Strange man knocking on doors

[KidKruger]

maniana Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> :?-( vigilant for someone who is mentally ill and

> (most of the time) harmless. The world is a sad

> place. The guy needs help. I bet if he had the

> treatment he clearly needs he?d be a lovely man.

And until (if ever) he gets the support he clearly needs, it?s reasonable to be vigilant in case of an encounter with the gentleman.

[Nigello]

He sometimes tries to "collar" me with some phrase like "mate, nice hat, where is it from?" or "do I do your windows?". Best just to nod and reply with one word, if anything, and move one. He is ill and deserves to be treated as someone with an illness, even if it does coincide with feeling uncomfortable in his presence. I agree it is good to be vigilant but I don't think a digital tar-and-feathering is called for.

[KidKruger]

Sometimes hairs can?t be split any further.

[char1i3]

This sounds a lot like Chris McK***** who thinks he's a window cleaner. My experience of him is that he talks a lot, is extremely sensitive (common to people suffering from low self worth and/or mental illness) and seems to be quite open about the abuse he has suffered. If he offers to do your windows, don't let him, he did a crap job. He seems harmless, but unpredictable.

[achoo]

Is this guy built like he works out a lot?

The description sounds like a guy who was outside the postoffice on Lordship Lane yesterday

He was aggressively swinging his bike on the pavement waiting for someone to confront his behaviour. Unfortunately the back wheel hit a mother and son who did confront him, he asked her to come up the road to 'sort it out' but they walked on

He tried to cut the post office queue, in which I explained we are all waiting.

[maniana]

Mops Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

If you have

> any ideas of how we can get him the help you

> suggest without putting him at risk or getting him

> in trouble I?m all ears though! It?s a difficult

> one.

Yes I know who it is and he's spoken to me a number of times.

Might sound totally obvious but I was just... nice to him? And avoided him when he's off on one? Just trying to understand for whatever reason he doesn't see the world the same way others do and is often very upset and frightened for reasons which aren't obvious to the rest of us.

I understand the desire of people to protect the community from someone who seems a threat, but we are all of us far more likely to be harmed in an accident, or by someone we know than by someone who is mentally ill. And a mentally ill person is far, far more likely to be themselves the victim of violence than the perpetrator.

[Newmum2019]

Flagging this again. I know lots of discussion re: this person?s need for support vs. Need for vigilance, but I witnessed another v disturbing encounter with him in a shop this week and wanted to bring to people?s attention again.

The young man carries a window cleaners poll and looks ?well? by most accounts. However once he engages you in conversation it can turn explicit and unpredictable very quickly. It?s happened to me and I?ve seen it happen to others. It worries me

[Callie]

sounds like the same guy just literally knocked on my door , I am expecting a delivery so went to answer but he was already standing in the next house doorway knocking on their door, he was holding a long metal pole with a black plastic bit on the end that you attach things to but he wasn't carrying anything else, seemed a bit odd.

[ED_AJL]

Sounds like it is the same guy discussed in this post https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=2283038

[LMCPR]

This sounds like it could be the same man that followed me down Friern road on his bike, and then hit my car with a metal pole he was carrying (with my kids obviously in the back).

I reported to the police, they said they didn?t know him despite someone who lives on the road saying he was local. Please take care around him- it was quite scary.

 

There's a whole other thread on here about a man with a pole attacking a teenage boy. I think the boy's mum wrote it. Allegedly the man knocks on doors pretending to be a window cleaner.

There's A LOT of mentally ill people in ED.

[LMCPR]

The police probably won't do anything. Call Southwark adult social services and advise there's unstable mentally ill man walking around making threats and attacking people.

[LMCPR]

This sounds a lot like Chris McK***** who thinks he's a window cleaner. My experience of him is that he talks a lot, is extremely sensitive (common to people suffering from low self worth and/or mental illness) and seems to be quite open about the abuse he has suffered. If he offers to do your windows, don't let him, he did a crap job. He seems harmless, but unpredictable.

 

Hahaha 😆 as if you let him clean your windows.

[LMCPR]

Repost: Man on bike with a long pole attacked a child's head in daylight

Same guy Chris M C K E N N A

[Pugwash]

Police are very aware of this man,

[Sue]

Police are very aware of this man,

 

So are they intending to do something about him, as he sounds potentially dangerous if he is physically hitting people?

[Pugwash]

Currently under investigation.

[Chan343]

Just an update, literally just had this man knock at our door, asking for drugs. He is clearly off of his head, mental health or not, the police should be doing something about him. People with kids should not have to have these encounters at the mishaps of the system.

