What would you have done in this situation?

Hey guys, I found out that a my sisters friends brother (thats a mouthful) is in a lot of trouble. Recently, a very drunk guy came up to him and threatened to kill him, and the brother (lets call him A) punched him. The drunk guy fell down and hit his head on the curb. This drunk guy is now in intensive care (I don't know how serious his condition is) and A has been arrested. A is now is quite a bit of bother and it looks like all the blame is falling onto him.

That pretty much all I know about the situation.

If you were A, what would you have done in his situation, and do you think his reaction was justified?

Personally, I would have tried to avoid the confrontation and I think punching the guy was an overreaction.

What about you guys?

a friend of my sister's brother MasonLovak

What does this even mean?

I would've walked away.

[QUOTE="MasonLovak"]

a friend of my sister's brother Silverbond

What does this even mean?

[QUOTE="MasonLovak"]

a friend of my sister's brother Silverbond

What does this even mean?

i would blow his face to see if he falls...

A is to blame, and is going to jail.

Sucks but its the law, A should not be sucker punching people.

because lets be honest, if some dude is drunk and you punch first... you are pretty much initiating the fight, against someone thats drunk and basically defenseless. A was feeling short in the pants that night, and was hoping to gain an inch by punching a witless drunk.

Ive seen alot of situational badasses in my day, willing to fight, but only if the other guy can barely stand up. Situational BA, is going to jail.

EDIT: and ill say one of my best friends is a situational badass, and called me a puss when i defused a fight with some drunks... i almost murdered him that night. Situational badasses should rot in prison imo.

I would've pissed on him.

Probably would have tried to talk my way out of it.

I would tried my best to avoid the confrontation even if he threatened to kill me, there was no direct threat to my life I wouldn't have punched him. The only one losing would be me, I could get accused of aggression, assault or thrown in jail for other reason (like what is happening)

Of course if he was drunk and came with a knife at me, or a gun or a broken bottle I would've done more than a single punch because, even if I'm arrested, he was threatening my life and I have the right to defend myself, in that case words are useless.

I don't know, I've never been in a situation like that. I've been surrounded by aggressive drunk people, but nobody has ever threatened to kill me. So I can't really answer that question.

the best thing to do would be to avoid any confrontation.

I don't know, I can't blame him for lashing out, especially if the guy said he was going to kill him :| I don't feel any pity for the drunk guy, but I think A is going to have some trouble explaining his actions.Overlord93

you taking his economic and life advice pretty seriously as well? You took his death threat pretty seriously, so i assume you think all words from drunks are worth paying the utmost attention to.

[QUOTE="Overlord93"]I don't know, I can't blame him for lashing out, especially if the guy said he was going to kill him :| I don't feel any pity for the drunk guy, but I think A is going to have some trouble explaining his actions.markinthedark

you taking his economic and life advice pretty seriously as well? You took his death threat pretty seriously, so i assume you think all words from drunks are worth paying the utmost attention to.

Sadly I think that person A is going to be having some trouble. Is it fair, not really if they were actually threatened. But, the way the situation ended, with a drunk in the curb, does not look good for someone who was sober at the time. It means that person A was in the right frame of mind as to where person B was not and could not really control their actions as well. Thus, the blame ends up falling on person A. In the end, when in that type of situation, its best to try and walk away. If it gets escalated beyond that, and becomes violent, call the cops.

I would tried my best to avoid the confrontation even if he threatened to kill me, there was no direct threat to my life I wouldn't have punched him. The only one losing would be me, I could get accused of aggression, assault or thrown in jail for other reason (like what is happening)

Of course if he was drunk and came with a knife at me, or a gun or a broken bottle I would've done more than a single punch because, even if I'm arrested, he was threatening my life and I have the right to defend myself, in that case words are useless.

Darthkaiser

here is a bit of life advice, nerds dont get shot. The only people that get shot... are people that want to do more than a single punch when the other guy has a gun. In any situiation, even if they dont have a weapon.... avoiding confrontation will produce the best results 100% of the time.

They choose to get drunk. They are responsible for their actions. Period.Overlord93

Yeah, but punching him out and nearly killing him was the other guy's action.

[QUOTE="markinthedark"]

[QUOTE="Overlord93"]I don't know, I can't blame him for lashing out, especially if the guy said he was going to kill him :| I don't feel any pity for the drunk guy, but I think A is going to have some trouble explaining his actions.Overlord93

you taking his economic and life advice pretty seriously as well? You took his death threat pretty seriously, so i assume you think all words from drunks are worth paying the utmost attention to.

and you always take the words of drunks in a literal fashion? Responsibility or not... if you choose to ignore everything they say, except for a threat that you take as invitation to fight them. You are a situational badass. Not capable of beating anyone up, besides drunks... but not when they are sober.

