Video clip shows woman abusing OLD man

Felix ‘Crab’ Thomas, the Calder man who appeared in a viral video in which he was beaten by a female says that he provoked the situation and he has since forgiven the woman, Judy Richardson, for manhandling him.

“Me sorry what me have done to Judy and everything done settle long time. {{more}}I don’t want no police to come in my house because me and she done settle already and that is all,” said Thomas on Thursday morning from his Calder home.

On Saturday, March 26, a one minute 58 second video began making the rounds on social media (see video at Facebook.com/Searchlight1). The video shows Richardson beating Thomas with her open hand in his face and at one point she kicked him in his face after he threw himself on the ground.

But Thomas said on Thursday that he drinks strong rum and at times he acts badly and on that day he had destroyed a pipe that takes water to the house where he and Richardson live.

“I don’t want no case and nobody come in me place, no policeman,” said Thomas who had pleaded for someone to help him while he was being beaten by Richardson on Saturday.

Explaining her side of the story, Richardson said that she and Thomas became very close friends a few years ago when she lived at La Croix in a rented house. According to her, he would frequent her home. She said that he would usually get food and drinks from her and even slept at her house at times.

The mother of two sons said that at one point, the rented house she occupied became unliveable and she began looking for a place to move to, at which time Thomas told her that he lived alone and she should consider moving in with him.

“…He said how I was treating he so good, to come by he and live, so I said boy no, I know when you drink you rum how you does go on and I’m not coming to live with you,” recalled Richardson, who said that her mother visited from New York soon after she was given the offer by Thomas, “and he tell my mother to tell me come and live by him and he go behave heself and he go stop drink rum.”

Richardson said that her mother spent three months at Thomas’ home, while Thomas again asked her to move in and she decided to take up the offer during the first week in January this year.

“When I come, he didn’t have no water or no light, so I put on water for about $400 and I took two months to get light because I had to upgrade and rewire the house, which cost me some money,” said Richardson, who revealed that after the water and electricity were sorted out, Thomas began misbehaving, and he would drink and curse and pelt the house with stones.

“He would disrespect the children, then he go at the [Police] station and tell them I selling weed and coke here, after all I do for him. Black Squad (the Rapid Response Unit) come and they spoke to him and me; then after, one the woman said give him a suck bubby, cause like is sex he want and they laugh at that and tell him behave heself,” explained Richardson.

Thomas, listening to what Richardson was saying, told SEARCHLIGHT that she was not lying.

“It’s true,” he said.

Said Richardson, “This thing here go to the station numerous times. Police know about this already; is nah no new thing. The same week before the fight, he go in the road and fire stone on the house and tell me come out, so I said that I would have to get back my money. The whole village know how he is and they are talking about him and nobody going to help him and take him away from me (during the fight) because they know how he stay.”

She said that a few weeks ago, Thomas wielded a cutlass at someone and he ended up with head wounds that took a lot of stitches.

Richardson revealed that on the day of the incident, Thomas had broken out the pipes that bring water to the house and she had to spend a lot of money to replace them, “so I run him down and hold him and tell him come home.”

She added, “I was real mad because I tired of this, because it not the first time and he always telling me he sorry. I was going to leave and look for somewhere and he telling me don’t leave, to stay because he don’t have nobody and he beg me pardon and sorry.”

Richardson said that she deeply regrets kicking Thomas. She said that the video was recorded by a neighbour, ‘Baby’ Deane, and circulated.

“Everybody know how he stay when he drink he rum. The couple days I stop give him thing to eat, but the thing really really hurt me, I real pissed off. I vex what happen and is not something I proud of. Me cry ah nah because me feel it, it’s only because ah he with the rum,” said Richardson, with tears in her eyes.

She said that while she and Thomas are not in a relationship, they are good friends and he sometimes gets jealous if she talks to males.

Thomas has promised to behave himself and stressed that it is not every day that he indulges in drinking.

The video brought to the fore once more, the prevalence of domestic violence in society and whether such incidents are taken seriously when the man is on the receiving end of the violence.

This incident is also a good example of why domestic violence matters are difficult to prosecute, because in many cases, after the couple has made up, the victim is unwilling to testify against the perpetrator. (LC)