A suspected gang member escaped from police in Nago City on Tuesday, even though he was handcuffed at the time, police said Wednesday.
According to investigators, a police officer who was out on patrol looking for gang members along national highway 58 in Nago City was suddenly approached from the rear by a man on a motorcycle. The man struck the officer in the face with a stick and then took off. Soon after, the same man was stopped by a different officer for ignoring a traffic signal. As the officer was trying to get the suspect into a patrol car, he got jostled into a group of about 50 young onlookers and escaped with the handcuffs latched on to only his right hand.
The officer who was hit in the face suffered a broken tooth. Police are currently searching for the man and several of the onlookers on charges of interfering with an officer in the line of duty. A Nago police spokesman said: "We have the whole thing on tape, and we'll discover who they all are."
© News reports
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Gaijinocchio
Do Japanese police know how to crowd control? Were the 50 onlookers sympathizers or gang members too?
Bring on the comments about "keystone cops"...because unfortunately it seems to be true.
GW
too pathetic, but hopefully one good thing can come of this & thats the use of video!! Maybe the keystones cud then understand why it wud also be of sound use during their 3wk confinement of suspects in custody.......ehhh, perhaps a little too wishful on my part
kurisutofu
Crowd control alone? ...
combinibento
At least this dumb SOB will get a visit from the tooth fairy.
noborito
pop a cop and run. got to love it. they have it all on tape... scary. nothing will come of this. cops in japan are too weak. pull that in the states and you would get shot. here the crowd will even help you attack those overweight, power crazy boys in blue. SPAM a few years ago hit one with his car (well she was a traffic cop but still) the police need to learn their place.
thepro
lol
societymike
There was more info in local Okinawa news, It happened late at night, the Bosozoku motorcycle idiots were riding around making lots of noise, a couple cop cars were sent out to locate them until back up could arrive. However, the small group of riders instantly turned into a large once since they were close by. Not really much a single cop could do about it.
The bosozoku bike gangs have been growing in number lately in Okinawa and have become more violent and a bigger problem. In the past, they would run a red light now and then but wore helmets and uses headlights, but now they are more like mainland style, breaking more rules and obviously, hitting cops.
Last year a cop car rammed one biker and another biker got smeared at an intersection he ran by a civilian. The driver of the car didn't get in trouble since the gang member was being an idiot.
Mittsu
Can't wait for this to make it to YouTube
BritAsianinJap
Keystone cops.... lol...
gogogo
Are you kidding me? Because the Japanese police screwed up they are blaming the crowd around him? Man up, your lost the dude because you can't do your job.
bamboohat
Despite all the negative comments about the keystones, I feel for the poor bloke who had to face down a bunch of motorcycle thugs on his own. Cops need to learn to demand compliance from their suspects, and lose their Japanese politeness. When they are dealing ordinary, passive citizens, it's ok to be polite and respectful, but when dealing with motorcycle thugs, its' best to wait for backup and throw down some rodney king.
I haven't seen too many J-cops that look physically capable of pulling that off. I once saw a group of three cops having trouble ejecting a drunken homeless guy from a mall.
DenDon
ouch
franz75
cops are a joke...
Alphaape
I know this may be politically incorrect, but if the Jcops dealt with these gangs a bit more "heavy handed" I am sure that they would get the message. I understand the J-cops being polite to the general public under normal condtions, but when you are dealing with a bunch of hooligans, then maybe a tougher approach is needed. They should take a few lessons from LAPD.
zander341
I saw a guy outside my building trying to escape the police, and they didn't handcuff him. Even after a dozen escape attempts, they kept dancing around trying to form a circle around him. It started with one cop waiting for back-up, and ended half an hour later with 8 cops. They finally coralled him into a patrol car, uncuffed.
bobbafett
the guy could have been pumped up on drugs and the onlookers spiteful.
enragedbees
I hope when they air the video, they put it in old-timey black and white grainy footage and run everything at double speed with Yakety-sax playing in the background. Too funny!
Mookoo
Since the gangs here are linked to politics, and thus the police, things will not change. The gangs are every bit as in charge as the cops are.
Badge213
The cop got hit and the guy escaped. This type of stuff doesn't happen in Japan either. Cops get shot inside secured police stations in other countries!
Rugbyfan
I agree with Alphaape that the Japanese police should be a lot tougher on these idiots. In NZ there is a big problem with "Boy Racers" but there are a whole bunch of laws that make any modifications to vehicles illegal, and limit the decibel level. If the police find any illegalities they can confiscate the car/bike for up to a month, and in severe cases the police can sell the confiscated vehicle.
tuneintokyo
I really hope you're kidding. The last thing we need is Japanese police officers trying to be tough guys. I saw the Rodney King tape and I'll pass on the minority beatings here in Japan.
societymike
man, it's obvious some of you live in bubbles not associated with the rest of Japan. Cops down here are tough when they need be but they will attempt to keep a situation calm and rational as long as possible. Once it's clear that isn't working, they turn on the heat. In this situation, the cop was talking to ONE suspect in a small group of 3. A 4th member came from behind him and hit him in the face as he turned. He managed to get a hold of the guy and attempted to cuff him, but that's when the larger crowd showed up. At that point, you let them go and save yourself.
I find it funny how some of you think you will do so much better in these situations. Don't get me wrong, I really don't like cops, even as a mostly law abiding citizen, but it's always the same on these stories here, everyone acts tough and says the cops are 100% useless when in fact you have only a fraction of the real story.
Mookoo
Well SM, most folks only have the option of watching the interpreted version of NHK News, or reading the stories here, which tend to be real light on details (as are the source Kyodo News stories). So, they mouth off without having much info at all. Seems to be human nature. In gereral, I sure like the police here a lot more than I do back in the old country.
888naff
theres a bit of why didnt any of the onlookers try and stop the dude? yeah like whats the point of protecting the locals if they dont care?
lincolnman
I've worked with JNP officers for over 20 years and they are very skilled in non-lethal restraint and compliance techniques- something our cops could learn.
Mookoo
The onlookers were other bosozoku and chimpira...not like they're gonna help the police!
mnemosyne23
I feel for the poor police officer who got assaulted and the one who was trying to wrestle this guy into the cruiser on his own. I'm not usually very easy on Jcops, but in this case I think some sympathy is warranted. This potential gang member clearly had no respect for or fear of the cops, either because he was high or just arrogant. It's hard enough keeping control of a situation with someone like that when you're on your own, let alone when you're surrounded by a bunch of gawking onlookers. I wonder how many of those bystanders were busily snapping pictures with their camera phones and kept crowding in to get a better shot? Or worse, fellow gang members? As often as we get on the case of the Jcops, we also have to censure these kinds of interfering onlookers. I hope the Jcops DO find them, and that they're dealt with appropriately.
sharky1
kids...can't live with 'em...can't arrest 'em...
benhur
thats why they had a lot of cops and patrol cars near chatan 2 nights ago..
alphawolf
I'm not impressed with most of these cops in Okinawa... most men are trained and raised by parents and teachers to be very pacafist and even police officers are very non confrontational.
aw
Mookoo
The application and interview process for police officers in Japan favor those with strong right-wing political views. Not your quiet, run-of-the-mill sheep that you normally find in daily life. The vocal minority. Shared politics with the uyoku, and a lot of connections to the underworld. While some of the more embarrassing failures have made the news lately, there are still plenty who could take on a gang of JT keyboard jockeys with one hand tied behind their back!
bushlover
A trained cop should know to call for backup before handling a situation that involves multiple chimpira/ gangsta wannabes. When will they ever realn?