What do I do? I think I assaulted someone at work.?

Question

Basically I work in a shop and today a customer complained to me saying I charged them wrong, although it was a glitch on the system, but for some reason he seemed to think I did it on purpose so I said ok sir I'll get you a refund (being polite as I always am) I then said il just get a supervisor as I can't do refunds. So the chap then immediately stops me and says no I don't want someone else to, you messed up you sort it. Again I proceeded to explain to the man it's not been Put on the system as the correct price. He then goes on about how i should of spotted it, which is absaloutely ridiculous as its a big store I can't possibly know the price of everything (which I told him) he then starts to point at me almost shouting but being very agressive and grabs my collar, so I (and I box at a good amateur level with 16 fights 16 wins 6 ko"s ) throw a right hook right to his liver, he struggles to breathe for a few minutes and lays slumped on the floor, I didn't know what to do luckily the store was dead and the assistant manager was out back. He then finally got up (oh he was about 45 but bald and tattooed like a bloody gypo) and threatened to be back (only verbally this time) so I just sort of jabbed him in the face putting him on the floor again before he left. this was near the end of my shift what the hell do i do?? When he grabbed my collar and I hit him could I say that's self defence? But what about the second time??? It was only verbals? He won't be able to contact my manager or anyone until tomorrow as I finished at closing time but now I can't sleep thinking I'm completely f---ed as how wil I explain what I did and why. everyone in store renows me for my ppoliteness but how can
I back this up. really need help please thanks. I'm not in until thurs which makes it almost more terrible. Help please

Answer 1

This situation is very difficult as in one instance as an employee you are supposed to be above any aggression directed at you. On a personal front it would take a saint not to respond to such provocation.



CCTV in the shop will prove that he grabbed you first, however you did go on to assault him as not only did you give him a right hook you also jabbed him in the face. The fact that you box at an amateur level means you could do some serious damage when cornered or angered.



I suspect that once the boss views the CCTV in the shop you could be legally fired with no come back against your employer. Had you not responded a second time there is a chance that you could have said the reason you punched him near the liver was self defence, even though this area can cause enough damage to permanently damage the health and life of a person of the age and build of the man you punched.



The second time you jabbed this man you jabbed him in the face, You could of walked away but no -once angered you hit him again and this was after he had been slumped down on the floor struggling with his breathing.



So here is another scenario for you to think about and that is criminal compensation the guy you knocked down in the shop is entitled to claim this against you.



The shop fires you for gross misconduct, you end up in court on criminal charges for Common Assault if not GBH depends on the extent of the injury damage from your right hook to his liver and thirdly you end up prosecuted for criminal damages.



From your post above you have no defence even if you report the incident, the police will take a very dim view of an Amateur winning boxer assaulting a customer in a shop.



As someone who has confessed already to the crime above even if you plead guilty because you think this will make the courts go easy on you, you will find it difficult to get another job until you can prove that you can live life without getting violent.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Another persons body language and aggressive threatening tone is enough for you to feel that you ARE LIKELY TO BE HIT. That is enough.

He threatened you once and assaulted you by grabbing your collar in an aggressive manner. His general attitude was aggressive and threatening. He was bigger and older than you. So overall you have every right to feel you have to hit him before he might seriously hurt you.



A persons tone - body language - taken into account with the overall situation is enough for a person to feel threatened and that person can defend themselves instead of waiting to be harmed first.

Only you can read the situation and the threat - no one else can.



You did the right thing - he was an obnoxious bully who underestimated you.

Dont worry. Would you rather be hurt badly because you did not stop this bully boy.



In my former job - I was trained in Aikido (like you I was a Boxer) we were trained to have to think first and use the correct self defence technique when dealing with violent criminals. However - the fact is under law we were put at a disadvantage by having to THINK about the "proper response" ??

that half a second could mean I was hurt. But the policy changed because every person has the right to stop a POTENTIAL aggressor - we were allowed to throw a punch FIRST if that stopped the aggressor and then apply the restraining holds.



Edit > I have read some answers who say you are wrong ? Ok, so lets do it their way > The man is aggressive (yes) The man grabbed you (yes). His intent was clear(Yes). So you decide to just stand there then he hits or pushes you and you hit YOUR head on a shelf or the hard floor - you are seriously hurt or lose an eye or suffer brain damage. You would NOT be able to work.

Some things are worth more than keeping a job. This mans whole attitude was aggressive from the start.

The ironic thing is - if you were heard to say - "tattooed like a bloody Gypo" you could be sacked just for that.

