professional Student Association, Black Men’s Forum, Black Student Union and Huntley House for African American Males.
It was directed to University President Eric Kaler and Pamela Wheelock, the vice president of University Services.
Students and staff mailed the letter more than a month after the campus went on lockdown because of an attempted robbery at Anderson Hall on Nov. 11, 2013. University of Minnesota Police wrongfully identified a student as the suspect.
On Tuesday, school officials reported there have been 25 robberies in and around the University, an increase of 27 percent over the last few years.
The organizations wrote that while campus safety is crucial, the profiling can be devastating for black male students.
“[We] unanimously agree that campus safety should be of the UMPD’s utmost importance; however, efforts to reduce crime should never be at the expense of our Black men, or any specific group of people likely to be targeted. In addition to causing Black men to feel unsafe and distrusted, racial profiling is proven to inflict negative psychological effects on its victims.”
At Wednesday’s forum, Ian Taylor Jr., president of the Black Men’s Forum, said members of his organization feel threatened when the use of a racial description is given in the crime alerts.
“The repeated black, black, black suspect,” Taylor said. “And what that does it really discomforts the mental and physical comfort for students on campus because they feel like suspicions begin to increase.” (read more)
