Advertisement

Police camera shows bystanders doing nothing as blind man beaten

Police have released surveillance footage of a suspect beating a blind man in Philadelphia as witnesses watch.(Screengrab/YouTube)

Police have released surveillance footage of a suspect beating a blind man in Philadelphia as witnesses watch, calling for anyone with information to contact authorities.

The footage taken on Oct. 2 from a distance in Philadelphia's Germantown neighbourhood shows the suspect knocking someone onto the curb, punching and kicking him repeatedly and then strolling away.

"When the complainant approaches the corner the suspect then strikes the complainant knocking him to the ground and then proceeds to kick and stomp the complainant causing injuries to his face and head as he lay helpless on the ground," says the description on the video posted to YouTube by the Philadelphia Police.

[ Related: Shelf topples, creates a liquor tsunami in viral video ]

During the video, someone crosses the street, a few cars pass and another person stands only feet away, but no one intervenes. Fox News reported no one called police until after the attack. Philly.com reported the suspect also robbed the 33-year-old blind man.

Philadelphia's police chief, Charles Ramsey, told Fox News witnesses are often more likely to record a video of a crime then to call 911.

"People now just sit around. It's a shame," he told the broadcaster.

Police described the suspect as a black male, about 20 years old, wearing a tan ball cap, tan shirt and Khaki pants.

Earlier this week, police in Hampshire, UK released footage of a truck driver brushing his teeth and holding a water bottle while he was driving, as part of a road regulation crackdown and a lesson to the public: don't do what this guy did.