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johncanfield wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 4:31 pm The topic begs the question of how would you know a person threatening you is mentally ill?

I suppose one could make the argument that someone who is out of their mind on drugs. But I generally think someone acting erratically and not "normal" is usually pretty obvious. But anger and rage tends to look the same across anyone. I suppose just like with any violent encounter, force should be equal to or greater within reason etc.

If you watch the video I'm talking about, it's not immediately evident that the man has mental issues, who knows though.

TxRVer wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 12:34 pm

Odinvalknir wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 12:25 pm But I figure just because someone has mental issues doesn't make them anymore dangerous.

Did you mean to say 'any less dangerous'?

FTFY lol.

PUCKER wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 12:32 pm Stop the threat - my safety / wellbeing is at the top of my list...someone that's mentally ill may actually be *more* of a threat than a "normal" person. Many folks with mental illness are violent (and many are not). My best bud was bi-polar. When he was violent it was BAD.

This is pretty much my way of thinking as well. I have family members who are very bipolar and for the most part they aren't violent they are just highly emotional, but I can see where that emotion could turn into violence very quickly. And having been a EMT for a few years working for a private transport company I have seen patients both elderly and younger who had mental issues get very violent. My wife who also did the same job actually had an older man choke her to the point that she nearly blacked out. I told her job or no job, A little 100 lb 5 ft 2 female getting choked out by a man twice her size even elderly would have been shot.

Recently I watched a video making the rounds online.

A man in military fatigues elbows and punches a (black oh no) man a few times after the dude spit on his truck and smacked the door with a skateboard (are skateboards the weapon of choice for some people now?)

After the assault on the vehicle he proceeds to walk up to the sargent's face. The military fatigue guy is none other than Richard Hy, drill sargeant and police officer known better as Angry Cops.

Of course everyone IMMEDIATELY gets in his face about being a racist etc etc yadda yadda. Something Hy says in the video struck me, "of course I'm gonna hit him first, I'm not going to give him the chance to hit me!"


I guess somewhere it came out later that the man has mental issues and it well known in the town for going around starting fights with people and generally being a punk. We can have a discussion on how the mental health industry is a failed garbage entity. But I figure just because someone has mental issues doesn't make them any less dangerous.


So whether you knew it or not, and a person with mental health problems walked up and started beating on you, or worse, pulled a knife, bat, gun, etc. Wouldn't you actively stop the threat? In the video Hy hits the man 3 times, then sits on him while waiting for cops to show. The man on the ground keeps saying somethinike "I've been waiting for this! Thank you!"


Hy is a drill instructor and police officer, though some of his youtube videos have gotten him in trouble with the latter. Anyway that's my question, what would you do?