Disabled Children - State Keeping Superhero Away From Disabled Kids

Seattle's self-proclaimed superhero Phoenix Jones lost his job working with disabled children after his arrest for investigation of assault.

On Oct. 11, two days after he was arrested by Seattle police, the Department of Social and Health Services alerted his employer about the case, said DSHS spokeswoman Sherry Hill, who handles children's administration.

"The provider was asked to remove him from any cases that we had," Hill said. DSHS asked that he not be around vulnerable children while the case was pending, she said.

That caused Jones whose real name is Ben Fodor to lose his job working with autistic kids ranging from age 4 to 18, according to . "I had to leave work in the middle of the day," he . "It was embarrassing."

Hill clarified that Fodor is not permanently disqualified from working with kids, but the agency wanted to "err on the side of caution" by telling his employer about the assault investigation.

Fodor, 23, was arrested the morning of Oct. 9 after police said he interjected himself into a crowd near the Alaskan Way Viaduct and pepper-sprayed innocent people. Fodor, who speaks to media as Phoenix Jones, has said he was trying to break up a fight and was later assaulted.

Fodor was released on bond just after noon the day he was arrested. On Oct. 13, he said he was not guilty of a crime. He has not been charged in the case.

But Fodor could still be charged with assault, and a spokeswoman for City Attorney Pete Holmes, Kimberly Mills, said this week that a final decision has not been made. People who are convicted of assault are prohibited by law from jobs working with vulnerable adults and children.

Employers are required to background-check people who work with developmentally disabled children and adults. People who do not pass the background check are put on a state list disqualifying them from such jobs.

Fodor could go back to his job if the case is dropped and he is not convicted, Hill said.

Often an attention seeker, Fodor went to his Oct. 13 court hearing with a mask, but had to take it off inside the courtroom. He revealed himself outside court as television cameras rolled, but didn't talk then about the alleged assaults.

"I think I have to look toward the future and see what I can do to help the city," he told reporters.

Police say he should not interject himself in situations, but should call 911. Fodor promised he'd be back on "patrol" soon.

Fodor also goes by "Flattop" when he fights in the local mixed martial arts scene.

Speaking as the costumed Phoenix Jones Guardian of Seattle, Fodor has told reporters he was breaking up a fight during the Oct. 9 incident.

Police say he barged into the situation something they say he's done in several other cases and assaulted the women and men with pepper spray.

shows two women chasing Fodor and a man with face paint, hitting them and telling the self-proclaimed superheroes to leave.