FDNY Battalion Chief Butch Brandes

Protects Son, Fights Off Kidnapper

NY Daily News 5/18/09

An off-duty FDNY chief fought off a disturbed man who tried to snatch his son off a crowded Brooklyn street Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Battalion Chief Butch Brandes was walking with his son Jake outside the Kings Plaza Mall when a disheveled, wild-eyed man suddenly ran up to them and started screaming.

"He told me that my son is not my son, that he didn't belong to me," said Brandes of Battalion 41 in Flatbush. "He was crazy; he kept saying that [Jake] was his son."

After bundling his 8-year-old son to safety inside their parked car, Brandes turned to confront the man, who started flailing away with frantic punches.

As the two men grappled in the middle of the intersection of Flatbush Ave. and Avenue V, several onlookers gathered to gape.

No one stepped in to help the firefighter until good Samaritan Kevin Williams lunged at the crazed man.

"[Brandes] was yelling as he fought, 'He's trying to take my kid - can you help me?'" said Williams, a carpenter who was also going to the mall.

"I was able to get the man from behind and knock him to the ground," said Williams. "I had to do something."

The attacker, who was not identified, was taken into police custody minutes later. He was sent for psychiatric evaluation, and criminal charges are pending, officials said.

Brandes suffered several bruises and cuts in the brawl but was more concerned about his young son's emotional well-being.

"He was devastated by the whole thing, really upset," said Brandes. "It was a terrible, scary moment."

jlemire@nydailynews.com