My stupid mistakes

[Mojo Jojo]

I’m open to learning and feedback, and this is one situation I have learnt from, but keen to hear more opinions. A couple of things to bear in mind, just for the full situation. No one walks around with a gun here. No one has a CCW, the Police aren’t even armed, so try to think of this situation in a frame of mind where guns don’t exist.
My office (a call centre that has only a few males) over looks the local skate park, a concrete area surrounded by grass. We have had surprisingly little trouble. I had always pictured the skate park as a haven for delinquents etc, but the reality is that all the trouble that has happened has been from non-skaters who came to cause trouble. Including this situation.
Last week one of my staff called out that there was a fight out in the park on the grass. My first reaction was that it was just a couple of kids having a little scrap, so I didn’t initially respond until the “oh my god” screams started up. Then I looked out and saw a grey blob on the ground, surrounded by 6 teenagers who were hitting it with a skateboard, kicking, punching and stomping it. There were another 10 or so teenagers standing around filming it with cell phones, watching etc.
I turned and headed out the door straight away. On my way out I heard someone who I trust say they were calling the Police. It took me about 45 seconds to get through our car park and over to the area. By this time the stomping had stopped and there were now several smaller fights going on. I got in to the middle of the groups and used my big angry daddy voice (the one where my kids need to stop what they are doing NOW! You know the voice) and the groups split up without the 6 ft tall, solidly built angry man having to get physical. I worked my way towards the grey, human shaped blob on the ground while trying to keep as many people in front of me as I could. After a minute or two the group of 6 split off and left, throwing curses etc at everyone. At this point I was safe enough to go to one knee and check out the victim. As I knelt down he started groaning and his arm started moving, so he was coming around. I thought briefly about chasing the others down, but then realized I had left my cell phone on my desk and heading off on my own without a way to talk to the Police was a bad move. I kept an eye on them until they turned a corner a block away. In this time I also got the teenagers who seemed the calmest to call 111 (our 911). I gave him descriptions, directions etc to pass onto the Police (which he did very well) while I looked after the 16 year old who was coming around.
When the Ambulance arrived I helped get him into the back and gave the paramedics a run down on what I had seen and done with him, and also talked to the Police and pointed out the various witnesses (why do teenagers run from Police?).
Turns out the victim was random. He was skating along and got hit off his board and then beaten with it when down. He was unconscious for most of it, and luckily it seems that his hoodie stopped most of the edges from cutting him so I didn’t see any major external bleeding. One of the kids did know who the scum were, so the cops got names etc, and I haven’t heard anything since.
Things I would do differently? Take my cell phone (left on my desk), take my FAK (in my bag under my desk), have a pen and paper to write down names etc before Police arrived (in my bag under my desk). Maybe a weapon (in bag under my desk...) although I would prefer not. I used to teach martial arts (combat not competition, with good weapon experience), and if it came down to it I could use a skateboard in this case. A weapon would get me in a lot of trouble here, and I would rather avoid it, plus I think the situation would have kept escalating. I would have liked some backup, but can’t blame people for not being able to get into that sort of situation.
Would I do it again? For sure. My morals couldn’t let me stand by and watch, even if I knew the cops were on the way. A lot can happen in 10 minutes before they arrive. Walking into a group brawl of maybe 16 people isn’t my idea of fun but it had to be done.

[Viper shtf]

Good job!

Edited to add: Can you keep a walking stick, or cane with you? It beats empty hands, and could do well against a knife.

[A.C.E.]

First of all: Good Job!

My thoughts: like you say, pen and paper are incredibly useful. Details fade very quickly from memory and your written observations might be all the Police has to work with.

A FAK and cellphone are obviously very useful.

I agree with you on the issue of weapons, I can't see what country you're in but we have a similar situation here (our Police is armed though). Confronting a group of youths unarmed but angry makes you an authority figure rather than an opponent. If that makes sense. I believe that young people are less likely to attack someone who acts like a parent, rather than a policeman.

All in all, you did very well and you alslo analyzed your own actions afterwards and spotted things you could have done differently, hopefully you'll learn from the experience and not repeat the same mistakes.

Again, well done. The world needs more people like you.
Sent from my MK16i using Tapatalk

[jamoni]

You did pretty good.
Couple of things you could have done different, but overall, good.
1. Grab FAK and phone
2. GET BACKUP. A simple "Come on!" to a coworker might have helped a lot.
3. Personal protection. I like to think I can handle myself, but I would NOT have gone to a beatdown like that without a club of some sort. Something big and heavy, that will break teenagers if they move toward it. A chair would do nicely.

[Kiwi Bowhunter]

Good on ya mate.
Where abouts in ChCh was this??

I'd be careful about carrying a 'weapon' in your bag, as you called it. Pretty easy for them to call something pre-meditated if you have to use it(depending on what it is, and if you have a valid reason for carrying said item).

Cheers,
Sean.

[MasterMaker]

Fire extinguisher.....

Not a weapon, reasonable to assume that it would be easily available, and quite effective as a (offensive)defensive weapon.

A quick squirt in the face followed up with the can, and you "just grabbed the first thing you could think of".

And a mistake only becomes stupid if you repeat it.

[Mojo Jojo]

Cheers for the feedback and ideas. Hopefully not something that comes up again, but always good to reflect.
To answer a couple of questions and points raised..
- a chair didn't even cross my mind in this case. We only have office chairs (adjustable backs etc with a star base with wheels) so carrying one of these would have been difficult, let alone trying to swing it.
- the weapon that I mentioned wouldn't get me in trouble. A bike padlock and chain is reasonable to carry for a cyclist, but can cause a fair amount of damage.
- Funny the fire extinguisher should be mentioned. As I sit at my desk I am looking at one, and right next to it is a crowbar with our emergency kit. Goes to show that anything can become "wallpaper" and be forgotten about. Pays to stop every now and again to check your surroundings for those familiar things that can just blend in over time.
- Sean, this took place at the skate park on Moorhouse Ave, on the grass area next to Washington Way. So it all took place next to one of the main roads, and no one stopped. A couple of hundred people would have driven place while it was taking place.

I also had an update from the cops yesterday. The victim (15 years old) is ok, no lastin injuries, and at this stage no one has been arrested.

[TacAir]

Humm, looks like things Down Under are a lot like things Up Here (Alaska)

PPE - I would have grabbed gloves before checking the 'blob' - I leave a pair rubber banded (a word?) to the outside on all of my FAKs.

Canene De Combat, not just for Frogs anymore. Not bad for exercise as well.

Good on ya for helping, shame the hooligans weren't taken to the dock.

[Kiwi Bowhunter]

Ah right, that's not the most wholesome place in ChCh haha.
My step-brother used to go there all the time, except he was far more country than I was and was suprised when people were starting fights and stealing shit off each other haha.
I'm over Halswell way, starting to get an influx of scum over there since Aranui and New Brighton have been mass-exodused due to quake damage.

Got family out Leeston way and they had some Aranui family move out there and start robbing houses and cooking P!
They stole from the wrong person and got some country justice when someone threw a molotov through their window haha.

Yeah, bike lock could be seen as a weapon of opportunity, so should be alright.
I'd have to be pretty desperate to resort to using one of my pocket knives as I know exactly how much shit I could get in over here for carrying one, but them's the breaks!


Cheers,
Sean.

[dallas]

I second the walking stick. They make very good weapons.