The Problem With Vigilantism

UPDATED x2: A criminal summons was issued to Radtke.  Ha!

BUMPED AND UPDATED:  The Ghost, or maybe just some of his minions, were caught today.  It’s about time… I hope the property owner sues.

Original post:

There’s something so satisfying about vigilantism – on the spot justice, baby! At least, in theory. In reality, there are quite a few problems with it. Aside from the risk of administering justice on the wrong person and all those attendant problems, an unopposed vigilante doesn’t have a natural stopping point. For most of us, the natural stopping point is where the law starts. A vigilante feels himself above the law, and doesn’t have that boundary. Such is the case of the Gray Ghost.

Former Marine Fred Radtke started fighting back against taggers who graffitti the city.  Rudy Guiliani’s “broken windows” policy of stopping small crimes like that was certainly effective in New York, and so far the city of New Orleans has not opposed Radtke’s habit of covering graffitti with gray paint. In fact, they’ve encouraged him:

The NOPD, however, has no intention of charging Radtke with the defacing of public or private property and praises his efforts in reducing crime and improving the city’s quality of life.

“What he’s doing is work that the city would be doing itself provided we had the resources and manpower,” said NOPD spokesman Sgt. Joe Narcisse. “He’s covering up graffiti and if the city had a team to do that it would do so. He’s not doing anything that we aren’t asking him to do.”

In most cases, the Ghost’s work is an improvement, or at the very least, no worse than the graffiti. But he’s got no natural stopping point. He has repeatedly come onto private property in defiance of explicit instructions from the owners and painted over murals and other wall art which they have approved and permitted on their property. It’s not a matter of a misunderstanding – it’s repeated defiance of other people’s personal property rights:

Radtke left, the artists repainted, and a week later the Gray Ghost was back splashing gray paint over Gallodoro’s property, she said.

“It’s been going on and on like this. No matter what we say he doesn’t listen. This guy is running around throwing paint on private property, and no one is doing anything to stop him. Everyone knows that he defaces private property without permission and yet he’s never fined or jailed or anything.”

There are (unsubstantiated) reports of Radtke threating and assaulting people who protest his paint jobs on their property.  I don’t believe them – yet – but since Radtke lacks any natural stopping point, if it’s proved that he has done that I won’t be surprised.