The cop said the tape was wasn’t able to be removed and viewed from the restaurants security for a few days. I don’t understand why either. I was a little shaken up and didn’t ask all the best questions. Suing is out of the question. Not worth the effort, and I’m not really a vengeful person anyways.
As for my friend. Essentially there was the lobby and the entrance to the restaurant as two separate rooms. We walked past the dispute and then I walked back. I thought he came with me but didn’t come in the room so he wasn’t a direct witness. My friend is also not to keen to get involved with things like this.
And I don’t know what he meant by “inconsistent”. I really don’t. Maybe he meant that their two stories matched and my story was different. I only heard one of their stories and she left out the fact that I was punched.
Something is fishy if the cop is telling you to drop it, due to “inconsistency” I’d view the tape and pursue the issue. You were assaulted, for crying out loud!
But that’s just me, and not a judgement on anyone who wouldn’t.
Upthread there was a quote from Elie Weisel about taking sides. I read a fictional quote onetime that still bears true, in which the speaker said “Take sides! Always take sides! You may sometimes be wrong, but the person who doesn’t take sides is always wrong.”
Baker, I’m trying to remember - I thought that quotation ended “the man who doesn’t take sides is never right” - a slight difference? but it’s been years since I read that book, so I may well be misremembering…
I was quoting from memory too, so I went and looked it up.
Or again: “Take sides! Always take sides! You will sometimes be wrong–but the man who refuses to take sides must always be wrong! Heaven save us from poltroons who fear to make a choice. Let us stand up and be counted.”
Quasi, you done good. That’s what integrity is - you do the right thing even when it’s not easy.
And my $0.02 worth - you got video? Better than witnesses. File a complaint against him and have his ass arrested. In the long run, he might only get a day or two in the jug, but it will cost him a bucket of money for fines, lawyer, etc.
The guy who’s looking at vehicular manslaughter, child molestation, armed robbery, abduction, rape, and murder cases, is not the same guy who’s going to be looking at Quasimodal’s simple assault. Our guy is the guy whose desk is stacked high with criminal mischief, simple assaults, and DUIs. He should take this situation as seriously as he takes the rest. And even if it gets pled down – so what? Just because it’s not the return of Jack the Ripper doesn’t mean that we should allow strangers to sock us in the jaw without consequences. A misdemeanor prosecutor to some extent cares about what his or her victims care about; if this is important to Quasimodal, and he makes that known, it might mean something to the prosecutor as well. For all we know this is the guy’s fourth simple assault and he would not be looking at a misdemeanor anyway.
No, the prosecutor’s office decides what charges to bring. As long as there is a good-faith basis for the charge – and with the event caught on tape, how could there not be? – there is no basis for any judicial action against the prosecutor. And punishing simple assaults is not a “waste of the court’s time.” We all have the expectation that we live in a civilized society where we can go about our daily lives without fear someone will assault us. One way to reinforce that is to prosecute cases just like this – not only because it makes the statement that you can’t punch strangers, but because it also makes the statement that you can’t beat your girlfriend, or threaten to beat your girlfriend, in public without people speaking up about it. And the subtext of domestic violence may well have some weight and resonance to a prosecutor as well.
Of course the criminal justice system exists to protect individuals, and while it does not trouble itself with vengeance for the wronged, it is and by every measure should be about justice for the wronged. Just because you found it unresponsive and ultimately unjust, does not mean that Quasimodal or anyone else, should tolerate being assaulted under the assumption that he or she can expect no better, and deserves no better.
Quasimodal, IMO you stood up when you intervened on behalf of the woman, and by pursuing it, you will stand up for yourself. Why would you allow yourself to be treated worse than you would have allowed her to be? I’m not overstating, as if you have a duty to pursue it or something, and maybe if and when it becomes too big of a PITA in terms of time and attention, you’ll decide it’s best to let it go. But I surely wouldn’t let it go just because I thought it was automatically a waste of my time to speak up for myself and refuse to tolerate an assault. It very well may not be a waste of your time. Maybe at the end the day the guy only gets a slap on the wrist, but that will be a slap you helped administer, and it will be on his record when the next guy he punches comes in. You will be, if nothing else, a “prior.” Do that for the next guy who tries to stop him from beating his girlfriend.
