“Hey, you! Stop!” A whistle sounded down the sidewalk, behind the robber. A uniformed Public Safety officer had rounded the corner, took in the scene, and started running toward Gary and his assailant.

The kid bolted, pushing past Gary and toppling him onto his ass. A few seconds behind, the officer stopped short as he reached him.

“You okay, sir?” The officer extended a hand down to the sidewalk.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Gary.

“Good, you stay here. I’ll radio this in and go grab that guy.”

Both Gary and the officer turned to look in the direction the mugger had run. They could see he’d made it to the end of the block, about to turn the corner and disappear around the building.

At least, that’s what the guy’s legs and body language seemed to say. But, when he reached the corner, he twitched a few times to the left—and continued running on inertia straight into the street. The “Don’t Walk” sign was lit, and a campus bus bore down on him with horn blaring.