My friend and I decided to go to the Starbucks down the street, get something to drink, and play Scrabble. (As usual, she beat me.) When we first sat down, there was a 20-something man, apparently homeless, asleep at a table in the corner, with an almost-empty drink in front of him.

At some point during our game, he got up and grabbed my friend from behind with both hands on her neck/shoulders. I immediately stood up, firmly told him to back off, whipped out my cell phone, and told him I was calling 911. (The 911 call was fake... my immediate concern was getting him away from my friend.) He moved on to another table, sat down, and slumped over in the chair.

I asked my friend if she actually wanted a 911 call, and she said yes. So the cops arrived.

One of the officers handcuffed the guy and put him in the back of a police car. The other officer wanted to get victim/witness statements from us. The first question was whether my friend wanted to press charges. Well, she has a degree in social work, and she realized that this guy needed mental health care, not prosecution. But the officer explained that unfortunately, the Seattle Police Department has no such procedure -- all they do is bust people. So she reluctantly decided to press charges, as the man's behavior was very upsetting to her, and she said that the pain was a "5" or "6" on a scale of 1 to 10.

I told the officer that I had witnessed the entire thing, from the man approaching her to grabbing her to sitting down at another table. I also said that I was happy to testify against him. So the officer down took my information. (The irony is that I was wearing my ACLU of Washington t-shirt, and the ACLU always tells people not to talk to the police, although they're referring to situations where you're potentially facing charges and are not just a witness.)

If the Prosecutor decides to file charges, I'll likely be called as a witness. (They might even subpoena me, although it won't be necessary in order to get me to show up.) It'll be interesting, because I've elicited testimony from other people in the course of my work as a lawyer, but I've never given testimony myself.

Two assaults in less than two years. First I got assaulted in July 2004 by a neighbor in the building where I used to live, and now my friend got assaulted on New Year's Day 2006.
[Edited 1/2/06 6:48am]

That sounds very frightening - I'm glad your friend decided to call the police. I hope she's ok and I hope that the man will eventually get the help he so obviously needs.

I'm curious about what ACLU is (a university?) and why they tell people not to talk to the police. Surely we couldn't function as a society if people stopped communicating with law enforcement officials?

Wow, bet you both were shaken up.

Don't wear that ACLU t-shirt when you testify.

Damn, glad you guys are okay.

I'm gonna have to nominate you for hero of the day.

I'm always very reluctant to press charges, especially since people in my country report each other at the drop of a hat.

I guess if she was so distressed by the whole thing that he deserved to be punished for it, it was the right thing to do. "Assault" sounds a bit harsh though, since he didn't hit her or hurt her to any significant degree. You're the lawyer, Matt. How do you think it will be labelled? Is "assault" the only possibility?

Either way, I think it's funny that at the exact point in the story where I expected you to say that you grabbed the guy and pushed him away, you instead "whipped out your cell phone". It's the modern six-shooter, I suppose.

Reincarnate said:

Thanks. I think she'll be okay. She was a bit shaken up by the incident, and she didn't really want to talk about it when we returned to my home, but she was very calm and seemed "normal" when we spoke with the police. I think by that point she may have been more concerned for the man's well-being than what had happened to her. She really didn't want to press charges -- she wanted to get him help -- but it was the only thing she could do. Otherwise, the police would have just checked to see if he had any outstanding arrest warrants and then turned him loose on the streets of Seattle.



The ACLU is the American Civil Liberties Union. To clarify, the ACLU doesn't encourage people to stop communicating entirely with law enforcement. Rather, the ACLU educates people on how to exercise the rights guaranteed to them by the U.S. Constitution -- such as the right to remain silent -- if they're detained or arrested by the police. You can read their advice here. But it really has no application to a situation where you're the victim of a crime and need the help of the police.

retina said:

I don't practice criminal law, but I can't think of any other charge that could be brought against the man under the law of Washington state.

It's my opinion, as a lawyer, that the man violated RCW 9A.36.041 ("Assault in the fourth degree"). The actual text of the statute isn't very enlightening, but the materials I used to study for the Washington bar exam explain it as follows:

There is no significant bodily harm, but mere momentary injury (such as a push, shove or slap).

Now, 4th degree assault is merely a gross misdemeanor. In theory he faces up to a year in jail, but I seriously doubt that'll happen to him, unless he's got a significant record of prior offenses. I actually wonder if the Prosecutor's office will even file charges.



I'm armed and dangerous with a Motorola RAZR V3.

Seriously, when you're 5'7" and 125 pounds, physical force is an option of last resort. I would have used it if necessary to protect my friend, but fortunately, it wasn't needed.
[Edited 1/2/06 4:06am]

luv4u said:

Well, my "flight-or-fight response" kicked in immediately, and I was in "fight" mode. That's unusual for me -- I don't like harming anybody, and if I'm in danger, my preference is to retreat. But I wasn't going to let this guy hurt my friend.

