Chicago, IL – A random bystander named Gary Dailey decided to take matters into his own hands last week and chase down a robber for probably the best reason ever: He’s sick of people not chasing down robbers.
During a Fourth of July event at around 9:30 pm, Dailey caught a man trying to reach into his pocket and take his cell phone. Dailey swatted the man’s hand away and returned to the festivities.
He later heard a woman screaming at the same guy : “You (expletive), you’re stealing my phone,” he recalled her saying.
Dailey was standing in a crowd of “about 50” people in Chicago’s GOld Coast neighborhood, and just couldn’t believe that no one was trying to stop this guy. So the 51-year-old thought “I’ll stop this guy,” and took off running after him.
He said that the man towered at about 6′, 5″, but that that didn’t deter him from giving chase .
Dailey is actually himself a former track athlete and marathoner, enabling him to handily chase the perpetrator down on foot while he dialed 911. Police close in on the scene, and Dailey was able to point the man out. He was arrested.
Some time later, Dailey returned the phone to its 41-year-old owner. It had a cracked screen, but she was apparently grateful that he was willing to even take action.
Now Dailey is being hailed a hero, but he says that his motive was much simpler than all that:
“My youngest brother is a cop in the 15th District. That’s the reason I did this. He constantly complains to me that a bunch of these crimes happen and people just stand around and stare and no one helps.”
Do you think Gary Dailey is a hero? Should people intervene during crimes more often?