Goetz, Bernhard
Identification American electrical engineer
involved in a subway shooting
Born November 7, 1947
Goetz shot four young African American men whom he be-
lieved intended to rob him on a New York City subway in De-
cember, 1984. The shooting set off a national debate over
crime, racial tensions, gun control, the right to self-defense,
and the use of deadly force by private citizens.
On December 22, 1984, Bernhard Goetz, who was a
self-employed electrical engineer in Queens, New
York, boarded a subway on New York City’s IRT line.
He sat down near four young African American
men. One of these men, Troy Canty, told Goetz to
give him five dollars. Canty and the others with him
later claimed he was merely panhandling. Goetz,
however, claimed that he believed he was being
robbed. Fearing for his safety, Goetz drew an unreg-
istered revolver from beneath his windbreaker and
shot five times, wounding all four men. All of the
young men survived, but one of them, Darrell Cabey,
was permanently paralyzed and suffered brain dam-
age, because the bullet severed his spine.
Goetz fled the subway at a subsequent stop, rented
a car, and drove to Bennington, Vermont. He dis-
posed of the gun and the windbreaker he had been
wearing. On December 31, 1984, he turned himself
in to police in Concord, New Hampshire, and was re-
turned to New York City.
Goetz was soon labeled the “Subway Vigilante” by
the media. His case attracted national attention
and sparked debate over crime and the right to use
deadly force when threatened, as well as the extent
to which racial stereotypes did or did not affect
Goetz’s perception of danger. Goetz confessed to the
shooting but claimed he had acted in self-defense.
He was eventually charged with seventeen counts of
attempted murder and assault, but following a seven-
week trial in mid-1987, he was acquitted of these
charges, although he was convicted of illegal posses-
sion of a firearm. He received a one-year sentence
on this charge and served eight months in jail before
being released.
In 1985, a lawyer for Darrell Cabey filed a civil suit
against Goetz, charging that Goetz acted recklessly
and deliberately in attacking Cabey. In 1996, the jury
in this case awarded Cabey a $43 million judgment.
Goetz eventually filed for bankruptcy, and since he
had few assets, it was unlikely that Cabey would ever
receive a substantial amount from this judgment.Impact Goetz’s reaction to the perceived threat
against him figured prominently in the national
news from the time of the shootings until the end of
his trial. Many saw Goetz as a heroic figure who stood
up against the threat of crime. Others charged that
he had vastly overreacted to a situation in which he
was not seriously at risk, possibly because his per-
ceived assailants were African American. The inci-
dent was one of several with racial overtones that
took place in New York City in the 1980’s, and it
added to the increasing tensions between races there
and in other U.S. cities during the decade.The Eighties in America Goetz, Bernhard 423
Bernhard Goetz is escorted to Manhattan’s Central Booking facil-
ity on March 28, 1985.(AP/Wide World Photos)