Once it was clear that my friend was no longer in danger, I calmed down pretty quickly. My friend said I did an excellent job when I spoke with the police officer. (She was worried that I'd act like an aggressive lawyer in court.)



Hmmm... should I also leave my earrings at home?

Poor man

Samaar said:

Thanks. I'm not sure if what I did was heroic... I merely spoke up, used body language, and brandished my cell phone, and I don't know if the man would have done anything differently if I hadn't acted... but I do feel that I handled the situation in the best way that I could.

retina said:

Whipping out your cell phone works! I've been in situations where I've felt uncomfortable, especially on an emptyish train carriage and being female. The person who is making you feel like "uh oh, I'm on my own and he's behaving weirdly" tends to notice you've got your phone out and you're prepared to use it!

Couldn't they detain him under the mental health act, without charging him and that way he could get help.



U.K Law.

"Police Powers to Remove a Person to a Place of Safety
The Mental Health Act provides the circumstances in which the police can remove a person to a place of safety, which in most cases will be a police station or hospital, for up to 72 hours, in order to make arrangements for the person’s treatment and care.

From premises
A magistrate may issue a warrant on hearing from an Approved Social Worker (ASW) that there is reasonable cause to suspect that a person believed to be suffering from mental disorder is not being cared for properly. The warrant will authorise a police officer, accompanied by the Social Worker, to enter the premises (by force if need be) and, if thought fit, remove the person to a place of safety.

From a public place
The police may, in the interests of the person or for the protection of others, remove to a place of safety a person found in a public place who appears to be suffering from a mental disorder and to be in immediate need of care and control.

The Mental Health Act states that the person should be examined by a doctor and interviewed by an Approved Social Worker. The Code of Practice states that if having examined the person, the doctor concludes that the person is not mentally disordered within the meaning of the Mental Health Act; the person should be immediately discharged."



...
[Edited 1/2/06 5:07am]

LleeLlee said:

Unfortunately, the corresponding law in Washington state, RCW 71.05.150 ("Detention of mentally disordered persons for evaluation and treatment — Procedure"), seems to limit seriously the ability of police officers to do such a thing.

Normally, a mentally ill person can be involuntarily detained only if: 1) a "designated mental health professional" files a petition in court; and 2) a judge issues an order authorizing the detention. A police officer can only do it if he or she has reasonable cause to believe that the person "presents an imminent likelihood of serious harm or is in imminent danger because of being gravely disabled" (emphasis added). Sounds like a pretty high hurdle to me.

I did some research, and although it's a bit unclear, it seems that if the man is charged with assault, then he'll be brought before the Municipal Court of Seattle. And this court allows cases to be diverted to a "Mental Health Court" that focuses on the underlying mental health problem(s) and treating it. However, one of the requirements for diverting a case to Mental Health Court is that the defendant has to consent to it. What if the defendant is too mentally ill to make such a decision?

Just a question, why didn't you immediately remove his hands from your friend?

jerseykrs said:

He removed his hands himself before I could do so. The grab was very brief, and my initial reaction time was delayed a bit because the situation was so unusual. Also, he was on the other side of a table, and I could have lost my balance if I reached across it.
[Edited 1/2/06 6:04am]

matt said:

OK, I was just asking because that would have been my first reaction, to get him off her. I understand now though.

glad your friend is okay, but the bigger crime is that people still pay $4 for a cup of coffee

meltwithu said:

Somebody once said something to the effect of, "I don't know why they call it 'Starbucks.' I think 'FourBucks' would be more appropriate."

What did Starbucks do during all this?

Wow. Too much expresso, I guess.

Glad you two are OK.

Yeah Matt, sorry to hear that. It sounds like it was very scary. Pressing charges might just work out for the best. Maybe they will see or hear his crazy behaviors and feel he is a danger, or maybe it will be discovered in court. It's sad we live in such a society that discards people in such a way and in their discarding turns said people loose on other's in society.

what happened with the previous neighbor assault?, I missed that story...
[Edited 1/2/06 9:52am]

MickG said:

P.S. Bitch to Starbuck Inc about the safty of their places, because this should be good for free starbucks for a month at least.

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

Good point

Reincarnate said:

I don't think that is as much a point as it is a question.

MickG said:

ok, good question.

matt said:

How "mental" could the guy have been if he withdrew at your first action?

Did he say anything ? Did u ask him anything...why he touched her ?

Reincarnate said:

AnckSuNamun said:

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

Well, they did make the (real) 911 call. That was probably a good thing, as a 911 call from a landline goes directly to the Seattle Police Department, whereas a 911 call from my cell phone might connect me to the "wrong" law enforcement agency, such as the Washington State Patrol.

They also kept an eye on the guy while we were waiting for the cops to arrive. (Of course, we did the same.) And the manager asked my friend if she wanted them to write up an incident report, but my friend declined for fear of endangering the employees' jobs. Personally, I don't see why such a report would, and the manager even told her that it wouldn't put anyone's employment in jeopardy.

Other than that, they did nothing other than repeatedly apologizing.