Video captured a thief sucker punching an elderly patron at a restaurant and stealing his wallet and phone. However, as soon as a restaurant owner saw what happened, he chased down the thief and gave him a taste of his own medicine.
Los Angeles can be a dangerous place, not only for visitors but also for its own residents. Disturbingly, the most vulnerable are often frequent targets of petty theft and physical assault. So, when Tim Ratcliff, a restaurant owner, witnessed it happening to one of his customers, he set out to stop the culprit himself.
While diners were enjoying their meals at Rafallo’s Pizza on the corner of La Brea Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, a young man entered the restaurant’s terrace and wandered around the tables. When he spotted an elderly customer sitting alone, he seized his chance to rob him.
Surveillance footage captured the culprit, who looks to be in his twenties, punching the victim several times in the head. He then grabbed the elderly man’s wallet and phone before taking off toward the nearby intersection, KTVT reported. It was then that Tim Ratcliff, the owner of the neighboring Japanese restaurant called Shin, stepped in.
Ratcliff took off after the suspect, who turned just in time to see the owner sprinting toward him. The thief had no chance of getting away, and Ratcliff tackled him on the street corner.
“I took him down and just waited there until the police arrived,” Tim Ratcliff recalled. “I was not gonna lie, the adrenaline was a lot at that point, and afterwards it was exhausting it felt like I had worked out the next day for quite a bit.”
Ratcliff tackled the thief and pinned him to the ground, despite the suspect throwing punches. Ratcliff’s girlfriend can be seen racing toward the pair and picking up dropped items before kicking the suspect and standing on his leg, according to the New York Post. Ratcliff held down the suspect until police arrived.
“He ruined my glasses. They’re destroyed,” said Ratcliff, who used “judo moves” to keep the thief on the ground for 10 minutes before law enforcement arrived.
Ratcliff explained that these types of assaults are wearing down residents. He says that police officers can’t respond quickly enough and that citizens have been left to take justice into their own hands.
“Even one of the officers and I talked about it… they’re tired of it… a lot of people like myself are tired of this type of thing happening… we’re seeing more and more people just not putting up with it and taking it into their own hands… which I’m glad for… and I’d happily do it again,” he said.
Ironically, the attack took place on the same day that the Los Angeles City Council voted to increase the number of Los Angeles Police Department officers in the Hollywood area. Still, citizens are bracing for the worst. Despite the city’s attempt to remedy the rising crime, residents have little hope that it will get much better.
Residents have suffered under terrible policies and legislation that has left law-abiding citizens at the mercy of brazen criminals. They’ve realized that they can’t rely on their government to protect them. As such, citizens are taking matters into their own hands to ensure that justice is served.
