LPD: No Charges in Coffee Incident with Homeless Man in Lakewood; One Resident Seeks to Make Amends [VIDEO]

homelessBy now, most of us have seen the picture floating around with the caption describing a young man allegedly offering a homeless man the opportunity to earn a few dollars by pouring some coffee over his head during a freezing day.

Following complaints, police have tracked down the parties involved.

“The Lakewood Police Department would like to thank all of you who brought the incident regarding the homeless man to our attention earlier today,” police said. “It’s because of you, that situations like this, are able to be investigated and resolved quickly.”

“We would like to inform you that Officer Chase Messer was able to identify and locate all of those involved. After further investigation it was determined, that although the incident occurred in poor judgement, it did not rise to a criminal act.”

Police added, “evidence in the case revealed that both parties were willing participants and no one was injured.”

A Frum Lakewood resident horrified by the act met up with the homeless man, and offered to take care of him in hopes of making amends.

[TLS]

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21 COMMENTS

  1. Editor: Please change the title, it gives off a negative vibe. Frum resident is not making amends, as if he did something wrong. On the contrary, the resident is acting out of the goodness of his heart and should be portrayed a such.

  2. @1. JBW. I disagree, at the end of the video Ari states that he needs to “make it up” to the homeless man, which is an indication that he, or the larger community, in his opinion needs to make amends. TLS, I fully support your headline, Hatzlacha to this poor man.

  3. I was shocked and utterly dismayed when I saw the post on FB. This disgusting and horrible action goes against every fiber of our being. We are taught to love every human being and to treat every individual with utmost respect and dignity. As an Orthodox Jew I was completely embarrassed by this selfless individuals actions.

    I hope and pray that the world understands that this is not who we represent and that this is not who we are.

  4. If my kid would ever behave like that to ANY individual, he would be suffering severe consequences for a very long time and I’d make sure he never ever forgets about his despicable behavior.

  5. There is some confusion. Did the Frum man make him pour the coffee or was he making ammends for how all of mankind treated this homeless man?

  6. @ Chana Lewin,
    Ari obviously did not have anything to do with the coffee incident, that is pretty clear. He says ‘make it up’ as in he felt bad, as do many, and he wanted to do something positive to ‘make up’ for the way Ron was treated.
    Again, my point was that the title, “…Frum resident seeks to make amends…” may be misconstrued as to mean he caused the trouble. Perhaps, “…Frum resident reaches out with act of kindness…” would be more appropriate.

  7. First off you DO NOT treat people like that ! Imagine if it was you in that situation. It’s disgusting the way homeless people are treated as if they are any less human then you . Who raiseddddd youuuu!

  8. I would like to make 3 points:

    1- The incident that took place was a horrific wrong which made us all recoil in horror! This is so contradictory to the values, morals and ethics that we hold so dear and inculcate our kids from a young age. The Torah dictates that all humans are created in G-d’s image and are to be respected and revered as such. This week’s Torah portion tells of the “splitting of the Red Sea” and how the angels wanted to sing praise but G-d cut them off saying “as evil as the Egyptians were however they are still my creations, you cannot sing song in praise.” The perpetrator of this incident should be forcefully condemned and if warranted punished to the full extent of the law. We have to keep educating our children to be the best ambassadors of Torah, Judaism and G-d Almighty! We are mandated to be a “Light Unto the Nations” and we can never ever forget that!
    2- The very fact that this made news is a testament to the high morals and ethics of our community in general. Dog bites man isn’t a story however “man bites dog is.” Go onto YouTube or the more uncensored vulgar sites and one will find a plethora of so called pranks, mischiefs and stunts (many very violent) perpetuated on thousands of unsuspecting people which will make the Lakewood incident pale by comparison. So why is this deemed noteworthy?! Because the Orthodox Jewish community is held to a higher standard, because we are a marvelous community, composed of generous individuals who are united in a passion to serve G-d and help man.
    3- Many of those who post on Facebook or other blogs constantly bashing and denigrating the “Lakewood Jewish Community, are perpetuating a myth and a stereotype. Joseph Goebbels said “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” Contrary to the filth and garbage on those blogs, most members of the orthodox Jewish community have been successful in their business or career lives and live in peace and harmony with their neighbors. We don’t contribute to the violence that are rocking towns and cities all over the country. We have safe street, warm people and inviting homes.
    We are hardworking, tax paying citizens who give back more than we take. We have our own community and charity organizations that take care of our own from cradle to grave. We contribute more than our share towards philanthropic causes both within and outside our community.

    Many inhabitants of the surrounding towns are obsessed with the so called “growth of the Orthodox Jewish community.” Well, it’s called supply and demand. In this wonderful democratic country of ours, we are permitted to exercise our unalienable rights to freedom of religion and the pursuit of happiness.
    Many of the issues that are confronting us as a community are the result of massive growth and navigating un-chartered territory. A good percentage of the individuals in our community are young and budding entrepreneurs that may not always make the most prudent and wise decisions either as landlords or as investors but they nevertheless aren’t sponges soaking the system but rather contributors towards it.

    These issues and many other ones are all part and parcel of the growing pains that we as a town and by extension community are experiencing as we move forward.

  9. To Dave
    You make valid points and we appreciate your well written comments.
    To the third point of your comment, unfortunately you are clearly disconnected from reality.
    Yes, there are many successful entrepreneurs in Lakewood as well as many hard working people. Myself included. As a community we have much to be proud of and many of us have the opportunity to make a Kiddush Hashem on a regular basis.

  10. we have to know our place.
    Golus!
    A massive chilul hashem.
    YOU have Desecrated HASHEM’S name.
    We all have to b Mekadesh HASHEM’S name with middos tovos and Make a kiddush HASHEM.
    Drive like a mench.
    Talk to goyim like a MENCH.
    Just like we did on the East side by rabbi varloishkin.
    Rabbi Ronny Greenwald was a MENCH and a mekadesh shaim shomayim.
    PLEASE KNOW Hashem.
    HE exists and is watching.

  11. I am horrified by the behavior of the young man who tormented a poor lost soul, and horrified by the anti-semitism of the original fb post. The Jewish community is not responsible for the bad behavior of one of its members. Shame on the young man who behaved so badly. Shame on those who use the young man’s hard hearted acts as an excuse to bash the Lakewood Jewish community.

  12. This coffee pouring act is shamefull. But it shows the ugly head of the facebook post guy. He needs to be called out for hatred and bigotry. He uses a isolated incident to spew the worst hatred on a whole people. The coffee pouring was with consent (although in bad taste) the hate speach is a crime and punishable. Lock him up. This is not included in his free speach. This ugly anti Semitism and hatred needs to be called out. Time for Carlos mejia to pay up.
    Carlos I did not consent for you to freely defame me that way. Im perusing damages.

  13. Don’t bash Facebook guy. He is doing his job in the part of golus. Jews don’t blame others. Look into the mirror and b mekadesh hashem. Cuz if not the ribainay shel olam is looking. Sorry I gotta go catch my trolley. Some people have to work in the pencil factory and not hang out at 11:00 at gormet glatt parshas hamon.

  14. Wow Sue? He did wrong got caught doing it and got called out! He got no charges but yet you want to sue Carlos and make him pay yet the guy dad did wrong nothing happened to him! If you sue then people def going to make it worst for the new community, believe in God so much but you want money and punishement for someone who spoke up? Moron

  15. Ron needs to be placed in a home, could anyone with influence find him an apartment through social services in the senior buildings in Lakewood or in a supported home for people in need of support .

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