[prit]

You should report to safer neighbourhood team or Dulwich Hill police number, both searchable on the forum. Without reports they cannot join the dots and there is less pressure on them to act.

[Pugwash]

This guy is very well known to Dulwich Hill SNT- following a previously reported incident, the team were looking for CCTV evidence before taking the next step. Please report this incident.

[MummaB]

Just got alerted by an neighbour that there are two threads about this guys on here so just posting on both…

Unfortunately I just had a bad experience with this guy this morning. I’ve seen him loads over the years up near where we live on Lordship Lane. We we have not engaged with him on our many encounters when he behaves as have been described here already. I have a teenage son and he knows to be mindful as well, ignoring him, crossing the road if he sees him.

I walked past him today when he was standing in someone’s front garden on Lordship Lane, spitting and talking to himself, aggressive homophobic language. I ignored him and walked with my dog towards the library. Suddenly outside the church I was knocked from behind with great force, into the church railings. I’m in a lot of pain, neck, back and head and was quite shocked. He did the same further down the road to a teenage boy in a Harris Academy uniform. I saw him carrying on to The Plough bus stop where he also did a less forceful knock into an elderly gentleman. He then got on the 185 towards Camberwell.

I’ve reported it to the police as this is the first time he’s been physically violent. It’s obvious that he has serious mental health problems. He’s also a lot bigger and stronger than he used to be and could have caused us serious injuries.

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

Oh my goodness, that's awful and very upsetting. Take care.

[Sue]

Just got alerted by an neighbour that there are two threads about this guys on here so just posting on both…

Unfortunately I just had a bad experience with this guy this morning. I’ve seen him loads over the years up near where we live on Lordship Lane. We we have not engaged with him on our many encounters when he behaves as have been described here already. I have a teenage son and he knows to be mindful as well, ignoring him, crossing the road if he sees him.

I walked past him today when he was standing in someone’s front garden on Lordship Lane, spitting and talking to himself, aggressive homophobic language. I ignored him and walked with my dog towards the library. Suddenly outside the church I was knocked from behind with great force, into the church railings. I’m in a lot of pain, neck, back and head and was quite shocked. He did the same further down the road to a teenage boy in a Harris Academy uniform. I saw him carrying on to The Plough bus stop where he also did a less forceful knock into an elderly gentleman. He then got on the 185 towards Camberwell.

I’ve reported it to the police as this is the first time he’s been physically violent. It’s obvious that he has serious mental health problems. He’s also a lot bigger and stronger than he used to be and could have caused us serious injuries.

 

I wonder if a medical report of your injuries might help get this man the treatment he clearly needs? Might your GP provide one? If you are still in a lot of pain, should you go to A&E in any case?

Alternatively, can you get someone to take photos if there are visible bruises?

I'm so sorry to read this, it must have been very traumatic mentally as well as physically.

Please take care of yourself.

[first mate]

Sounds like ABH at least and if you have serious bruising possibly even GBH. Surely the police have enough accounts and witnesses to detain this person in the interests of public safety?

[Penguin68]

Surely the police have enough accounts and witnesses to detain this person in the interests of public safety?

He could certainly be charged with ABH or GBH, depending upon the level of injury.. His defence would be that he was acting whilst of unsound mind - if this did go to trial he would then be most likely committed, possibly if there was space, to a medium secure unit. He could not be imprisoned if the unsound mind defence was accepted - as it almost certainly would be. Alternatively he might instead be sectioned. In either case it is very likely that once he was on medication he would to start to act normally and he would be discharged back into the community, would then stop taking the medication and would be back in the same state. The police are neither trained nor equipped to handle mental illness (nor are most paramedics, I believe there are only two ambulances with paramedics trained in psychiatric issues in London).

We should not punish the mentally ill for being mentally ill, nor should we consider that locking away a nuisance and effectively forgetting about them is acceptable. Of course this makes life difficult for 'civilians' caught in this. And as he escalates his violence there may be a need for longer term incarceration. And compassion is difficult where you are at the receiving end of unacceptable and frightening behaviour (outwith the proximate cause).

There are a lot of things we need still to do in the public health space, and particularly where it is mental health which is an issue. But 'simple' remedies are rarely (or should be) acceptable in modern times.

Maybe sectioning and 're-setting' the individual through medication may be a short term route, but it will be very unlikely to offer a permanent solution.

[Insuflo]

From Dulwich Hill MPS on Twitter; I presume they are referencing this incident: