Some of the stories coming out of cities on the left coast sound too strange to be true but it appears that this one actually happened. An Oakland noodle shop called Noka was testing out a new idea on Fridays. The servers and even the manager were dressed as colorful Power Rangers to promote a series of alcoholic drinks they were serving (“Noka Rangers”) in Power Ranger themed mugs.

Last Friday, as the staff was serving food in their costumes, a woman ran into the shop begging for help. A customer who was eating at Noka when this happened described what happened next.

The craziest thing just happened at dinner. I’m at a ramen shop owned by Thai people in Oakland dressed as power rangers, when a woman comes rushing in saying she wasn’t safe—and a man came running in after her and puts her in a chokehold.

— Ploi de Vivre⁷ (@ppirapokin) October 15, 2022

“Huey” is the Thai expression of the Cantonese “Waaah,” the Korean “Yaaa” and the English, “The fuck?”

& the yellow ranger (who has the sweetest eyes & a sleeve of tats) stood in front of the black ranger & blocked it. Everyone tells the woman to hide in the kitchen.

— Ploi de Vivre⁷ (@ppirapokin) October 15, 2022

We’re trying to call the cops. Patrons are shaking & crying. The pink power ranger (hostess) tells us our food is free.

The man goes outside, starts picking up chairs, baby seats & salt + pepper shakers to throw at the windows.

I, for some reason, start wolfing down my ramen.

— Ploi de Vivre⁷ (@ppirapokin) October 15, 2022

Thirty minutes pass and the deranged guy comes back with a friend. Still no police.

(In retrospect, we’re now curious about this airdrop.)

More swings are swung, more power rangers pile onto the men at the door to lock them out. Locking us in.

I tell the hostess we’re paying her for our meal & double the tip.

She starts shaking.

— Ploi de Vivre⁷ (@ppirapokin) October 15, 2022

Police finally show up.

Cooks materializes with hairnets in disarray & ready to join the power rangers at the door, but I hear them tell the cops that the man has now started another fight down the pier.

I thank all the rangers for their time.

The Green one said:

— Ploi de Vivre⁷ (@ppirapokin) October 15, 2022

There’s no sense, moral or meaning to this story, except that I can’t believe power rangers are actually Thai? I’m grateful no guns were involved. And the food at Noka Ramen was excellent.

— Ploi de Vivre⁷ (@ppirapokin) October 15, 2022

I’m not sure there’s “no sense, moral or meaning to this story.” In fact, I think there are a couple of lessons here. For one, while no one quite says it I suspect the deranged man who attacked all of these people is homeless. Police said he was having a mental health crisis.

Oakland Police confirm to KGO that they detained the man, believing he was undergoing a mental health crisis, and transported him for medical attention.

As amusing as this story is, it could have worked out quite differently for the victim if there hadn’t been a group of people nearby willing to protect her. Also, the fact that it took police a long time to respond despite multiple calls from the same location seems like a lesson to take from this story. You can’t count on police in many of our big cities because there simply aren’t enough of them to do the job.

Remember, Oakland was one of the cities that voted to defund the police. The surge in violent crime that followed convinced Mayor Libby Schaaf to reverse course. But the issue continues to be a major one as the city votes to elect a mayor. Various candidates have differing views on how many officers should be on the force but the public believes the answer is more than they have now.

Oakland recorded more homicides in 2021 than in any year since 2012. The city is on pace for similar numbers this year with 101 homicides so far compared to 102 at this point last year.

The uptick in violence has many Oaklanders on edge. Earlier in the week, business leaders gathered outside of City Hall — where a victim was shot to death a month ago — to call for boosting the number of police officers to 900. Oakland has about 680 officers now. It’s budgeted for 752 officers but has struggled to attract and retain staff. The group also wants the city to start downtown foot patrols.

Zack Wasserman, chair of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, said at the event that crime is “out of control.”

Many voters seem to agree with Wasserman. A poll of voters last fall found that 78% are concerned about crime. Two-thirds of respondents said they feel less safe in Oakland than they did in 2017.

So I’d say the moral of this story is pretty clear. If you screw around with public safety by listening to idiot activists who tell you everyone will be better off with fewer police officers, you wind up with stories like this one. Regular people should be forced to battle with deranged men to protect women on the street but that’s what happens when there aren’t enough police to do the job.