Ronald M. Crafton helped to rescue Shirley A. and Joseph G. Mitchell from assault, Kalamazoo, Michigan, November 19, 2006. Mrs. Mitchell and her husband, both 67, were walking on a sidewalk when a man approached them from behind and without provocation knocked Mrs. Mitchell to the pavement. Armed with a four-foot metal pipe that was reinforced with a steel bar, the assailant struck her and her husband repeatedly, landing forceful blows. Mr. Mitchell fell to the pavement and called for help. About 25 feet away, Crafton, 57, psychologist, and his wife were walking on the same sidewalk and saw the attack. Crafton approached the assailant, ordering him to stop, but when he was within arm’s length of him, the assailant swung the pipe, grazing the side of Crafton’s head. Crafton tackled the assailant by the knees, taking him to the pavement, where he struggled to overpower him. Still armed, the assailant attempted to bite Crafton. As the men struggled, Crafton’s wife approached and wrested the pipe from the assailant’s grasp. Another man approached and sat on the assailant’s legs to help restrain him. Police arrived shortly and subdued him, then took him into custody. Mrs. Mitchell required lengthy hospitalization for treatment of significant injuries, and her husband was treated for multiple cuts and bruises, from which he recovered.
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