LANSING, me. (WILX) – DeMarco Taft told News 10, “Nobody should have to go through what I went through.”
What happened after the surveillance video of a confrontation between Taft and several others was not captured on camera: An incident in which two people with knife wounds and Taft in handcuffs were left in the hospital.
“I would do it all over again,” said Taft. “It was her life, my life.”
He says what drove him out of his home and ultimately to violence in the middle of the night November 14, 2020 was trying to be just a good Samaritan.
“I was in the house watching Netflix with my wife and I heard a young lady screaming for help on the side of my window,” Taft said. “As my home video shows, I ran out to see what was going on.”
Taft says a woman was beaten up by his neighbors and when he tried to help they turned him on.
“They had guns and they walked up to me with guns saying they were going to kill me. So I defended myself and cut two of them. “
And he says it all could have been avoided if the Lansing police hadn’t ignored his calls for help.
“My wife and mother-in-law called the police more than ten times. This confrontation lasted over an hour, ”said Taft. “I had to assert myself and as a result I will face either a fight or a flight. But where am I running to? Because I’m already home. “
Documents received from News 10 indicate that Lansing police were called to the area several times that night, but after unsuccessfully attempting to disperse and ignore people, they left.
The officer in his report wrote, “From my experience as a police officer in Lansing, I know that 912 Johnson is a place where the police are often referred to as residents.
“He said to himself, he said he left. He fled. Out of fear… ”said Taft. “He fled and left me there to fight a gang he knew was violent, all by myself.”
To this day, Taft says he lives in fear, which is why he conducted this interview with a large part of his face.
He is still concerned about retaliation from his neighbors.
“I upgraded my security surveillance cameras,” said Taft. “I have barriers to crowd control as you can see at the concert around my entire house. I installed an eight foot high fence in my back yard. So I take the necessary precautions, but the gang is still threatening my life. They passed my housekeeping, they even went back and shot in the air. I made several reports. “
Taft added, “I am frustrated. I feel like [Lansing Police] Don’t care about my life that they don’t care about my family’s life. “
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