Firsthand account of defensive use of a folding knife in a Hawaii hotel

[LittleLebowski]

It's interesting to watch incident videos, like the thug beating up on a big bus driver (who won in the end):
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-n...-police-arrive
and many people seemed surprised that no one stepped in to help the bus driver.

And here we have an incident where someone does step in to help out, and we're back to the "it's not my fight". On the other hand, it's a domestic incident, and if she turned on the helper, he'd still be in jail.

I don't look forward to living in a society where everyone stands around and watches bad things happen.

Like button firmly mashed.

[breakingtime91]

I'm not okay with a guy beating up a woman or multiple people beating up on one person. With that said I would dial 911, scope out the situation, and then if it continued to escalate, get involved. I would like to say I wouldn't do that and it would be alright for me to just stand by but that is not who I am, so for better or for worst I would somehow get involved.

[RJ]

For me, the issue is ambiguity. I am all about helping in clear cut situations, but my personal decision is not to get involved where you are unsure.

For all I know, that interaction is that couple's idea of foreplay, and the first clue would be when the woman shoots you in the back of the head.

^^^ This.

I'm very glad the OP is ok and it sounds like the right thing happened.

Having said that, for me, and me only, with 0 knowledge other than what I just read in Andrew Branca's "The Law of Self Defense", I would not have intervened outside of calling 911.

The persons being threatened were not me, nor my wife, nor my children, nor someone I am 100% certain would not later flip and claim I acted using deadly force between them and a 'minor disagreement with my boyfriend'.

But yes, glad this guy is ok.

[TCinVA]

I have to wonder if OC spray would have made a difference here.

I'm all for stabbing somebody if you need to do it, but if I can avoid the use of lethal force I'm all for that, too.

Also...don't think I would have been that involved in the goings on. Especially not after the dude had already assaulted me once.

[GardoneVT]

For me, the issue is ambiguity. I am all about helping in clear cut situations, but my personal decision is not to get involved where you are unsure.

For all I know, that interaction is that couple's idea of foreplay, and the first clue would be when the woman shoots you in the back of the head.

Agreed.

Some thoughts to offer.
Two months back I went out with a friend to a downtown, South Dakota bar. I realize the terms seem oxymoronic but hear me out.

We play a round of pool and I notice a fit looking girl at the edge of the tables . Being that I was a single dude, I executed a tactical withdrawal from my table and chatted her up. Turned out she was a local college student and avid kickboxer.

Once my Air Force history came up she challenged me to spar, right there on the spot. Objectively, I don't have a problem with a good spar. However....I declined because to uninvolved witnesses it would have looked for all the world like a muscular black dude was trying to beat up a 20 something white girl in a main avenue bar.

The girl didn't get it. She kept reaching and jabbing, and I kept dodging . Eventually my pal got her attention and we both walked.

Had I been a little more drunk ,that story could have ended a lot more tragically for all involved. Any Good Samaritan who barged in thinking I was assaulting my spouse would have found out the hard way it was nothing of the sort afterward. I,on the flip side, wouldn't have had the luxury of explaining myself to a random stranger assaulting me either.

If I see a girl being savagely beaten on the side of the road, I'll call 911 and offer a prayer to the unfortunate beat officers tasked to sort it out. Even if a woman yells "Help" or "he's raping me".... It doesn't mean that's actually happening. Women are people, and people sometimes lie.

[Doug]

My comment/question is deadly force is deadly force. Assuming a fist fight is on ....

If he had pulled a gun out and shot him, guy lives, would the legal outcome have been the same?

What if he hit him in the head with a baton type/butt of a kubotan weapon?

Now, if he sprayed him with a spitfire? (assume effective)

Knife seems to be a kind of "deadly" that juries would frown on harshly unless it was so clear cut. Same with the gun.

Any defense lawyers, cops or others thoughts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TCinVA]

I'm not a cop or a defense lawyer...but from the description provided the good Samaritan got lucky in the response from the police and prosecutor. From the sound of things they could have easily jammed him up.

[Eyesquared]

I'm not a cop or a defense lawyer...but from the description provided the good Samaritan got lucky in the response from the police and prosecutor. From the sound of things they could have easily jammed him up.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it but he said he's a "busted up carpenter with a bad back and a bad foot" so he had some disparity of force going on. I think maybe the legal situation would have turned out somewhat worse if he was a young, fit guy.

[breakingtime91]

Agreed.

Some thoughts to offer.
Two months back I went out with a friend to a downtown, South Dakota bar. I realize the terms seem oxymoronic but hear me out.

We play a round of pool and I notice a fit looking girl at the edge of the tables . Being that I was a single dude, I executed a tactical withdrawal from my table and chatted her up. Turned out she was a local college student and avid kickboxer.

Once my Air Force history came up she challenged me to spar, right there on the spot. Objectively, I don't have a problem with a good spar. However....I declined because to uninvolved witnesses it would have looked for all the world like a muscular black dude was trying to beat up a 20 something white girl in a main avenue bar.

The girl didn't get it. She kept reaching and jabbing, and I kept dodging . Eventually my pal got her attention and we both walked.

Had I been a little more drunk ,that story could have ended a lot more tragically for all involved. Any Good Samaritan who barged in thinking I was assaulting my spouse would have found out the hard way it was nothing of the sort afterward. I,on the flip side, wouldn't have had the luxury of explaining myself to a random stranger assaulting me either.

If I see a girl being savagely beaten on the side of the road, I'll call 911 and offer a prayer to the unfortunate beat officers tasked to sort it out. Even if a woman yells "Help" or "he's raping me".... It doesn't mean that's actually happening. Women are people, and people sometimes lie.

So your cool with letting someone get savagely beat?

[GardoneVT]

So your cool with letting someone get savagely beat?

You come out of the bar restroom to see I'm wrestling with a college girl on the ground.

You don't know me. You don't know about the loaded M9 under my jacket, or that the fight is totally consensual. All you see is a black, muscular dude fighting a white girl on the ground .

The real question is if you are "cool" with being killed over a misunderstanding?

Don't get it wrong; none of us here want to see a stranger suffer. The mistake comes in believing that the fact we are armed gives us the power to alter that.

I'm of the mind that the trained conflict resolution pros with the bodycams, qualified immunity and backup are better suited to solve such dilemmas. And even they get stuck in hairy misunderstandings.