[QUOTE="Overlord93"] They choose to get drunk. They are responsible for their actions. Period.MrGeezer

Yeah, but punching him out and nearly killing him was the other guy's action.

[QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

[QUOTE="Overlord93"] They choose to get drunk. They are responsible for their actions. Period.Overlord93

Yeah, but punching him out and nearly killing him was the other guy's action.

My point being, throwing a punch like that isn't really the action of someone who seriously believes that his life is in danger. It's more the action of someone who's pissed off and wants to kick the other guy's ass. And that's not good enough reason for punching a person, regardless of whether or not he's drunk.

[QUOTE="Overlord93"][QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

Yeah, but punching him out and nearly killing him was the other guy's action.

MrGeezer

My point being, throwing a punch like that isn't really the action of someone who seriously believes that his life is in danger. It's more the action of someone who's pissed off and wants to kick the other guy's ass. And that's not good enough reason for punching a person, regardless of whether or not he's drunk.

"aaaaaaaah"

*scream like a little girl*

*slap*

*run away*

Kind of guy myself, thats just what I would do out of instinct. I ain't no steven seagal.

[QUOTE="Overlord93"][QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

Yeah, but punching him out and nearly killing him was the other guy's action.

MrGeezer

My point being, throwing a punch like that isn't really the action of someone who seriously believes that his life is in danger. It's more the action of someone who's pissed off and wants to kick the other guy's ass. And that's not good enough reason for punching a person, regardless of whether or not he's drunk.

[QUOTE="Overlord93"][QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

Yeah, but punching him out and nearly killing him was the other guy's action.

MrGeezer

My point being, throwing a punch like that isn't really the action of someone who seriously believes that his life is in danger. It's more the action of someone who's pissed off and wants to kick the other guy's ass. And that's not good enough reason for punching a person, regardless of whether or not he's drunk.

did someone institute a truth scale and give this guy a 100%? because i believe it.

If i think my life is in danger, i run like the dickens... i dont try to punch the killers and/or group killers in hopes thst my fist beats their knives and guns.

99.9% of the time, the person punching first is initiating the aggression.

[QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

[QUOTE="Overlord93"] True, but if it was me, I would not be prepared to wait and see how he was planning to kill me. but that's just me.MasonLovak

My point being, throwing a punch like that isn't really the action of someone who seriously believes that his life is in danger. It's more the action of someone who's pissed off and wants to kick the other guy's ass. And that's not good enough reason for punching a person, regardless of whether or not he's drunk.

im gonna give you a valuable life lessson, the guilty party... never thinks they are guilty. Believe it or not.

[QUOTE="Overlord93"][QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

Yeah, but punching him out and nearly killing him was the other guy's action.

My point being, throwing a punch like that isn't really the action of someone who seriously believes that his life is in danger. It's more the action of someone who's pissed off and wants to kick the other guy's ass. And that's not good enough reason for punching a person, regardless of whether or not he's drunk.

I'd had ignored him. People say silly things when they're drunk. If itwas particularly threatening despite the influence of alcohol, I'd refer it to the police just to ensure my safety.

Problematic people, thats why the goverment invent the authorities. To let others deal with the dirty work.

A guy puts somebody in the hospital for saying he would kill him while being under the influence of alcohol and now is in jail. Sounds like he is in the right place to me. What exactly was beating the crap out of a drunk man going to accomplish? He sounds like a person who lets impulses control him and thinks beating up and overpowering another person makes him a man. I hope he does enough time to realise that he needs to make some life and attitude adjustments.

The puncher might be able to get off depending on how he acted after the punch. Due to the drunk making that statement and being drunk, it could be construed as the drunk actually having intent to harm. In this case, he might be able to get off with self-defence as long as he didn't go bragging about how he took the other guy down. Sure the 1st ammendment protects most speech, but it doesn't protect someone saying something that shows intent of harm. Being intoxicated doesn't help the drunk at all, since that can easilly be construed as unpredictable behavior, hence the feeling of life endangerment.

Basically, it depends on how the drunk person acted and how the non-drunk person reacted after. If he went with this, he could probably get away. The law rarely sides with the inebriated.

What were the drunk guy's exact words? Did the two guys involved know each other before the incident?

I don't know all the facts, but in most cases A should have just walked away unless he was actually being attacked.

I would've walked (or ran) away...