What would you have done?

[PArrow]

A conflict between a man and a woman is definitely off my "Will intervene" list.

That falls into the "call 911, take pictures and video, run like hell, call Springer" catagory.

[frazzled]

Hello all. This is my first post on the forum, and I felt compelled to comment on this issue.

I like the comments above, and wanted to offer a small piece of advice...be careful. I stopped my neighbor from beating his wife by standing on my side of our property line with my pistol behind my back. Had already called the police, and when they showed up, she turned on me and claimed I threatened to kill everyone. I was arrested for Deadly Conduct.

I won't get in the middle of a fight between others, but I will call the police and let them break it up. I enjoy the site...

Another reason I love this board...who'd a thought?

Ditto.

Still ok if adults attacking old lady or yorkie trying to protect child from a pit bull though

[casingpoint]

Most LEO's are extremely reluctant to intervene in domestic disputes on account an aggrieved spouse often will not press charges. Take a hint. You really don't know what's going down with any incident.

[pedalman]

Not to mention that the abused spouse will suddenly turn on the police when they try to restrain the offender.

I would tend to think that if I were a police officer, I would rather walk in on a robbery in progress, than a domestic dispute.

[Keith B]

Not to mention that the abused spouse will suddenly turn on the police when they try to restrain the offender.

I would tend to think that if I were a police officer, I would rather walk in on a robbery in progress, than a domestic dispute.

This is a very real scenario. Had it happen to me when another officer and I started to arrest a womans husband. She had called us and even told us he had been beating her up. We started to cuff him and she then started screaming to leave him alone and he didn't do anything to deserve being arrested. She then took a swing at me and I grabbed her arm. The husband then tried to jump in and took a poke at the other officer (both of them had been drinking ) So, since they had now taken swings at us we could arrest them for assault on a police officer (which we did )

[Count]

I'd have to say I'd be calling 911 and then taking photos with camera or phone from a safe distance.

I was going to say I will call 911 and be a good witness but I like your idea to take pictures.

[NcongruNt]

Hello all. This is my first post on the forum, and I felt compelled to comment on this issue.

I like the comments above, and wanted to offer a small piece of advice...be careful. I stopped my neighbor from beating his wife by standing on my side of our property line with my pistol behind my back. Had already called the police, and when they showed up, she turned on me and claimed I threatened to kill everyone. I was arrested for Deadly Conduct.

I won't get in the middle of a fight between others, but I will call the police and let them break it up. I enjoy the site...

Ouch!

I'm hoping you got that one cleared up and she was charged with filing a false report! That's a terrible situation to be put in. It's a sorry state of affairs when we have to be afraid of helping our neighbors for fear of accusations like that.

[E10]

Back to the original post, this doesn't seem to be a domestic dispute, and four on two, one a woman, looks aggravated to me, especially when it develops into inflicting bodily injury beyond merely subduing a threat, no matter who started it. Often, in these situations, just the display of a firearm, without open threat or pointing at anyone, is enough to end the encounter. I wasn't there, of course, but it seems that unholstering, along with a command to cease and desist, would be appropriate to restore order and figure out who the bad guys are.

Two more or less evenly matched opponents, let 'em go. But these guys we're obviously committing mayhem, in a very public place (I was there, with my family, just last summer), and I would feel a responsibility to at least try to stop them and give the cops time to arrive and sort things out.

[03Lightningrocks]

Often, in these situations, just the display of a firearm, without open threat or pointing at anyone, is enough to end the encounter.

Were on earth did that statistic come from?

[Fangs]

Doesn't the NRA claim that something like 85% of the time just displaying a gun stops the crime? Sorry for not citing an exact article, but I've heard something to this effect quite a few times as well.

[03Lightningrocks]

Doesn't the NRA claim that something like 85% of the time just displaying a gun stops the crime? Sorry for not citing an exact article, but I've heard something to this effect quite a few times as well.

Interesting...I don't think I would count on that working. I was involved in a situation were I was asked by the police if I showed them my gun as a warning...LOL. I said no....apparently I gave the right answer. Something about aggravated assault. Sure as tootin somebody will tell the cops a nut job was waving his gun around in a threatening manner and you will end up getting arrested with the bad guys.

[frazzled]

Back to the original post, this doesn't seem to be a domestic dispute, and four on two, one a woman, looks aggravated to me, especially when it develops into inflicting bodily injury beyond merely subduing a threat, no matter who started it. Often, in these situations, just the display of a firearm, without open threat or pointing at anyone, is enough to end the encounter. I wasn't there, of course, but it seems that unholstering, along with a command to cease and desist, would be appropriate to restore order and figure out who the bad guys are.

Two more or less evenly matched opponents, let 'em go. But these guys we're obviously committing mayhem, in a very public place (I was there, with my family, just last summer), and I would feel a responsibility to at least try to stop them and give the cops time to arrive and sort things out.

Good point that.

[fadlan12]

What everyone is missing here is 6th street and the wharehouse district are all bar areas. You pobably would not be down there carrying unless you were just walking around. Granted there are some nice resturants but the majority of people down there are bar hopping/drinking. This is the forth beating in the last couple months in the area :

http://www.kvue.com/news/local/stories/ ... c.html?npc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We've learned of yet another violent assault in Austin's Entertainment District. Police say a UT student is the latest victim.

Video

KVUE's Noelle Newton reports
2/9/2009
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Week after week we hear of another assault in Downtown Austin. It’s having a negative effect on the atmosphere.

"It's belligerent. It's crazy. I just think that sometimes people get way, way out of hand here,” Austinite Chris Lee said.

Over the weekend, police arrested two men for robbing a UT student outside of Cheers bar on 6th Street. Lucky for the victim a camera across the street at the Texas Lottery Commission was rolling the entire time. According to court documents, Gregory Watkins and Leo Trevino hit the student, then took him to an ATM outside of Emo's bar. Trevino then drove the student home.

Police say downtown crime is nearly three times as high as it was at this time last year. Within the past month, a couple has been brutally beaten, a female UT student robbed and run over and on Sunday, a woman was shot in the leg.

"That's always a concern for us and we'll continue adjust officers where we need to, to help fight that problem,” Sgt. James Mason of the Austin Police Department said.

APD is expected to announce a new initiative down here within days. Chief Art Acevedo has applied for federal grant money to install surveillance cameras throughout downtown like the one at the lottery commission.

The people who live and work downtown have differing opinions on how to fight crime.

"If we could lower the amount of alcohol that is served there would be less crime here too,” Lee said.

"There's an elephant in the room. It's the Salvation Army and the ARCH," said bar owner Bob Woody.

Chief Acevedo hopes to have the surveillance cameras up by 2010. On Thursday, the city council will vote to approve his request

[jlangton]

Still, I'm not sure I can sit back and watch some guy beat a woman to death, domestic or not.

Perfect example of why this mentality is broken...
You drive up on a truck with a man outside the window beating the snot out of the woman inside. You intervene and end up fatally wounding the man, only later to find out the woman had stolen his truck, and he was trying to simply reacquire his property. This really happened locally.
Now...are you so sure you'd intervene in a male/female confrontation?
JL

[frazzled]

(Hypthetically)

Yes.
1. In the direct instance above, per the field book, you have the right to defend another person you reasonably believe under physical assault (paraphrasing as don't have in front of me). In the fact case noted,

beating the snot

out of a woman directly meets that.

2. In the earlier example of four men attacking a couple, if that is the case presented, again, it meets the criteria.

Now I am under no obligation in either circumstance, however, hypothetically, the field book covers that pretty clearly.