Not sure if anyone recalls an incident I was personally involved in and shared here on Facebook some time ago. Long story short, I came to the defence of a young, slightly built sales assistant who was about to be throttled by a male a lot bigger than herself, who, as the incident escalated, I discovered was an ex boyfriend with a grievance, who decided to show up at her place of employment. The situation I found myself in was definitely not the norm, but when a clearly, agitated and angry individual clears the sales counter and proceeds to climb up onto that counter to get at his intended victim, you have to think on your feet, fast. At first the confrontation was only verbal but it suddenly became threatening and definitely apparent, this guy was not in the mood to be talked down from his intended action. This I observed with two other women on the premises, one of whom tried to call for help, but unfortunately it either fell on deaf ears or there was no-one else around to diffuse this now volatile situation. I reacted instinctively and reached for a large bottle of lemonade that was stacked on a display and unceremoniously hit him alongside the head with it, which not only stopped his pursuit but left him slightly dazed. Did I react without thinking? NO, definitely not. Did I act with force? YES, I clearly did. Was that force excessive? I believed it wasn’t, but unfortunately I was told by a few I had acted erroneously and by others that my post could be used against me in a court of law. Overtime I have wondered if I could have done things differently, so I began to doubt my actions … BUT now I have had reason to recall that incident today as I watched a man being marched out of the shopping centre by security after verbally abusing staff which turned physical, apparently. I was not aware what led to this incident as it was pretty much over by the time I came upon it and bystanders were reiterating the incident amongst themselves. What did get my attention though was when another officer present asked why no-one had intervened sooner, rather than stand idly by and capture it on their phones. I now believe my actions were warranted on that day and I did what I believed to be the right thing to do, regardless of the ramifications, if any. I stood up for a young girl who was terrified. I have often wondered what would of happened if I had turned a blind eye or procrastinated too long. Would I do it again? Bloody Oath I would!!! And I would like to think there are people in our society who would react likewise if ever put in a similar position. You are not a thug if you are protecting a person (or an animal) from a potentially dangerous state of affairs. What I do believe is this … Violence begets violence but in some instances it is warranted, especially when you have no other option and someone’s life is potentially threatened.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 04:10:30 +0000