Darryl Cabey was paralyzed in the shooting.

On December 22, 1984, Bernard Goetz, otherwise known as the "subway vigilante," shot four young men in a Manhattan subway car after he said the men threatened him and tried to rob him.

The shooting became a national sensation, as many subway riders, concerned about subway muggings, applauded Goetz's actions. But others criticized Goetz as a racist because the four young men were African-American.

Three years after the shooting, Goetz, a 39-year-old electronics specialist, was acquitted of attempted murder and assault, but was convicted of criminal possession of an unlicensed weapon and spent 250 days in jail.

Goetz said he started firing because he thought the four men were about to rob him. Many suspected however, that Goetz acted as an "avenging angel" because he had been mugged twice before. The youths said they were panhandling money to play video games when they asked him for $5, not trying to rob him.

One of the four men, Darrell Cabey, was paralyzed in the shooting. In reaction to a $50 million lawauit filed by Cabey's familiy, Goetz said in a December 20, 1994 Toronto Star article, "If you're injured, paralyzed or whatever while committing a violent crime against me, that's not my fault."

After the verdict, Goetz' lawyer Barry Slotnick said, "I think the true message is that people have a right to protect and defend themselves under justifiable situations." Goetz said he wants to "go back to being an anonymous stranger in New York," said Slotnick in a June 17, 1987 Toronto Star article.

Supporters and critics argued outside the courthouse immediately after the verdict. Anti-Goetz demonstrators chased his car, shouting, "Goetz is an oppressor, murder no more." Another man carried a sign, "Criminals, think twice or we will Goetz you."