One thought on “Poll #4: Did the man in the brown sweatshirt act in self-defense?”
IMO, no. He had the ability to retreat, yet chose not to. Maybe for good reason, maybe just to stand his ground. Was he justified in defending himself – yes, up to a point where he was being attacked. Group dynamics no doubt played a large part here -loss of face, his standing within the group, etc. but we also don’t see the initial assault(s). I think he’d have a tough legal time calling it self-defense though based on his ability to retreat and his own actions not to at least try. I guess it depends on the state’s laws. Did he do good? I think it could have gone very badly had the short guy fallen or been dropped and hit his head, and or not recovered. I didn’t count, and his hold may not have been textbook, but it sure felt like a lot longer than 7 seconds to me!
IMO, no. He had the ability to retreat, yet chose not to. Maybe for good reason, maybe just to stand his ground. Was he justified in defending himself – yes, up to a point where he was being attacked. Group dynamics no doubt played a large part here -loss of face, his standing within the group, etc. but we also don’t see the initial assault(s). I think he’d have a tough legal time calling it self-defense though based on his ability to retreat and his own actions not to at least try. I guess it depends on the state’s laws. Did he do good? I think it could have gone very badly had the short guy fallen or been dropped and hit his head, and or not recovered. I didn’t count, and his hold may not have been textbook, but it sure felt like a lot longer than 7 seconds to me!