What would you do?

Brodiej

Afternoon all. Thought i'd add a new topic of discussion into the mix.

I was walking along Seven sisters the other day (near FP tube) around 1pm on a Saturday afternoon, and suddenly realised that 2 blokes (might have been homeless) were getting a beating off two random thugs. My first reaction was...."do something quick, shout, break it up" blah blah blah......and then i did nothing as i started to think "what if they stab me, give me a slapping". Rather ashamed to say, that i walked on.

I was on the other side of the road and about 80 yards away, and many others were closer, but they all adopted the same attitude.

Question is what would you do? and what scenarios have you had to deal with in your time around FP and Stroud Green.

miss annie

I intervened in a fight quite recently. I was walking home past FP tube and saw a woman sitting on the floor crying while a man stood over her slapping her and shouting at her. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm usually quite calm and jolly, but I absolutely can't tolerate bullying so I confronted the man and quite ferociously asked him what on earth he thought he was doing (or words to similar effect). He was rather shocked but backed off and slunk away. Scoundrel! I'd like to think that if I or someone I know was being attacked in the street someone would help or at the very least call the police and wait nearby for them to arrive.

Arkady

miss annie: I would not get in a fight with you. I have a feeling that, with your blood up, you could be quite ferocious.

JungleFaceJake

I probably would have done something, if it was really bad. It is hard to know though. But I am rather a act now think later kinda person sometimes, and it does occasionally cause extra problems, as my girlfriend will testify. One time I did intervene was on Oxford Road- Upper Toll park end, and some idiot started to give a very old man some grief as he was trying to cross Victoria road. He was trying to take his stick and mocking his feeble walk and generally being a bit of a prick. By anyone's book, bullying an octogenarian is pretty off key. So I gave it a very big northern 'Oi Prick, what the fuck are you up to?' and such like, to which his attentions turned to me, leaving the man to walk off slowly, unbothered. The bloke just shouted a lot of usual 'who the fuck are you?' type things, but my girlfriend wouldn't let me punch him out. But for once she did approve of my jumping into other peoples business, which is a rarity.

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andy

I tend to get involved. But a lot of the time people have been under the mistaken impression that I'm police.

Arkady

Is it because you shout 'POLICE', or do you have a natural air of authority?

andy

short hair, i think.

It is true - for reasons I don't quite understand I am often mistaken for a policeman. A guy in Clissold Park once put out his joint and apologised to me and hoped that I wouldn't do anything since I was probably off-duty. I was only walking past.

Emma

I can understand not wanting to get involved - in fact, I think it's stupid to get involved in an actual fight - but you should always call the police if you see people getting a hiding. You don't have to do it in plain sight of the attack, noone will know you're doing it.

miss annie

You're right Arkady I can. I don't think I'd ever hit anyone, not having Misscara's advantage of height I don't think I could land a punch anywhere useful. I find that like JFJ's example, getting really loud really quickly is an effective way of stopping people in their tracks. Calling the police if you don't want to step in is a must.

marky

I don't blame you for walking away brodie, there is always a risk of being assaulted yourself or much worse if you intervene. Look at that chap a few years back who got stabbed to death on a bus for asking someone to stop throwing chips at other passengers - shocking but that is what you risk if you intervene on your own.

I have intervened in fights on a couple of occasions and thankfully never regretted it, but always thought afterwards that it was pretty stupid and could have turned out badly. I would say unless there are several people there who intervene together you are best to just call the police and hope they turn up quickly

andy

*I have intervened in fights on a couple of occasions and thankfully never regretted it, but always thought afterwards that it was pretty stupid and could have turned out badly.* this

The ginger monkey

I'm an intervener. Drives Mrs ginger monkey mad, as she's convinced one day I'll get knifed.

Years ago some kids kicked in the door of my flat on Hanley Road and nicked my bike, one Sunday night. I chased them down and after being rammed by the guy on the bike got it back. Looking back, it was a totally stupid thing to do - but I've got an overgrown sense of injustice.

Or something.

If it looks like a relatively fair or really drunken fight b/w two guys I'd probably walk by - but if it seems unprovoked, opportunistic or a woman's being attacked I'm way too tempted to try and restore order.

No-ones ever mistaken me for a policeman though.

