Surreal thing happened to me today...

[HoneyBadger]

Early this evening, I left work and walked a couple of miles to the coach stop as I do every day.

It’s in London, Puddle dock, behind Blackfriars train station as I commute from Kent.

Standing there waiting, it becomes apparent there is a situation occurring, a policeman has stopped an electric scooter rider for illegally riding his device, only the rider, a huge guy isn’t having any of it.

At this point people are watching, phones come out, everyone’s filming. As the situation unfolds, it’s clear the policeman is out of his depth and a major scuffle breaks out as the officer tries to detain the rider, the rider doesn’t want to be detained so keeps trying to walk off, eventually dragging the officer along the ground, with the officer shouting.

In what seems like an instant, they’re in front of me fighting, the officer is losing.

I look around, is someone going to help?

No. All people are doing are watching, filming and a few are laughing.

As the officer hits the floor, I make eye contact with him, suddenly I realise my fellow passengers are gone, moved up the road and it’s just me!

What do you do?

I stepped in to assist.

Fortunately I was in a position to restrain the rider (thanks Ju Jitsu!) and subdue him with the officer until backup arrived. The officer hit a panic button and within 2 mins several police cars were on the scene.

They arrested the rider, took a statement from me and several others, the assaulted officer shook my hand and thanked me, although he had a broken finger.

I then jumped on the coach and went home.

I was talking about it this evening to my wife when I got home and she replied that she wouldn’t know how to react in such a situation, I get that but ....

This was 16:35 in London, loads of people were there, loads. I was the only one that helped and it’s genuinely shocked me.

What has society come to? When people would either watch, film or walk away from someone who needed help?

Forget that it was a policeman, it was a human being needing help...

Restore some of my faith in humanity, who would have helped?

 

[HoneyBadger]

Classic bystander effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbooLlanJ-M

Good on you for helping, though.

That’s an interesting video and scarily accurate based on my thoughts today.

I think the majority of us don't have Ju Jitsu training.

I'm not sure flapping around and getting killed would really help anyone.

I’m no Bruce Lee or He-Man. I’m a 40 year old fat bloke who got to brown belt 20 years ago. Some of it did come back to me though.

If the copper gets hurt during the scuffle then he's covered and has an army of people behind him to aid him and sort his finances out. You get hurt helping said copper then you're basically ****** and left to sort it out yourself. And on top of that, you could end up getting taken to the cleaners by the guy who you helped him to subdue and arrest.

I understand what you’re saying, genuinely but what about the basics of human decency?

It’s a crazy world.

 

[HoneyBadger]

I struggled to sleep last night, playing things over and over again in my mind, occasionally looking at the comments being posted on this thread.

Whilst I can understand some points, I can't help but feel that those implying they wouldn't have helped are part of the reasons why society is like it is.

I get the risk factor, I get the "He could have had a knife" - all valid points but my theory (Probably more subconscious in retrospect) is that if this had been the case, he probably would have used it before I stepped in. We'll never know.

Those saying they wouldn't have helped, well you leave me cold. Making direct eye contact with the cop as he was on the floor, screaming about his hand and then to have ignored that and walked away is no mean feat. Kind of questions your morals really, at least in my opinion.

 

[HoneyBadger]

You helped the wrong one.

The police man assaulted the scooter rider and you supported an injustice.

Do people really have such poor moral compasses?

Troll post.

 

[HoneyBadger]

the guy was riding a scooter - in the general scheme of things no real harm done. it's not as if he had just knifed someone or set off a bomb or beat up his wife. so OP didn't know who was in the right or wrong.

i also believe the police officer tried to detain the person and they simply didn't want to be detained.

he was then making the judgement call that the police officer was in the right even though he had no idea what was going on, could be an illegal detainment. police officers are human. humans can make mistakes and you do have corrupt coppers out there too. without any facts he shouldn't be intervening when the guy has caused no harm to anyone bar the person detaining them and in that instance has used just enough force to stop them detaining him.

all he had to do was let him go. then chase it up later when he had his fellow officers with him or send out an APB and request back up. he had no idea who was in the right or wrong and it's being automatically assumed the officer was in the right with no facts.

i would like to see what OP had done if there was no police officer. but a civilian trying to stop the guy with the scooter. would he have helped? i seriously doubt it. which again shows just because they are a police officer they must be in the right and cannot possibly be wrong.

i had a police officer who i had asked for help state that x was y. I then read out the law to them stating x was x and they then tried to use an excerpt to say they had reasonable cause. i then had to read out to said police officer reasonable cause in such circumstances is for as an example emergency services cutting someone out a car to save their life. therefore said person couldn't get emergency services done for vandalism for damaging the car as they had reasonable cause to damage the car; to save the persons life who was trapped in said car. but if some yob decides smash your car up to get into it isn't excluded under reasonable cause like emergency services are. officer refused to listen when pointed out they were wrong on both accounts until i asked to speak to their boss. who fully agreed with me.

so you can't assume they are correct and know the law.

For such a long post, you don’t actually say much.

All you’re doing is making assumptions. Massive assumptions which are mostly wrong and it’s getting a little embarrassing how you’re trying to justify yourself because of such a low moral compass. I would say quit while you’re ahead, but you aren’t.

 

[HoneyBadger]

I must admit, I didn't ask him about his sexual preference, nor declare mine before I 'went in' !