I say at least view the tape, and if you have good video, have the police lay charges. Meanwhile, write everything down about the encounter while it’s still fresh in your mind. You DON’T get to punch somebody in the jaw for no good reason without consequences. And remember in the future to stay out of swinging distance - there’s a good samaritan story here in Calgary that happened a month or two ago where the guy got beaten into unconsciousness trying to help someone - the police always advise calling them and not getting yourself hurt. I’ve called the police a couple of times when I heard a woman getting beaten - I’ve never for a second regretted doing that.
You really believe a judge would hold a prosecutor with contempt for not letting someone get away with punching someone in the jaw?
I don’t know where you live, but most of us live in a place where you don’t walk away the same night as you got caught committing a crime with a firearm.
Getting punched in the jaw is an every day minor indignity? You should be ashamed of yourself for attempting to downplay this and convince the OP that he should let it go for the ridiculous reasons you gave.
i think that you were a jerk, and you got a tenth of what was coming to you.
What on earth were you thinking???
“If the situation becomes violent, I’m calling the police!”
What a stud. Why didn’t you go all the way? Arrest him in advance of the assault? Threaten him with testifying against him in case he murdered her? Telling him that if he married her, and then got rich and was dating Amber Frye, and she turned up missing, that you would testify against him in court??? That probably would have saved her life, if he decided to become violent in the future…and you failed her.
Dude, if I had *seen *what you did, and I had been that cop, I’d have pistol whipped you.
Also, the guy was in a tense situation, and didn’t need your interference. Mr. Big Arbitrator of justice! You don’t know what transpired to get them into that situation…She could have just told him that just because he had sex with her friend, that she slept with his boss, and was pregnant-he didn’t bat an eyelid, she attacked him, and he dodged her, and she, drunk, fell down. The Great One comes by, and decides to interfere, and let the chick know that he’s in charge, and the situation is under control, and you are some Clark Kent, going around doing great deeds of wonder. You tried to exercise some imagined power that you had…well, you paid the price of power, and that was responsibility. Enjoy it!
It may not amount to much, but there’s a little satisfaction to be gained by dragging his ass to court. It’s a huge inconvenience and he can’t blow it off. You just need to decide if his inconvenience is worth yours.
No, the job of law enforcement is to document, cite or arrest and collect evidence when a crime has been committed. The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled officers have no duty or obligation to prevent a crime or to stop a crime in progress.
It’s the fact that so many people are not willing to risk their own well-being to help others that allow abusers to thrive. Whether there’s a legal obligation to render aid or not, there is certainly a moral one.
I would have called the cops. Nathan Clarke was a friend of mine. In 1996 he came to the aid of a woman in a parking garage who was physically fighting with her husband. The abuser killed both of them (his wife and my friend).
I say good on you and good on my friend for doing the right thing, but trying to intervene from a distance and proactively calling the cops would have been better.
Now, after the fact, I would definitely view the tape and press charges if the evidence is there. I would not let anyone get away with this.
Wow, I am really disappointed with several posters in this thread. You may choose not to get involved, but attacking Quasimodal for doing so? WTF?
Stranger on a Train, I’ve always admired how much you know about so many different topics, but this certainly isn’t one of them. You obviously don’t know how a prosecutor’s office is organized, nor much about criminal court (charging a prosecutor with contempt for filing an assault case? Huh?). You obviously had a bad experience with a criminal case, but that doesn’t mean that is how it works most of the time.
Quasimodal, I think you were indeed heroic. You saw someone in need and you took a personal risk by stepping in. While it might not have been completely wise (after all, you should have been prepared to fight the guy if you intervened, and the guy could well have been armed), you did it anyway. That’s damned impressive in today’s world! If I were the officer on that call, I would have been shaking your hand.
I strongly encourage you to view the tape and press charges. I can pretty much guarantee this isn’t this jerk’s first offense, nor will it be his last. Adding one more prior to his record is a good thing.
What will happen depends a lot on jurisdiction. I can guarantee that if that happened in my city, even without priors this guy would be looking at a minimum of a week in jail for this. My judge would hammer him! That probably won’t happen where you are, but you can always hope. Even if it does get reduced, he still pays a price for what he did.
