Sometimes all it takes to restore some faith in strangers is a random story of kindness posted on Facebook. It has been a year of bizarre political activity, climate-change fueled environmental tragedies, and the premature loss of far too many beloved celebrities. If you are looking for something good in the news for a change, you don’t have to look much farther than the story of a group of woman that stopped someone from being assaulted, raped, or worse. You can read the full post from Sonia Ulrich, one of the three friends who came to the girl’s rescue above, but the general details about the incident are incredible even on the surface. If true, the tale is an amazing example of how important it is to say something if you see something unsettling happening in public no matter how weird you feel stepping in to the situation.
While out to a nice dinner at FIG at the Fairmont, a classy venue located in Santa Monica, Sonia’s friend Monica noticed something strange going on at the table next to theirs. While his date was in the bathroom, a man allegedly dropped something suspect in her drink. While there is no way to know what he put in it the chances that anything coming from “a little black vial” is in any way kosher to put in the drink. In the interest of safety, the group decided to follow the girl into the bathroom and alert her. Much to their surprise the pair were not on a first date or even a second – they were very close friends that had known each other for more than a year. The potential victim, obviously horrified, was then forced to sit through the entire rest of her dinner (avoiding taking a sip of her drink) knowing that a supposedly fast friend may have been planning to assault her.
Luckily, the restaurant took Sonia and Monica’s claims seriously and sprung into action behind the scenes to make sure this creep was held responsible for his actions. Many restaurants might have brushed the allegations aside or been critical of the girls who brought it to their attention, but FIG’s staff sprung into action upon being alerted and corroborated what the group of diners saw. Sonia’s account of how the dinner ended is pretty satisfying, especially when it is usually so hard to catch people who drug drinks red-handed.
There was a delay getting their bill “The computer is down” is what the waiter kept saying to him. Then, in walks Santa Monica PD. They say “Come with us” and he doesn’t protest. Doesn’t ask why.
Doesn’t seem surprised. The head of security came by and said that because we notified them immediately, they were able to go back and review the footage from the security camera.
They got him on tape. They had proof of him drugging this girl. They took the glass away as evidence. They kept us for statements. We asked the girl if she had a ride home. “My car is at his place. In his building. We came together.” Part of a plan. We were blown away. She was still in shock.
Multiple people then stood up and approached Sonia, Maya, and Monica’s table to tell them how thankful they were that the ladies took action and that a similar situation had happened to a friend, family member, or to them personally. When Jezebel called the restaurant directly to see whether this story of every day heroics was in fact true, the restaurant quickly confirmed that it did occur but declined to comment further due to the ongoing investigation (and we assume any possible charges against the man in question). It is a tough job to fact check a story such as this, especially when the parties involved cannot directly comment about the night’s events.
However, no matter the actual specifics of the evening as it happened, this should be a reminder that regardless of how weird or out of place it may seem to intrude in a stranger’s life it may be the difference between someone going home safely or not. If Sonia, Monica, and Maya had kept this observation to themselves because they felt awkward the targeted girl could have had a far different ending to her night.
(via Jezebel)