You also have to ask - are you trained to deal with aggressive violent people ??? If not your case is even safer.

Say nothing - do nothing. Because you dont know if your manager is sensible or an idiot - you put your future in his hands.

Answer 4

The first time you hit him is probably excusable. You were preventing an assault against yourself. The law is getting much more sympathetic to people using defence these days. However, the second time was definitely a criminal assault (technically battery, actually, but I won't get into that, it doesn't matter). You weren't defending yourself this time, but responding to an insult. There is also no defence of provocation to battery.



So, what happens next?

I don't think criminal prosecution's likely. The guy wouldn't make a police complaint because he knows that he assaulted you first, so he'd be in as much trouble as you. If he did make a complaint, the police would review the evidence (CCTV and/or a statement from you, the man, and your manager) and you'd either get a caution or go to court. If you went to court, you'd get a light fine no more. (Unless you caused enough damage to be liable for GBH or ABH, unlikely).



If the police want to talk to you about this at any point, I suggest you say nothing at all (you can confirm your name and address, but that's all) until you say a lawyer. They'll provide the duty solicitor to you at the station. (This is all assuming the man makes a complaint).



All in all, the criminal side of this isn't much to worry about. Just don't talk to the police without a lawyer. Even if you get prosecuted, the worst you'll get is a court appearance and a fine.



As for what your employer would do, it's hard to say. Your actions would be grounds for dismissal, but your employer wouldn't have to sack you if they didn't want to. It would depend on your record, your relationship with your boss, company policy, etc, etc. The only way to know for sure is to call them tomorrow and find out what they intend to do.



If it's a small business, the likely outcome is that the whole thing will be dealt with by an informal talk with your boss and decided by him. If it's a larger company, you'll get a disciplinary probably but that's only if your manager reports the incident.



Good luck. On a personal note, it sounds like that guy totally deserved it. He sounds like an idiot. I wouldn't recommend doing that again, though :P

Answer 5

DO NOT wait until the start of your next shift, ask to talk with your supervisor about the incident asap. Explain what happened. Any CCTV footage is unlikely to include sound so it will most likely come down to 'he said, he said'



The 1st punch can clearly be passed as self defence, the fact that u have had training meant you were careful in how u proceeded with your defence. The 2nd punch can be explained as a response to continued threatening behaviour in a volatile situation in which you had no backup from fellow members of staff and the possibility of further assault by that person (along with others unknown) after you had left the store.



Good luck

Answer 6

The police would probably accept your first punch as legitimate self-defence, the second one is a bit more problematic unless the guy was clearly threatening you. The best thing to do is probably to report this to your manager ASAP and hope the CCTV backs you up. Be careful only to say you hit this guy as you felt you were threatened by him. If you're lucky he won't report this to anyone - he might have a police record or otherwise be unwilling to go to them.

Answer 7

No chump. You over stepped your mark and you know it. If you were any kind of 'sportsman', with just one ounce of discipline, you would have realised that someone (a middle aged gentleman) grabbing your 'collar' does NOT constitute or give you the devine right to throw a 'deliberate' punch that could have killed the guy. You used excessive force, you over stepped, you lost control. I bet it's all on CCTV anyway. You used the morals of the school playground..... where you may have said "Miss, he grabbed my collar, so I socked him and put him down like a sack of shitt". I think you can kiss bye bye to that job.... I would stick to boxing if I were you, and I bet you get the shitt kicked out of you by someone smarter, that uses his 'brain' rather that his fist. I would love to coach someone like you.



Your only hope is that he wont make a complaint. Which could mean that you're off the hook.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Lolololol that's is some funny stuff. I am sorry but what's the point of hitting him again? Well if he is smart he'll come back, but if you'd only hit him once then he probably can't do anything about it. Most likely your screwed dude sorry to tell you. He could call the cops on you and lie to them to get you in trouble. There could be 100 scenario's to this question, but 90% of them are definitely not in your favor.

Answer 10

I am not sure of the laws in the UK but I would have called the cops immediately and filed charges on the guy before I left work.



I hope you have a camera at work to back you up.



good luck

Answer 11

sounds like he assaulted you and you acted in self defence



I suggest you go in to the store before thurs to explain to manager, explain you felt severely threatened

Answer 12

Be really polite in your explaniation.

make him look like the bad guy who's always shouting

Answer 13

is the store equip with surveillance camera? if so, don't worry your good, he grabbed you first so hitting him is a self defence...

Answer 14

Once he grabbed you, it's him assaulting you, not you assaulting him.



File a police report, cops tend to believe the first person to file such reports.