Police release video of man attacking pro-lifers outside of Baltimore Planned Parenthood
Less than a week after being violently attack outside of a Baltimore Planned Parenthood on May 26, 2023, Dick Schafer, 80, returned to the abortion facility to continue his pro-life work. “It’s not for everybody, but I like being there, that’s for sure,” Schafer said. / Credit: Eric Stocklin/CNA Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 20, 2023 / 14:40 pm (CNA).
The Baltimore Police Department released video surveillance of a May 26 attack in which a man allegedly beat two elderly pro-life activists outside of a Planned Parenthood facility in Baltimore City.
In the video, which police released on June 15, a man can be seen tackling 80-year-old Dick Schafer into a planter. The video shows 73-year-old Mark Crosby rushing over to help Schafer, at which point the man shoves Crosby onto the ground, hits him in the face, and then kicks him in the face.
The video shows the man walking away from the scene after the attack. Police have still not identified the man.
“Baltimore Police Department’s Central District detectives need your help identifying [the] suspect,” a woman narrating the video for the police department said. Anyone with information was asked to call Central District detectives at 410-396-2411 or Metro Crime Stoppers of Maryland at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
The suspect appears to be a white male with brown hair and a full beard. He was wearing a gray T-shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes at the time of the attack.
Both Crosby and Schafer were briefly knocked unconscious after the attack. Crosby had a concussion, two fractured fingers, and internal and external bleeding in one of his eyes. He lost eyesight in one eye. Schafer was treated for cuts as well as aches and pains. Both men returned to the Planned Parenthood facility four days later to continue their activism.
The two men are being represented by the American Center for Law and Justice.
“The ACLJ is pleased that the Baltimore police have finally released the footage of the attack,” Olivia Summers, senior litigation counsel for ACLJ, told CNA.
“We believe this is important, not just to aid in identifying the man who attacked Mark Crosby and Dick Schaefer, but to demonstrate exactly how violent this attack was against our clients,” Summers said. “We urge the local authorities to persist in their efforts to identify and capture this man, and for anyone with information pertaining to identity to immediately notify the police.”
The lawyers are still gathering facts about the case but are considering both criminal and civil actions against the man who attacked their clients.
