[Content Note: Kidnapping; sexual violence.]
"You've got to put that being a coward and 'I don't want to get in nobody's business' — you got to put that away for a minute."—Charles Ramsey, the Cleveland man who helped rescue Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight from their captor, Ariel Castro, who had held them for a decade.
There have been some reports that various neighbors contacted police about Castro at different times in recent years, but that the police did not take the reports seriously. The police dispute those claims: "Cleveland officials said Tuesday that they have no record of anyone calling about criminal activity at the house, but that they are still combing their records."
It's not clear yet what happened—whether reports really were made and ignored, or whether people are saying they made calls at times when they should have but didn't, for fear of getting involved. Maybe some combination thereof.
What is clear is that Charles Ramsey got involved. He says he's not a hero, but stepping up and stepping in is heroic in a world plagued with cowardice and indifference.
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