Way back in time, I used to be an usher at a mall movie theater.
One day, a couple walked out of one of the auditoriums, arguing loudly. Suddenly he grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her against the wall, screaming at her. (What makes this even worse is they had two small children with them.)
Being the nearest employee to the scene, I heaved a sigh and approached them, with the intent of just asking him to take it outside. (We weren’t really trained in conflict resolution at usher school.) As I neared, before I even said a word, he turned and socked me one in the face, then went right back to yelling at his wife.
I notified the manager, mall security held the guy, and the police were called. The officer told me it was completely up to me whether to press charges or not, but he gave me a look that said, “Don’t let the asshole get away with this.”
I testified in court, and the guy got a fine and probation. He may not have felt any remorse, but he had to appear in open court as a defendant and ended up with a misdemeanor on his record. At the very least I hope the experience made him think twice before trying such crap in public again.
So, Quasi, I would urge you to go ahead and press charges. Not because you have to be a hero, but because it’ll be one small blow against jerkish behavior in the world.
I would pursue it as far it as would go and make sure that there is a buttload of paperwork for this guy to sort through.
This kinda thing would become a hobby to me. No vengence. No malice. No hate. Just " Let’s find how many legal ways we can entangle this douche up for a long time." kinda thinking.
Another Elie Wiesel quote: Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil.
And, because it bears repeating: **“We must always take sides. Neutality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” **
Pursue it. It may be inconvenient, and may not bring as much satisfaction as you would like, but allowing this bully to get away with this is unacceptable.
He will only get probation and a fine probably, but he’ll have a misdemeanor conviction. Best case, he’ll wake up and behave from now on. Otherwise, his violent behavior will cause more trouble down the road, and a conviction will assure less lenient handling in subsequent matters.
To those who would simply stand by and watch a bully threaten/terrorize/injure a woman on the floor - shame on you. No I don’t know the whole story any more than you do, but unless she had just taken a baseball bat to him seconds before, nothing can excuse his threatening behavior, and absolutely nothing excuses him from hitting someone who says they’ll call the police.
What if it’s your mother on the ground? Your sister? Your girlfriend who said something Mongo didn’t like? Do we all just stand around waiting 10-30 minutes on the police to respond? The police aren’t there to protect you. They simply can’t be everywhere.
I don’t carry a badge any more, but I’m still a sheepdog.
I have and will always stand up to a wolf. Not to show off, or be a hero, but because it’s the right thing to do.
That whole sheepdog analogy is about the damn dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.
It’s extremely popular on gun boards and it’s dumb there too.
Sheepdogs protect the sheep because sheepdogs serve their master, the shepherd. Not because they have an idealistic desire to protect the sheep.
The shepherd, as it suits him, will exploit the sheep in various ways including killing them.
The sheepdog is his henchman in this.
Sheepdogs sometimes develp their own taste for lamb and mutton. When this happens, the shepherd will unhesitatingly kill the sheepdog too.
But I think we should address what should be done in such circumstances. You might have some good advice, based on statements made by people who intervened and survived to file a police report.
I successfully interrupted a street assault once; I started shouting, from a nice safe distance, things like ‘Cut that out, you know better than that, …’; the prospective victims took the opportunity to run away (and stopped at the nearest corner to try to hail a cab … idiots). That was my strategy, to distract the assaulter, and it worked.
Domestic violence is different, because the victim can not back you up unless the escape plan is in place. But I have, as a property owner, sought restraining orders against my tenant’s abuser; I never got one, but my tenant did later.
The appropriate civilized action is to press charges. The local DA’s office will decide whether they actually prosecute or not but they can’t make that choice if you don’t press charges.
Of course they can proceed without you. It isn’t very likely, but you desire to press charges doesn’t necessarily enter in to it. And of course, if they go ahead without you a conviction is very unlikely if you decide not to cooperate.
I apologize for bringing the bad information in then. 8 years ago when I was sucker punched, by someone I didn’t realize was looking for a fight, the officer taking the report told me they couldn’t press charges if I didn’t file a complaint. Since I needed medical attention I was told it would be felony battery. (stitches to close the pressure cut above my eye. They didn’t do anything about the broken nose I got when his buddy punched me while I was out of it trying to stand back up after the first guy hit my “off switch”)
They never found the guy even though we gave him the persons first name/description and the name of the kick boxing gym he worked out at. (Information we got from someone else who knew who he was, I had never seen the person before or since.)
Eight years later and I still regret not persuing it further.
What if the OP does press charges? Couldn’t the other guy just say that he was having a heated discussion with his girlfriend and the OP muttered a swear word and a threat under his breath and then proceeded towards him in an aggressive manner. He Feared For His Safety so he threw a pre-emptive punch to the jaw.
My 2 cents: I would have walked over, stayed outside of punching distance, and asked either of them if they needed help. I would assume that the woman was the one in distress, but looks can be deceiving. I wouldn’t have condemned the guy without knowing the whole story. If one/both of them told me how I could go fuck myself and nobody said that they needed my assistance, then off I would go. If they both consent to be in that situation, then I am sure and hell fine with it…
It depends on the jurisdiction. Since Quasimodal is posting from Lloydminster, Alberta, the Criminal Code of Canada governs. Under the Code, most criminal charges are begun by a peace officer laying an information, not the victim.
The victim cannot force the police to lay the information if they don’t think it’s warranted by the facts, and the peace officer doesn’t need the victim’s consent to lay the information. However, if the victim is unwilling to testify, it may be difficult for the Crown to prove the charge.
Nor is there any distinction between a misdemeanour and a felony conviction. We just have criminal convictions, all on one record for the individual.
I also am surprised by Stranger on a Train’s comments. I’ve seen many a simple assault being prosecuted, successfully. In my earlier days, I’ve prosecuted such matters. It’s not the function of the Court to refuse to hear a charge, or to discipline a Crown prosecutor for trying a charge.
Of course, if a particular Crown repeatedly brings charges on flimsy evidence, that Crown might find his or her credibility with the Court to be a bit shaky, but that’s not the same thing as saying a judge would find a Crown in contempt just because the Crown is trying a simple assault charge.
That sort of thing is why we have trials, with cross-examination by the lawyers, and assessment of credibility by the judge. When there are conflicting testimonies as to what happened, the judge has to sort it out and make findings of fact.
Plus, you’d be surprised at what people will say to the police, even when they’ve been advised of their right to silence and their right to consult a lawyer, and knowing that they’re being videoed. People talk, not to lie, but to give their side. I wouldn’t be surprised if the fellow is airing a sense of grievance at that guy who got between him and his lady, and wouldn’t hesitate to tell it all to the police, even if that amounts to confessing to an assault charge.
This sounds a bit fishy. Assuming what your saying is correct, did the cops seem familiar with your assailant. Maybe you were still dazed, not being coherent enough for the cops taste and he was on his way to lunch/dinner and didn’t want to invest time pursuing it further. I’d get the tape and press charges. I don’t think its likely that your gonna get restitution though. Get a copy of the tape if you can. Maybe you could link us on YouTube. Only after you win your case, assuming there is a case.