Assault stories? heres mine

[Bolster]

I will tell you one true story now--as a result of my work in law enforcement I have been sued for $3 million, personally. The organization I worked for was sued as well,but I was sued, along with some others involved, individually. I don't recommend the experience. It took about four years to resolve that one :eek:

I hear that. Many (most?) physical altercations don't end in the street, they end in the courtroom years later. If you win in the street, your opponent will often as not be looking for legal revenge. Even when you're completely justified and innocent, the court experience that follows is painful, cruel, expensive, frustrating, and unnerving. As my (very good) attorney says:

"Going into a courtroom is a crap-shoot. You never know what's going to happen, what sort of jury you'll get, or what type of judge. What may be perfectly reasonable and rational behavior in one courtroom gets portrayed as malicious prejudice in another." You may get judged by twelve that are good and true; or you may get judged by twelve kooks who don't like the way you look.

[The Mastiff]

I'll speak about a good friend of mine for a minute. This guy was a very successful retail business owner doing very well. He was also a very talented IPSC shooter, amongst other disciplines.

One day a crew of 3 bad guys came in to rob him. Events transpired to the point he had to use deadly force.

The police cleared him asnd he wasn't charged with anything.

He was hit with a civil suit, which he went through the stress of, cost of, and loss of time. He won that.

He did not win against the constant harassment and vandalism from friends and family of the bad guys, two of whom survived and were imprisoned. The store had slashed furniture, burns, fires started, and customers harassed.

The police couldn't be there all the time.

He finally sold his store at a big loss and moved to another state.

Surviving the assault was only a part of the ordeal.

He's alive so I guess you can say he won. He sure doesn't talk about it much. You can know the guy for years and never know what happened. He never brags, talks about it, or even tries to remember it other than as a learning experience.

I for one can understand his reluctance to talk about it. I knew him for probably 5 years before I heard, and saw the reports, summons etc. It was in the basement with other stuff when I helped him move. ( along with a big box of trophies from various shooting disciplines. )
Joe

[Bolster]

Wow, that's a sobering story. Clearly, being in the right doesn't mean much, does it? I mean, being an established member of the community just served to make him a bigger target, easier to hit.

Do ya ever get the feeling our society is set up to give the advantage to those who have little to lose, whereas those who do society's heavy lifting, are the vulnerable ones?

[amen74]

Do ya ever get the feeling our society is set up to give the advantage to those who have little to lose, whereas those who do society's heavy lifting, are the vulnerable ones?

I totally agree. I've heard the stories all too many times.