To the Editor:
After reading an article in Monday's Herald ("After Brook St. attack, senior chases down, catches mugger," March 19), I couldn't shake the feeling that Aristides Nakos, the senior featured in the piece, took a grave, unnecessary risk.
After graduating from Brown, I spent a year as a fellow investigator for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, where I learned how relatively minor crime can quickly become a violent felony because things don't go according to plan. One case I investigated could have been just another minor property theft, but it escalated to gunshots after the thief was pursued.
Any act of theft or robbery is a volatile situation, with high stakes for everyone involved, including the perpetrators. The student who was robbed told The Herald, "the suspects were just as nervous as I was ... and trying to get out of there as quickly as possible." Small wonder - the Rhode Island criminal code calls for imprisonment of 10 years or more for "robbery where a victim is injured."
The Herald identified the man Nakos chased down as Carlos Falcon, age 20, who was later found to have a knife, according to Nakos. Put yourself in Falcon's shoes. Fearing you might spend the next decade behind bars, what might you do in the heat of that moment to get away?
I admire Nakos' selflessness, but his actions were foolhardy, needlessly prolonging a dangerous situation. I hope anyone who read his story will think twice before emulating them.
Michael Skocpol '10
Former Herald Deputy Managing Editor
