Bernhard Goetz - Activities Since The Incident

Activities Since The Incident

In March 1985, soon after being released from the hospital for the treatment of his gunshot wound, James Ramseur falsely reported to police that two men hired by Goetz had kidnapped and attempted to kill him, but was not charged in this hoax. In May 1985, Ramseur held the gun while an associate raped, sodomized and robbed a pregnant eighteen-year-old woman on the rooftop of the Bronx building where he lived, and in 1986 was sentenced to 8⅓ to 25 years in prison. According to the New York State Department of Corrections inmate search site, Ramseur served his sentence and was released in July, 2010. Ramseur was found dead of a drug overdose, in an apparent suicide, in a Bronx, New York motel room on December 22, 2011, the 27th anniversary of the incident on the number 2 train.

Barry Allen committed two robberies after the shooting, one of them a 1986 chain snatching in the elevator of the building where he lived. The second arrest, in May, 1991, brought him a sentence of three and a half to seven years for probation violation and third degree robbery. He was released on parole in December, 1995.

After a number of minor arrests for petty offenses, Canty was ordered to undergo an 18-month drug treatment program at a rehabilitation center, which he completed in 1989. He was later charged with assault, robbery, and resisting arrest in an altercation with his common-law wife in August, 1996, but was not convicted and did not serve time.

As of 2005, Goetz was again living in New York City and had run for Mayor in 2001 and also Public Advocate in 2005. Goetz has stated that while he did not expect to be elected, he did hope to bring attention to issues in the public interest. He is an advocate for vegetarianism and the serving of vegetarian lunches in the New York City public school system. Goetz is also involved with squirrel rescue in New York. He installs squirrel houses, feeds squirrels, and performs first aid. He sells and services electronic test equipment through his company Vigilante Electronics. In the 2002 film Every Move You Make, Goetz played a criminalist who teaches a female stalking victim how to use a concealed-carry weapon.

Goetz occasionally gives media interviews about the 1984 subway incident that brought him into the public eye. In 2004, twenty years after the incident, Goetz was interviewed by Nancy Grace on Larry King Live, where he stated his actions were good for New York City and forced the city to address crime. In 2010, he was interviewed for the inaugural episode of The Biography Channel's documentary show Aftermath with William Shatner.