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Crime fighter Phoenix Jones wants your help to pay for new suit

BY Josh Kerns  on July 16, 2012 @ 11:59 am (Updated: 12:59 pm - 7/16/12 )

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Seattle crime fighter Phoenix Jones is trying to raise $10,000 to help pay for a new high-tech super suit (MyNorthwest.com photo)

When self-proclaimed Seattle superhero Phoenix Jones first took to the streets to fight crime, his makeshift wardrobe consisted mainly of a plain old bulletproof vest and some Spandex tights. But times have gotten a lot tougher. And now he's going to the public with mask in hand in hopes of raising $10,000 for a new high tech suit of armor.

"Recently, it's just changed. Now I'm finding myself in situations where people are getting shot," Jones told 97.3 KIRO FM's Ross and Burbank. "I saw a woman get shot in the head like 50 feet from where I was at."

That was the unsolved murder of Nicole Westbrook, 21, in April as she left a Pioneer Square nightclub with her boyfriend. It's just one of a number of violent incidents he keeps finding himself near or engaged in. And he says his current suit just isn't cutting it.

"I'm just in a new world and I need to evolve with that world or I am going to be in trouble."

And when it comes to super suits, this one takes the cake. It'll be outfitted with a plethora of high tech crime fighting tools and be made from state-of-the-art materials.

"It's got a light on the chest so if you hit a button it flashes a really bright light. So it blinds people looking forward. It's got pepper launchers and on the other arm it's got mobile wireless Internet and then you can charge the phone through the suit."

He says it also features other goodies including GPS, wireless video and even lasers that can cut through metal and fabric like seat belts, in case he ends up needing to help with a rescue in a car crash or something like that.

"So when I decided to make the suit, I thought 'I'm going to take everything I thought would be cool and put it together,'" he told Ross and Burbank.

All that coolness comes at a serious cost. Jones says the total value is about $250,000. While he says he got a number of companies to donate many of the goodies, he needs about $10,000 to actually assemble it.

But won't that just make him a high-priced target for trouble? Jones says better him than some innocent victim.

"If I'm in the streets and someone's out there and they're going to stab somebody, rob somebody, shoot somebody, I should be that guy because I'm going to be in a $250,000 suit," Jones says.

As for when the new suit hits the streets, Jones admits he's still a little short and hopes people will go to his blog and make a donation (as of Monday he was still about $7,000 short of his goal).

Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter
Josh Kerns is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle Sounds (Saturday nights 7-8) and a digital content producer for MyNorthwest.com.
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Comments (13)


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  • Seattle is a cesspool wrote...
    That's not news...
    July 16, 2012 1:04 pm
    And you should be ashamed.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • kata wrote...
    aww ...
    July 16, 2012 1:12 pm
    I'll spring for a few bucks. I was always a sucker for an underdog.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sghouse wrote...
    Dude has jumped the SHARK
    July 16, 2012 3:25 pm
    P.Jones, please go away, you are ridiculous. One of these days you'll get yourself shot and then the real law enforcement will have to come haul your carcass away. Just STOP the foolishness!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • hedujg26 wrote...
    He deserves nothing and should get just that.
    July 16, 2012 4:04 pm
    Anyone who thinks he is doing the job cops don't do is a complete idiot and knows nothing of what a cop does. Nobody would call this idiot if there boyfriend hit them, or if their kid ran away. the things he think he needs are things we as a responsible citizen carry at our own cost. Laser? what a super ego this guy has. We carry a pocket knife to cut seatbelts, we carry mace that we buy. Charge his phone? Why? So he can call and have his mother come pick him up? This guy is a joke, and KIRO's little toy to parade in front of its subscribers. It is a true sad joke.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rubegoldberg wrote...
    I want a hamburger, no a cheeseburger.
    July 16, 2012 5:47 pm
    I want a hotdog. I want a milkshake. I want potato chips. You'll get nothing and like it!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    Sorry Phoenix
    July 16, 2012 6:05 pm
    I have already promised Batman and the Green Hornet $5000 each. Batman wants new rims on the Bat mobile,and the Green Hornet needs a longer and bigger stinger
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    If your passing out money . . . .
    July 16, 2012 6:39 pm
    send your money to my Fan Club Chairmen Moondoggie.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fartforce1 wrote...
    its noble, and I fear for him.
    July 16, 2012 7:03 pm
    A new suit wont stop a bullet to the head. PJ has made his point but PJ needs to get to the next level - not reinvent the same level and die as a result. I wont help pay for his pursuit into a noble death. Find the next level PJ, become brilliant and stay alive!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • anotherfencewalker wrote...
    A bridge too far..
    July 16, 2012 7:28 pm
    This 21st century version of panhandling has gone too dam far. Everyone has joined the "E" generation. All about entitlements. Oh, and AJ...Stick it. Listening to a desperate 911 call when it becomes public info with you as the caller is a wet dream for most of us.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CameronAtLarge wrote...
    anotherfencewalker
    July 16, 2012 8:24 pm
    You know... wishing to hear someone calling 911 in desperation is pretty sick, even if you don't appreciate the guy. You should stop wishing death on people, even if they are despicable themselves.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    I thought we were all in your "class"??!?
    July 17, 2012 1:17 am
    im schooling the republicant's. Now put you hand down Ace Jackwagon.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }