A West Village woman used a clever tactic to escape a deranged vagrant who held a knife at her earlier this month — claiming she contracted coronavirus while coughing on him. he told the Post.
Jane Duncan was on her usual walk a few blocks from Washington Square Park on February 4 when a well-known local vagrant suddenly jumped in front of her and pulled a knife from his pocket. That’s what it means.
“While he was pulling the knife, I started coughing all over the place,” the 52-year-old said.
“I was like, ‘I’ve got COVID.’ I’m on my way to the ER.” As I was doing that, he brought out a knife, which scared me away. ”
The man, known in the neighborhood as “Matthew,” asked, “Why are you harassing me?” when he drew his weapon.
The two have never had any conflict, and “that makes me think he’s not only violent, but mentally ill. He must be hearing voices.” she said.
Duncan, who lives in his childhood home near Washington and Bank streets, said there are more vagrants living in his neighborhood than ever before, and he has put in place coronavirus protection measures to keep them out. He said he is using.
“When people get aggressive and get in my face, they start coughing and saying things about COVID-19 and ‘I’m going to the ER,'” said Duncan, who works as a pet sitter and cares for the elderly. he admitted.
“This used to be a really depressed area,” she said of Nabe. Her median rent there has soared to about $5,000 a month. according to Zumper.com.
“But we’ve noticed that people are becoming more and more aggressive, to the point of effectively robbing people.”
Meanwhile, Duncan said nothing was done about the situation even after she filed a report with officers at the NYPD’s 6th Precinct.
she posted about the incident nextdoor.com.
“They kept asking me, ‘Was it really a knife?'” she recalled.
“I’m not stupid and I know what a knife looks like.”
A few days later, when Duncan found the man sleeping on a bench, she called the police again, partly out of fear for her teenage son.
Six police officers responded but refused to search her for weapons, she claimed.
“They were like, ‘Wake up, buddy. Wake up, Matthew,'” she said.
“I thought, ‘Oh my god, you’re not going to do anything.'”
New York City police said there were no reports that a knife was used in the incident.
The man has not been charged.
He told the Post he was homeless.
“I’m sleeping on the street,” he said. “People think I’m crazy. Yes, I am.”
Then he became abusive and unreasonable.
Duncan said she hopes he has access to mental health care.
“What I want is reform,” she said.
“I don’t think it’s right to arrest him and release him. I think there needs to be a system of mental health care.”
Despite his successes in the fight against coronavirus crime, Duncan said he is considering purchasing pepper spray to protect himself.
“I only use it if I feel like I can’t get away from them verbally,” she said.
“But it will give you some peace of mind.”
