Many of us have become inured to the violence we witness on a daily basis. Videos of violent confrontations fill our screens, from “smash and grab” robberies at high-end department stores, to out and out melees at fast food restaurants. But one recent incident has proven to most of the American public that it still has the capacity to be shocked.
“(T)he recent hit-and-run death of a retired police chief in Las Vegas (is) what police are calling an intentional attack by the teenage driver,” according to the Daily Mail. “Andreas Probst, 64, was fatally struck on August 14 while cycling in northwest Las Vegas, where he had retired after stepping down as the police chief of Bell, California, in 2009…Police say a 2016 Hyundai Elantra struck him from the rear and fled the scene at high speed. Probst was rushed to University Medical Center, where he was confirmed dead.”
Further information is provided by the New York Post; “(The two) Las Vegas teenagers accused of intentionally fatally running down (Probst) were in the midst of a two-hour crime spree when they killed the retired police officer…accused driver Jesus Ayala, 18, and Jzamir Keys, 16, allegedly stole three vehicles, committed a burglary and also tried to kill another bike rider… Ayala, faces 18 charges including murder, attempted murder, battery with the use of a deadly weapon, leaving the scene of an accident, and numerous larceny and burglary charges. Keys, who was the passenger in the car when Probst was struck…is facing murder, attempted murder and battery charges.”
So far, as tragic as this event is, this is just one more violent incident occurring at a time of high crime and lawlessness in our nation. What is it then, about this case that has made so many people angry?
“(V)ideo of the bicycle crash circulated widely on the internet…(t)he video, shot from the front passenger seat, shows the vehicle approaching Probst from behind as he rides near the curb on an otherwise traffic-free road. Male voices in the car can be heard laughing as the vehicle steers toward Probst and rams the bicycle. Probst hurtles backward across the hood and into the windshield. He is then seen on the ground next to the curb. Police said they weren’t aware of the video until a high school resource officer provided it to investigators two weeks later.”
A video of a cold-blooded, intentional murder is rare enough. But the reactions of the murderers caught on the video are particularly chilling; “You can hear them talking about it right before they hit the accelerator – the guy driving asks his passenger if he should go for it …and the passenger encourages him to do it. Probst went flying into the air and was left for dead on the road. The two teenagers in the car can be heard laughing it up as they drive away.”
The combination of a video of the death of an innocent man with the glee exhibited by the perpetrators as they take his life, is more than most civilized people can accept. But to add insult to injury, Ayala expressed no remorse whatsoever for his actions. As described by the New York Post, “Ayala, who just turned 18, was arrested hours after Probst was killed and told the police while in custody that he wouldn’t be locked up for long. ‘You think this juvenile [expletive] is gonna do some [expletive]? I’ll be out in 30 days, I’ll bet you,’ Ayala told the cops, according to KLAS. ‘It’s just ah, [expletive] ah, hit-and-run — slap on the wrist.’”
What could explain such an utter lack of empathy in one so young? Didn’t Ayala and Keys see Probst as a human being, with a life and a family, or was he just no better than an inaminate object to these two teenagers?
Of course, we do not know these two young men, and we do not have the ability to peer into their brains or their seemingly cold hearts. We also do not know their personal habits. But it is a safe bet that both played violent video games, such as Grand Theft Auto.
Judge John Wilson served on the bench in NYC
The Report concludes tomorrow
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