Marquis

The police thing has happened to me too, on Camden High Street and in Holloway. My explanation was that I was wearing Berghaus on both occasions.

sincers

I intervened in a fight about 15 years ago in Wood Green where a group of 5 or 6 lads were beating on a couple of weeds outside the tube station. As they gave up and left the two lads they walked down past us gathered at the bus stop. The two lads then, walking home presumably, went the same way; came behind us at the queue, somehow managed to catch up the thugs and preceded to get a kicking again. So I went over and told them they had enough and told the lads to go home a different way and the thugs skulked off. The bus didn't come so I decided to walk home. I then came across the same group of thugs who then approached me and threatened me, asking me for my wallet etc. so I turned around and pegged it. If I wasn't so fit, I could have ended up in the gutter. I recall, vaguely, one of the thugs shouting about "not getting involved" and blurting some story about one of their sisters getting slapped, or something. So my lesson that day was, assess situation and decide how to act. If its threatening, keep your distance and call the police. Sometimes you mere presence can stop something. But usually, a situation is none of your business, so keep away. Man on girl aggro, I think, is perhaps easier to intervene as its a clear case of bullying and we all know that bullies are cowards and easily frightened. I have also been mistaken for a policeman. A few weeks ago a drunk teenager collapsed in Crouch End and hit his head. Everyone around ignored him thinking he looked threatening. But I called and ambulance and helped him as he tried to stagger to his feet. I tried to keep him conscious, sat down, talking etc and after he'd stopped being aggressive he turned into a puppy and gave me his life story about leaving home, he lived in the YMCA etc. The shop keeper, who pretended it wasn't happening, later gave me a free drink from the shop as they thought I was a copper. They wouldn't believe it when I told them I wasn't.

andy

Brilliant. We should form a freestyle collective of police. My favourite, (v low risk) intervention was on an overground train and a noisy group of schoolboys were sat in a set of four seats, watching one of them scratch his name into the side wall with a sharp stone. I walked over, snapped my fingers, put my hand out and he put the stone in my hand. They sat in silence for the rest of the journey. I think they were so shocked they didn't stop to ask. The people I was with thought it was hilarious.

andy

Did I mention that I'm an idiot?

ben

I too have been mistaken for a policeman. Sign me up.

Brodiej

Lots of courageous stories here. I feel bad.
@ marky. I think it was that very story that made me question whether to get involved in confrontations. The chip story is definitely a scenario where i would have said something, and the outcome was just tragic. I guess my view now is that people's behaviour is completely unpredictable and as such can't be anticipated. I don't even shout and gesture at people road rage style (which everyone seems to do in the secure environment of their vehicle) because i politely (genuinely) told a motorist behind me that i hadn't turned left at the lights at the speed he wanted me to because i would have run over a cyclist. He then proceeded to chase me through highgate gesturing that he was going to slit my throat. What a loon.

ADGS

Yeah, I've been mistaken for plain clothes a couple of times, though generally when with girls who were trying to buy booze or fags, who then promptly got ID'd. Fairly flattering as none of them were younger than mid-20s at the time.

The one time I have seen wrongdoing underway and called the cops, the 999 operative was utterly useless. I was walking up Blackstock Road at about 2am and saw what looked very much like a burglary - one chap climbing through a window, and a look-out in the garden, right on the corner with a side street. There being a look-out, I wasn't going to call while I could be seen, so I rang and explained the situation, said that I was now at the junction of Gillespie Road and Blackstock Road, and one road south of where I was, a burglary seemed to be taking place. She asked what that road was called. I said I didn't stop to look on account of the look-out I'd already mentioned, just look in the A-Z, it's one south of Gillespie. "Well, if you can't give me an exact location there's nothing we can do." Disgraceful.

Ali

I was once swaying up SGR to find a car stopped by the police near to the chestnut tress oppo the WLM after just the old closing time. There car was quite an old BMW being driven by some black kids. I decided to hang around to see what happened. There was a complete assumption by the Police that the kids were up to something, they were about 19 two guys and their girlfriends. The police took one of them into the back of the van and started shouting at him and the other guy was separated and shouted at as well. There were 4 policeman three young guys who looked like they were ex squaddies and one older one. For some reason (prob drink) I intervened, they had stopped the car because the number plate was illegal in that it was being held on the car with a big black bolt that they said made the number unclear. They were being asked all sorts of questions about how they could afford the car was the CD player stolen etc. I knocked on the back of van door and a rather astounded policeman wanted to know what I wanted so I told him that I wanted his number so I could report him and his mates. I then took a load of photos with my phone and that stage the older policeman actually called the other ones off and away they went with out a word of apology. I think that happened because a small crowd of the final chuck outs from the WLM was now witnessing across the road. The kids where very grateful and I got this very big kiss on the cheek from a rather beautiful young girl so went up the road feeling quite please with myself. It was one great big suss. Strange really as I have found the police around here quite helpful

andy

@ben - you look even more like a policeman than I do

sincers

My Grandad WAS a policeman in Humberside police. A 6'4" hulk of a man, the force referred to him as Tug. Whenever there was a tussle in Hull city centre, they put a call out for Tug and would then be put at ease when they knew he was on his way.....I'm so proud.

WillM

@Ali - nicely done.

sincers

I should point out that my Grandad used to hang out the window of the squad car to wind up the police siren, and pulling young scamps by the side-burns was lesson one in police training on how to control civil unrest.