Phoenix Jones, the self-described Guardian of Seattle and “Real Life Superhero,” was arrested last weekend for allegedly pepper-spraying four people outside of a nightclub, which he says was an attempt to break up a fight.
According to the police report, early Sunday morning Jones was arrested after an alleged assault on four people outside of a club. Seattle Police Detective Jeff Kappel said in a statement that the people said they were “dancing and having a good time” when “an unknown adult male suspect came up from behind and pepper sprayed the group. Two men in the group chased after the suspect. Responding officers arrived on scene and separated the involved parties.”
One of the women in the group told police that “she and some of her friends had just been attacked and pepper sprayed by a male in a ‘Spider-Man costume.'”
According to the police report, “recently there have been reports of citizens being pepper sprayed by [Jones] and his group. Although [Jones] has been advised to observe and report incidents to 911, he continues to try and resolve things on his own.”
One incident was reported earlier in the night, in which other nightclub patrons alleged they had been pepper sprayed, but they left the area before police arrived.
Jones, who is 23, was released on bond Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.
Jones’ spokesman Peter Tangen says that video of the incident shows that he was just trying to break up a fight. “It’ll be interesting what [police] have to say when the video comes out,” Tangen told Publicola. “I’m very sure it’s going to show a different story than what police are saying.”
Here’s video Jones posted on his Facebook page, reportedly of the incident via Publicola. The video does not make the sequence of events any clearer, though it does appear to show an altercation after Jones sprayed people with pepper spray:
Jones has been patrolling the streets since last year, sometimes stopping crimes and breaking up fights while dressed in a tight black and gold suit that’s equipped with a bullet-proof vest and “stab plates.” He even managed stop a carjacking in January. He also carries a taser nightstick, mace, tear gas and a “ballistic cup.”
h/t The Smoking Gun.
