Guy beat up woman at my bus stop

[V1K1NG0]

Thought I would share my experience from yesterday afternoon. I was making my way from shopping at Wal-mart and started up the small hill to my bus stop. As I reached the top I could hear screaming and then 2 male voices shouting. I make it to the top and I see a lady bleeding from her face, a guy on a bicycle taking off and a guy on the ground. There were about 4 other people there as well, 2 called 911 and the other 2 could have cared less.

My first impression was that the guy on the bike beat the man and lady up and robbed them or something. As I was trying to process everything a huge F-350 pops the curb and out comes a man in blue jeans and a hawaiin shirt. Pulls out his badge and goes directly to the man on the ground to make sure he didnt have any weapons. Before I knew it there was 5 police cars, an ambulance and a fire truck there.

What really happened:
Man that was beaten up on the ground attacked lady and guy on bicycle stopped him and beat him up. When he heard the cops were coming he hoped on his bicycle and took off. The lady next to me had 911 on the phone and gave them the description of the people involved and that is how the undercover officer was able to react the way he did when he got there. Arrested guy on ground and dont know what happened to the bicyclist.

What I already new that was confirmed:
Just because the bus stop is on the best side of town does not mean bad things do not happen. This goes for most places in general.
Some people freeze in situations like this.
Some people just look the other way.
When you dont have all the information a story can turn out completely different.

What I learned:
Importance of charging your cell phone.
How something looks to you at first is not always correct (kind of like fog of war).
My situational awareness worked pretty good but I still couldnt pick up as much detail about the actors and events as I thought I could. Need to practice that more.
Need to take a refresher course in first aid and cpr.

I do not feel a firearm was warranted to use at this juncture but a defensive spray or handheld baton would have worked great. I've also wondered why it took me so long to process everything. Is there anything I can do to speed that up?

The guy on the bicycle handled the aggresor but why did he take off I wonder.

What can be done to improve my situational awareness/processing of situations like this???

 

[GrizzlyGraves]

Lucky for the woman that the cyclist was passing by. It doesn't sound like the other dolts even batted an eye.

 

[Eyesac]

Go bike-man! The bike man did what he needed to, I would probably have used OC, but I guess he got the job done. Not a lot for anyone else (including yourself) to do but call the cops. As far as speeding up your processing, the hero here took off which would throw anyone off as to his role, would have been confusing to anyone in your situation...

 

[soccergod04]

He probably took off because he may not be the most savory of characters and was worried about getting in trouble. Or maybe he just didn't want to deal with the cops. Or maybe he had an appointment to make. There could be a lot of reasons he left.

 

[Avenger]

Some speculation here: Bicycle guy may not have wanted police attention drawn to either himself or his possessions. Thankfully, he did the right thing before looking out for himself. Maybe he should have stayed to give a statement, but the important thing is that the attack was stopped.

Also, it saves some poor cop the embarrassment of bringing in a good guy for something silly like an outstanding parking ticket. Happened to a LEO friend of mine, he was sick about it for a long time.

 

[jlbraun]

Regarding good samaritans leaving before authorities arrive: My mom was once locked out of her car out in the middle of winter in Chicago with me and my sister when we were kids.

Unsavory looking guy comes up to my mom and says "Locked out of your car, ma´am?" She nods yes, and he says "Can you please look across the street for a second?". She does and (POP) her door is open within a few seconds. "You never saw me, ma´am. Have a nice afternoon."

 

[bogie]

Description of the guy on the bike that was given to the cops:

Tall cleanshaven long-haired black hispanic bald midget with blonde beard and grey mustache.

 

[CubDriver]

I had something like this happen once breaking up a fight. One of the three other people to help said that he was on parole and his parole officer would not have cared even if he was helping, NO FIGHTING. So by the time the police arrived, only three people had assisted.

Whats the legality of leaving the scene of a crime like this, assuming you were not the one to perpetrate the crime? I know there are certain areas (campus) that if I did anything to assist that could be construed as violent, its a lot more trouble than its worth to stick around. I learned that after helping some dorm staff restrain a meth addict who smashed a window and entered the building.

 

[onebigelf]

More than likely the guy on the bike left to avoid having to hire an attorney to defend him against:
1) criminal charges
2) civil suit by the guy he beat up for attacking the woman.

I'd have left, too.

John

 

[MortalWombat]

The guy on the bicycle handled the aggresor but why did he take off I wonder.

Maybe he's a superhero. BikeMan.

 

[Leanwolf]

Twelve or thirteen years ago in Los Angeles, in a rather unsavory part of L.A., I might add, an old woman was at an ATM, withdrawing a few dollars. It was after dark.

