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http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-woman-beats-man-metro-long-beach-20160805-snap-htmlstory.html
'Don’t kill him now': Video shows woman kicking and stomping man over alleged epithets on Long Beach train
By Veronica Rocha
A video of a woman repeatedly stomping a man after he allegedly uttered racial slurs on the Metro Blue Line in Long Beach is drawing criticism from viewers who say she went too far in attacking the passenger, who appeared to be extremely drunk.
The roughly 30-second cellphone video, obtained by KABC-TV, shows a woman standing on a passenger seat and sharply kick the man in the face, causing his head to bounce off the wall behind him.
Clad in a pair of black leggings with marijuana leaf designs, the woman continues to kick at the man until he takes cover between the seats. The woman then steps across and keeps stomping on his head and back, at times standing on the man’s back as she does so.
Passengers can be heard gasping as the woman lands blow after blow with her feet. At one point, a passenger tells the woman, “Don’t kill him now.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Transit Policing Division is investigating the attack, spokesman Ramon Montenegro said.
The assault was never reported to authorities, who became aware of it only when it appeared on Facebook, he said.
Investigators have identified the person filming the video and hope to talk to him so they can identify the woman and the victim, Montenegro said.
The attack was “excessive” and could possibly have been prevented if the woman had notified authorities about the man’s alleged offensive behavior, he said.
Deputies would have responded and could have cited the man, the spokesman said.
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A witness told KABC-TV that the man, who appeared to be intoxicated, yelled racial slurs at the woman and passengers on the train. That’s when the woman unleashed the kicks. Finally, the emergency stop was pulled and the train’s operator was notified about the assault, the witness told the news station.
The man and woman got off the train before authorities arrived, according to KABC-TV.
On Friday, the video began circulating on social media. Many viewers have asked why nobody tried to stop the attack.
“Was this justified or overkill? Secondly, do you think it was more important for cameraman to film the incident or break it up,” one commenter on Facebook asked.
Others were conflicted over the man’s alleged behavior and the woman’s actions.
Erica Hale wrote, “With everything that is going on in America and how black women are feed up with this garbage. You get breaking points like the one on this video. Was it overkill? Yes. Did this guy deserve this? Maybe. I don't know what I would do if I was by myself on a train and a guy thought it was cool to call me everything but a child of God.”
veronica.rocha@latimes.com
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