SEATTLE, Wash. — Paul Edie’s multiple facial fractures are expected to heal, but he’s stunned he suffered them while trying to help someone else.
Edie asked a group of bystanders whether any of them had called 911. They hadn't, so he did. That's when a bystander became very aggressive.
“He says to me, 'Don’t call 911.' And he was deliberate about it, you know? 'Don’t call 911.' And I was like, 'You’ve got to be kidding me?' ”
Edie, a manufacturing engineer for Boeing, called 911 anyway but his report was interrupted. He was struck from behind by the man who told him not to involve police, he believes with something other than a closed fist. Because his call was dropped, a 911 dispatcher immediately called Edie back and left a message on his voicemail that said, “This is the Seattle Police Department. You had us on the phone there, Paul. You were reporting someone down on the ground and it sounded like you got hit there. And there’s some sort of fight going on, we want to know about that. Call us back at 911 right away, OK? Thank you. Bye.”
Edie wasn't able to speak with police until two days later, after an initial trip to the emergency room at Swedish Medical Center in Ballard. Edie eventually had reconstructive facial surgery at Harborview Medical Center.
At his home in Ballard, Clancy asked whether Edie now regrets trying to help that man. “Oh no. Never. I’d do it again. Tomorrow.” said Edie.
Clancy: “Despite what happened to you?”
Edie: “Yes. Without hesitating.”
Detective Renee Witt said the Seattle Police Department is investigating the assault, but that officers don't have much to go on because Edie didn't get a good look at his attacker. Witt asked any witnesses, or anyone with information, to contact Seattle Police. (SPD Contact info here http://www.seattle.gov/spd/records/ )
KIRO
