What would you have done?

[GaGa]

Something unusual happened yesterday evening while i was out on my bike. There i was taking a breather,doing the pretending to wait for the other riders act, when a youngish lad ran towards me. He looked a bit stressed out. Why you may ask. Well he was stressed because he was being chased by two police officers. Now we hear about these 'have a go heroes' who rugby tackle handbag thieves or chase after suspects etc etc,but i didn't. I just sat there and let him go by while the two coppers did their best to catch up with him. Yes i could've thrown myself at him and risked another broken hip or a punch in the face but i chose self preservation. I had to think what would be in it for me and what serious implications could happen if i did my supposed public duty. I also had to remember that i ride around that area quite a lot,so i'd probably see him again,or more likely him see me, as not many roadies ride around this estate. As i rode off, the usual sight these days of folk filming an incident on their phones was taking place. Those filming didn't give chase so why should i have? The two coppers looked weighted down by their equipment and their big commando style boots didn't help their sprinting ability. No,i think i made the right split second choice.
I think you made the correct decision. If you had jumped on the lad and then had to act in self defense, those officers in hot pursuit could have nicked the two of you.

 

[screenman]

How many charges have stuck for inappropriate force?

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Surely the correct answer is to whip out your mobile phone and film it for YouTube?

 

[Drago]

How many charges have stuck for inappropriate force?

Lots and lots and lots. And lots.

 

[screenman]

Lots and lots and lots. And lots.

In events like Accy is describing. Must admit I have intervened in the past, but not a clue how my brain would react now as I have not been in that situation for many years.

 

[Salar]

I must have been only nine or so when I did my first being a Hero act.

Earlier in the day our teacher had been telling us not to speak to strangers, it was the mid 60's and we lived on a council estate.

I was on the way back from school and at the corner of our street a skinny man in a long mac. was talking to my younger sister.

Remembering what our teacher had said earlier , I thought I'm not having this and charged at him full force, even at the age of nine I was a bit of a lump.

Anyway he went flying over the privet hedge helped by the small wall which seemed to catapult him backwards, with his legs sticking up in the air, Michael Crawford couldn't have performed it better.

My sister ran off home and I hid and watched him climb out of the hedge, he'd seen where my sister went, so off he goes, banging on our front door.

When I eventually plucked up the courage to go home I found out he was the new local insurance man looking for an address to collect his weekly payments. !

 

[Globalti]

When I was a student I was in a toy shop looking for a gift for my small brother when I became aware of a commotion by the till where the cashier was trying to remove small transistor radios from the coat pockets of a character with long curly hair and he was resisting, so I pinioned his arms from behind while she pulled out the radios. Then his mate appeared, having been at the back of the shop onloading his own loot and it turned a bit scarey; thief no. 1 turned to me saying "what's it got to do with you?" and swung at me. I dodged but his knuckle caught a tooth and knocked it out, which was actually doing me a favour because it was already crowned but was loose and rotting. They ran off, Police arrived, we took a stroll around the shopping mall in the hope of spotting the blokes and the shop owner gave me a fiver, which was enough for about 20 pints of M&B's Springfield bitter in the student bar so quite good.

 

[Time Waster]

So teenagers, women, folk older than me....I think I'd have a go. Although you never know how you're going to react until it actually happens.

I once worked with a slightly built and geeky woman who had done a type of Korean martial art (not TKD but one of the other families of Korean arts) since a young age. You'd not suspect she could fight but she could.

On holiday a guy tried picking her back pocket. She detected it but thought he read touching her up. Needless to say he ended up on the floor in a bad way. On an aside it was in India and the crowd thought as she had so it turned very nasty for him.

Or the teacher friend who taught a petit female student who was out on bail following a single punch she threw that killed someone. I mean a very slight lass about 18 is not someone you'd think could throw a punch that could kill. She was known for getting drunk and knocking people out though (including men).

My point being you cannot tell how safe it is to confront someone purely based on looks.

As to the OPs question, I once watched armed robbers leave a supermarket. I didn't intervene. I was 9 at the time so perhaps that was wise! Seriously though the coppers were chasing so leave it to them. You're putting yourself at risk intervening when the right people to do the job are doing it. Admitted they sound like they're losing the race but that's their issue. Is there even a fitness requirement for police these days?

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Is there even a fitness requirement for police these days?

Yup. They give you a uniform and if it fits, you're in.

 

[Drago]

Yep, there's a fitness requirement. Having checked youre fit, they then go and negate any running ability you may have by weighing you down with 3 stone of equipment and kit from the cheapest supplier they can find.