Domestic violence encounter at wally world today.

[nightmare69]

You get involved in a DV you will be fighting both of them. This is why I will not get involved, I carry a gun for me and my family. I am not a hero, police, or iron man. All I will do is call police UNLESS the woman is getting severely beaten where her life is in danger.

If 2 guys are having a fight in the parking lot, Im going to call police and start taking bets.

[RoyGBiv]

Sounds to me like you handled things perfectly.
You were standing by and available to take additional action, should you deem it wise and necessary, should the situation escalate.

The woman's physical bruises will heal, the perp is in custody, LE has a reliable, uninvolved witness, you don't have to live with the aftermath of drawing your weapon or worse, shooting someone. I believe Charlie Sheen would call that "Winning"

[baldeagle]

Think about what you did. You observed the assault, you called 911, you waited for them to arrive and you gave them a statement that resulted in his arrest. What could possibly be wrong with that? Furthermore, since you are a witness, the woman can no longer refuse to press charges. You took her out of the equation. By doing that, you've probably saved her life. When this goes to trial, I would testify that you twice thought of drawing your gun and then thought better of it. That will impress upon the jury how serious the beating was and might even tip the woman off that if she stays with this guy things can end badly for both of them.

As others have said, domestic violence is one of the most volatile and unpredictable types of human behavior there is. Police don't even want to get involved in them (but they have no choice.) I think what you did was the very best that you could have done under the circumstances.

[ScooterSissy]

What would you have done? I am a firefighter for a local dept and on my way to work this am I made my usual stop at wally world (in uniform) for some groceries for the station. I always carry my sub compact .45 and as I exited my truck I noticed a rather large black male standing near the entrance to the store. Something didnt seem right so I watched him while I headed for the entrance. He walked over to and got in a parked vehicle with a black female in the drivers seat and before I entered the store he was wailing on her. She was screaming and attempting to fight back but he was obviously getting the better of her. I almost pulled my pistol but something told me not to so I called 911. While on the phone with dispatch she managed to exit the vehicle. He got out, went around, and got in the drivers seat. She went in the store as he pulled off but I stayed to watch where he went as I still had 911 on the phone. He circled the lot but returned and parked the car and headed for the entrance. I started to follow but as he got to the entrance several employees stopped him and wouldnt let him enter. Apparently she went in and told people inside what had happened. Police arrived at that time and started questioning him while she stayed in the store. The store employees said he must have beat the heck out of her judging by her face. He denied doing anything other than pushing her with an open hand at which point I told the police I was a witness and saw everything. I filled out a statement and they arrested him. I have felt bad most of the day for not acting but everyone tells me I handled it right

You did exactly the right thing. I can tell you from past experience (though not quite as severe) that when you intervene on domestic situations, the other parties can quickly turn on you. Often, they only want the fight between themselves, and an outside party is an easy target to redirect thir frustration and agression.

What if you had pulled your gun, and things continued to escalate, and you shot the guy. Do you think the wife might have suddenly implicated you as the agressor? In a heartbeat it could happen.

As it is, everything turned out the way it should have. Bad guy went away, and everyone went home.

[bulinm]

You can't be faulted for your actions. Those third party deals are really troublesome. You done good.

[MoJo]

You did everything by the book, Your awareness was alerted, you kept your distance, when things went south you called 911, you stayed until the police arrived and was a good witness. It doesn't get any more text book than that. Kudos

[The Annoyed Man]

"Domestic violence encounters are scary, weird, unpredictable, and dangerous. I don't think I could stand there and watch someone get murdered in cold blood, but I would do everything in my power to avoid having to intervene short of that."

This

I don't know if this remains true today, but I remember back in the 1970s/1980s that more LEOs were killed in the line of duty answering domestic violence calls than any other kind of situation....by a large margin.

[Dadtodabone]

"Domestic violence encounters are scary, weird, unpredictable, and dangerous. I don't think I could stand there and watch someone get murdered in cold blood, but I would do everything in my power to avoid having to intervene short of that."

This

I don't know if this remains true today, but I remember back in the 1970s/1980s that more LEOs were killed in the line of duty answering domestic violence calls than any other kind of situation....by a large margin.

http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/maga ... e_id=52011 Recent study results.

[bdickens]

What would you have done? I am a firefighter for a local dept and on my way to work this am I made my usual stop at wally world (in uniform) for some groceries for the station. I always carry my sub compact .45 and as I exited my truck I noticed a rather large black male standing near the entrance to the store. Something didnt seem right so I watched him while I headed for the entrance. He walked over to and got in a parked vehicle with a black female in the drivers seat and before I entered the store he was wailing on her. She was screaming and attempting to fight back but he was obviously getting the better of her. I almost pulled my pistol but something told me not to so I called 911. While on the phone with dispatch she managed to exit the vehicle. He got out, went around, and got in the drivers seat. She went in the store as he pulled off but I stayed to watch where he went as I still had 911 on the phone. He circled the lot but returned and parked the car and headed for the entrance. I started to follow but as he got to the entrance several employees stopped him and wouldnt let him enter. Apparently she went in and told people inside what had happened. Police arrived at that time and started questioning him while she stayed in the store. The store employees said he must have beat the heck out of her judging by her face. He denied doing anything other than pushing her with an open hand at which point I told the police I was a witness and saw everything. I filled out a statement and they arrested him. I have felt bad most of the day for not acting but everyone tells me I handled it right

You did the right thing. As soon as you tried to intervene, they both would have turned on you.

[Keith B]

What would you have done? I am a firefighter for a local dept and on my way to work this am I made my usual stop at wally world (in uniform) for some groceries for the station. I always carry my sub compact .45 and as I exited my truck I noticed a rather large black male standing near the entrance to the store. Something didnt seem right so I watched him while I headed for the entrance. He walked over to and got in a parked vehicle with a black female in the drivers seat and before I entered the store he was wailing on her. She was screaming and attempting to fight back but he was obviously getting the better of her. I almost pulled my pistol but something told me not to so I called 911. While on the phone with dispatch she managed to exit the vehicle. He got out, went around, and got in the drivers seat. She went in the store as he pulled off but I stayed to watch where he went as I still had 911 on the phone. He circled the lot but returned and parked the car and headed for the entrance. I started to follow but as he got to the entrance several employees stopped him and wouldnt let him enter. Apparently she went in and told people inside what had happened. Police arrived at that time and started questioning him while she stayed in the store. The store employees said he must have beat the heck out of her judging by her face. He denied doing anything other than pushing her with an open hand at which point I told the police I was a witness and saw everything. I filled out a statement and they arrested him. I have felt bad most of the day for not acting but everyone tells me I handled it right

You did the right thing. As soon as you tried to intervene, they both would have turned on you.

Domestic disputes are a really touchy thing and they can turn on you in an instant.

Myself and another officer responded to one where it was clear the wife had been physically attacked by the husband. Back then they had to agree to press charges. She said she would. When I went to cuff the husband, the wife jumped on my back and started screaming 'You cant arrest him!!' My partner arrested her as well. Both had been drinking heavily. After they sobered up in jail they decided not to press charges on each other, but the wife now had a charge of assaulting a police officer on her hands.

[CainA]

I think it's pretty unanimous that you...."Did the right thing!"

[gdanaher]

The sad thing is: if the crime occurred in one of Texas' more populace counties, the BG will be out before her wounds heal and will likely do little or no time for his actions. Small counties have fewer cases and tend to throw the book at people for stuff like this. Let's hope that he attempted to resist arrest.....