The piercing scream, like a sound from a horror film, triggered taekwondo instructor Simon An to draw on his years of martial arts training.
Around 4 p.m. Tuesday, shortly after the doors of his family-owned and -operated studio in Texas opened for evening classes, An and his father, his mother, his older sister and his younger brother heard shrieks coming from a neighboring business.
The family of five, each with a fourth-degree black belt, run the Yong-in Taekwondo studio in Katy, outside Houston. They initially ignored the sounds, assuming they came from employees playing around in their break room. But then a piercing “final scream” prompted the family into action, A said.
His family ran to the store and opened a door. There they found a man on top of a young woman with his hands “in [in]appropriate places” as she attempted to fend him off, A said.
An’s father, Hong, yanked the attacker away by his shirt and pinned him to the ground. An’s sister, Hannah, grabbed the girl and rushed her out of the room while An and his brother helped subdue the attacker.
It’s not required for US police because in the US the police are essentially militarized and have an accompanying attitude. They are not interested in de-escalating the situation they’re only interested in seeing if they can hurt someone. That’s what happens when they draw their guns in every single interaction including traffic stops.
That’s somewhat hyperbolic, though it’s a worthy concern. I live in the US and none of my encounters with police have been like that whatsoever, but then again I’m white and midwestern and not financially underprivileged. I’ve seen cops thoughtfully de-escalate or give genuine selfless help firsthand.
I would still say ACAB, but that’s moreso due to the very abusable powers and excessive undue protections that political states give them. It’s a systemic problem, but not proscriptive of individual encounters.