A young thug came up to her, hit her with a club of some kind, knocking her to the sidewalk. He was in the process of robbing her.

Suddenly, another man appeared. He had a handgun and shot and killed the assaultist/robbing suspect. The shooter very quickly disppeared into the night, so the old woman said. The bank's camera was not able to show the shooter. The old woman couldn't describe him to the police.

The shooter was not "apprehended."

L.W.

 

[Realbigo]

This is a good solid description of the difference between "TheLaw" and Justice. Sometimes a good person might have a warrant out for him for something. It happened to me. Sometimes a bad guy does the right thing. It happens too.

 

[.38 Special]

It is very possible that we have arrived at the time when a wise man feels the need to avoid the notice of authorities -- regardless of his personal character.

 

[VegasOPM]

I'd have to say that fear of a lawsuit from the scumbag would make me "whoop and run".

 

[roo_ster]

It is very possible that we have arrived at the time when a wise man feels the need to avoid the notice of authorities -- regardless of his personal character.

Depending on the location, I'd say that is the way I look at it.

 

[rino451]

For all the bike dude knew, it could have been a domestic issue. Sux to defend the battered woman and then have to face both her and her man in court over an assault charge. After all, her man hit her b/c he loves her.

 

[JohnnyGrey]

Best thing to do: ignore and walk away. Weigh the cost/benefit of that fuzzy feeling you get vs being dragged into court, sued or jailed.

 

[jeepmor]

Best thing to do: ignore and walk away. Weigh the cost/benefit of that fuzzy feeling you get vs being dragged into court, sued or jailed.

In these litigious times, I reluctantly agree. However, it does appear the right thing happened in this situation.

Go Bikeman, go Bikeman, go Bikeman....

 

[coyotehitman]

I've also wondered why it took me so long to process everything. Is there anything I can do to speed that up?

My guess is because you do not deal with this type of thing often enough.

The guy on the bicycle handled the aggresor but why did he take off I wonder.

He probably had an active warrant out for his arrest.

What can be done to improve my situational awareness/processing of situations like this???

IMO, the only thing you can do is experience more events like this, which I do not recommend. This will condition you. It was't always this way, but I deal with exciting and dynamic situations so often that I no longer get shaken; no more tunnel vision, no more problems remembering fine details, I can read people fairly well and I no longer have trouble remaining calm.

 

[ilbob]

I think the guy on the bike got it right. Maybe the law says he should have stuck around, but he did the right thing, and afterwards is just meaningless paperwork.

 

[Wheeler44]

Justice was served, the attack was stopped, the police were on their way. At that point there was no more "upside" possible and much "downside" possible. Time to ride anonymously into the sunset.

 

[ilcylic]

Who was that spandexed man?!?

 

[Zoogster]

How something looks to you at first is not always correct (kind of like fog of war).
My situational awareness worked pretty good but I still couldnt pick up as much detail about the actors and events as I thought I could. Need to practice that more.

This is why even in a good shoot many witnesses will remember the good guy as the bad guy.
The thing that will cause 90% to even notice something is happening is the first shot or loud noises, and the person with the smoking weapon will be assumed the aggressor, especialy if he is trying to avoid having to shoot by yelling and acting intimidating/brandishing.
To most witnesses it would appear the good guy is yelling, threatening, and then opened fire.
It would go down in thier memories as the good guy being the bad guy, and the facts told to investigators are then told from that perspective.



For the same reason don't assume you know what happened even now. For all you know it was a police sting gone bad and the guy on the bike was an undercover that didn't want his cover blown. The woman could have been trying to set up some sort of illegal deal to be done at the stop, and the purchaser learned of the deciet or just decided to rob her, and one of the undercovers watching had to come to her aid.

It could have been any number of situations, and you have to remember what you know is only what you saw.


Another thing to remember is 95% (better in some areas and even worse in others) of people will not come to another person's aid being attacked, whether from fear or a desire to just not be involved.
People get slowly beaten to death on the side of busy roads as hundreds of motorists go by, in busy public parks, etc all the time.
You really better assume you will be alone in any self defense situation even in broad daylight in public with people all around you. Those people all around you may do nothing but witness the event, and even then only some will stick around to give thier story.

Lucky for the woman in this situation batman/bikeman came to her rescue, and then disappeared.

 

[rondog]

I was driving down Michigan Ave. once in Dearborn, and briefly saw a body laying inside a bus shelter, with a pool of blood under the head, and about a dozen people just standing around looking at it. I'll never forget that. Never heard what happened either, probably small-time news in that city.

 

[David N]

Thanks for an interesting post.