What would you do?

Seriously. What would you do (or not do) if you witnessed a crime?

1. You're walking down the street and you see a black kid mug an old woman.

2. You're walking down the street and you see two cops mace and body slam a man in a wheelchair.

3. You're in the park and you see a man beating his wife.

4. ...That man turns out to be a city councilman.

5. You're out in your yard and you witness a drug bust. Cops use dynamic entry, rip the place apart, and end up shooting the owner. Except it turns out it was the wrong address, the owner is a 93 year old man and he had no weapons. Or drugs.

Do I have my cellphone with me? Because I'm going to try to be the best possible witness I can be.

Please Google up my previous rants on the "sheepdog" sheepdip. I am not a cop. I don't want to be a cop.

Scenario #1 might warrant intervention, but by the time I got to where it was taking place that most likely would be offering first aid and summoning EMS and the cops to do their thing.

Scenario #2 is missing all sorts of information. I have dealt professionally (Dept of Corrections) with folks in wheelchairs who were armed and intent on causing hurt/death. In other words - a) there might be a good reason for the behavior of the cops and b) I can be more helpful as a witness than as someone arrested for obstruction of justice.

Scenario #3 is much like scenario #1. Plus, you do not know if the man is actually defending himself from an attack initiated by the woman, do you?

Scenario #4 is a red herring. I cannot have herrings of any type - doctors say they are not good for me. But especially that red herrings are not good.

Scenario #5 makes me wonder just what you might be thinking of doing - going up against a platoon of ninjas with automatic weapons?

Just for fun, how about I add some details and you tell us how you would then respond? You are a single parent with an 8-month old and a 3-year old, and even though you have a decent job that pays a decent wage you have no more than about a week's worth of expenses saved in the bank (actually, sitting in your checking account). Now what would your responses be?

stay safe.

Logan 5 said:

Seriously. What would you do (or not do) if you witnessed a crime?

1. You're walking down the street and you see a black kid mug an old woman.

2. You're walking down the street and you see two cops mace and body slam a man in a wheelchair.

3. You're in the park and you see a man beating his wife.

4. ...That man turns out to be a city councilman.

5. You're out in your yard and you witness a drug bust. Cops use dynamic entry, rip the place apart, and end up shooting the owner. Except it turns out it was the wrong address, the owner is a 93 year old man and he had no weapons. Or drugs.

Click to expand...

History has already shown us 99.99% of Ameikans would do nothing.

1. You're walking down the street and you see a black kid mug an old woman.
I'd call 911 and help the old lady until the coppers get there.

2. You're walking down the street and you see two cops mace and body slam a man in a wheelchair.
I was thinking of a specific case from WDC (I thought before it was Cleveland or Cincin, but it was WDC), where two cops did that. The initial video showed what looked like justification, yet in a second camera different angle, the guy did nothing. In a case like that, if I had been watching it from the beginning, I'd step in.

3. You're in the park and you see a man beating his wife.
I'd call the coppers.

4. ...That man turns out to be a city councilman.
I'd file a grievance for misconduct.

5. You're out in your yard and you witness a drug bust. Cops use dynamic entry, rip the place apart, and end up shooting the owner. Except it turns out it was the wrong address, the owner is a 93 year old man and he had no weapons. Or drugs.[/QUOTE]
Not enough details for even me. Sorry about that.

skidmark said:

Do I have my cellphone with me? Because I'm going to try to be the best possible witness I can be.

Click to expand...

Exactly.

skidmark said:

Just for fun, how about I add some details and you tell us how you would then respond? You are a single parent with an 8-month old and a 3-year old, and even though you have a decent job that pays a decent wage you have no more than about a week's worth of expenses saved in the bank (actually, sitting in your checking account). Now what would your responses be?

stay safe.

Click to expand...

Get a second job.

Logan 5, why the race reference in scenario 1? Would you expect one's choice of action to change depending in race of alleged attacker?

JoeSparky said:

Logan 5, why the race reference in scenario 1? Would you expect one's choice of action to change depending in race of alleged attacker?

Click to expand...

Bait.:shocker:

The last thing I'd ever do is intercede on a citizen's behalf when he is getting "roughed up" by a couple of cops. If I did, it would most certainly be the last thing I ever did.

The rest of the list is pretty much wrong place wrong time stuff. Be the best witness you can be without placing yourself in any danger of bodily harm.

Time, distance, and shielding.

JoeSparky said:

Logan 5, why the race reference in scenario 1? Would you expect one's choice of action to change depending in race of alleged attacker?

Click to expand...

Just hoping to open a discussion the questions. Lots of spots to question and debate.

I carry my firearm to protect myself and my family. I do not carry it to protect others. My late wife, God rest her soul, was married to a man in law enforcement for some years. She told me, in no uncertain terms, "It is a bad, bad idea for even a cop to attempt to police his own neighborhood." She added that the best thing to do is call 911, observe, and document so as to be the best witness possible.

Only as a last resort would I intervene in a situation. I am not a cop, I do not have backup, and I may not have assessed the situation properly. If police are involved, I am going to document, but remain out of sight of the officers. I have no desire to have my recording device confiscated, the video/audio deleted, or the device destroyed. Yes, those things do happen.

I will also add that, if it is a case such as numbers 2 and 5, I will not file a complaint directly with the agency involved nor will I turn my evidence directly over to them. Instead, I will engage an attorney, work through him/her, and only release a certified copy of the evidence, not the original, depending, of course, on the attorney's advice.

In all cases I'd react with an effort to protect life in accordance with state law, followed by an effort to alert law enforcement to respond for investigation and apprehension of the criminal(s).