Would you go to the police in this situation?

[manic_depressive13]

Imagine you're walking down the street when someone comes up to you and slaps you in the face. As you stand there stunned the person walks away. The slap results in a stinging sensation that passes after a few minutes.

I know a lot of people will want to say that they would totally just beat that person up, or retaliate, or whatever. But for the purposes of this hypothetical, assume you can't fight back, or don't get a chance to fight back. Would you go file a police report, or would you just fume a little and try to forget about it?

 

[Keoul]

Yeaaah I wouldn't file a police report. I'd probably call out "what the hell?!" but I'm not going to bring the police into something so small.

Not to mention I haven't exactly memorized the number for my local police station which means I'd have to call my emergency number and no way in hell I'm calling EMERGENCY services over a slap.

 

[Spambot 3000]

Just get over it and expect the offender to be more well-mannered during our next encounter, or else.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

Without witnesses, there isn't any way to prove you got slapped and definitely not who slapped you. It'd be a waste of police resources over a fairly minor incident.

 

[Bat Vader]

I would go to the police. I'm pretty sure that would be considered assault and if some random idiot slaps me I sure as hell want to make sure he pays for it.

 

[Vault101]

this is...very specific

it is assault so I could if something like that did happen I would probably be a little shaken, and I wouldn't exactly call it "not a big deal" things change in context, someone I know yelling and swearing at me? bring it on...a stranger who might be crazy/on drugs? that would be terrifying and upsetting, a slap even worse

but I probably wouldn't report it because I tend to avoid shit rather than deal with it (even when I should)

 

[Itdoesthatsometimes]

I might give them a call. Not necessarily file charges, but to put down as an indecent report. Let the cops know that there is someone going around slapping people that can not fight back. Then again if I am not fighting back, I probably can't dial the phone either.

 

[Summerstorm]

Eh, too much of a hassle - also wasting police-resources and with that being "known" for disturbing the police and wasting everyone's time makes it more likely i will get worse treatment/no benefit of a doubt when i DO have something important...

So nope. wouldn't report it.

 

[Zhukov]

Funny, I've had almost that exact thing happen to me.

I was walking home one night when some unremarkable looking dude approached me. I thought he was going to ask directions or something.

Instead he says, "Do you have a forty five behind you?"
Me: "A what?"
Him: "Y'know, a forty five calibre."
Me: "What, you mean like a gun?"
(Those exact words.)

Then he throws a punch at me. Just like that. I reflexively jerked my head back and it just sort of clipped me. I don't know if he was aiming to miss or if I got lucky. Then he says "Fuck off" and walks away.

I just sort of stood there thinking WTF. I briefly considered chasing after him, he was a good bit smaller than me and I was carrying a pocket knife, but the moment had kinda of passed and the mention of firearms made me cautious.

No, I didn't go to the cops. I just walked home wondering what the hell is wrong with some people. And now I have this odd little story to tell people.

 

[Scarim Coral]

No since I would think the police would laugh at my situation since it kind of sound trivial at best. Ok maybe not if it was a racial situation but none the less I wouldn't report it to the police.

 

[Jamieson 90]

No I wouldn't. For one I don't think I'd be believed or that the police would care enough. Being a man, they're likely to just tell me to stop whining and to stop wasting their time and I wouldn't want to waste their time either.

I think this is something that is heavily reliant on your age, sex, race and religion:

If you're a kid and an adult slaps you in the face then the police will take that much more seriously.

If you're a woman and a man slaps you in the face then the police will be all over that guy in no time. Switch them around though and the police are likely to care, they'll probably have a good laugh about it at the bloke's expense

If you happen to be a Muslim and a white person slaps you then our institutionally racist police force is hardly going to care. The same if you're black.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

Er...No police involvement necessary.

My plan for such a circumstance is as follows:

1. Be surprised.

2. Hold face.

3. Contort face into pained expression. Pepper in some confusion for effect.

4. Ask anyone around me if that had actually happened.

5. Resume my day, while stewing in impotent anger and taking every opportunity to tell other people about it.

6. Forget it happened by the next day.

 

[Trippy Turtle]

I wouldn't. I'd wouldn't even be annoyed unless the slap hurt a lot.
Even if I had reason to believe he was going to go on a slap rampage across the country I wouldn't call the cops. Its not like he's actually doing any harm.
I've got better things to do, the police have better things to do, and the slap man becomes a new (super)hero. Or villain. Probably villain.

This captcha though.

Now that is one way to make me look at ads.
I admire sparta's determination to make me play, if not their actual game.

 

[Ryan Minns]

I went to the police after a man who I think was in his early to mid 30's attempted to give me a "Test of manhood" which was buying him alcohol because he was too wasted to be served at a bottleshop. I of course "failed" this brilliant test and figured I'd let the police know to keep an eye out for the moron if they were driving around which is similar to what I'd do in this situation. I'd let the police know there is a man walking around slapping people and someone less controlled (To be honest, probably me already) would probably get the shits and a fight could break out or someone could get seriously hurt

 

[lacktheknack]

I wouldn't. I'd assume that they mistook me for someone else, and I'm OK with taking a slap to stop a fight somewhere else. Plus... well, what am I gonna tell the police? I have a poor memory for quick details, I probably wouldn't even remember the person's gender if they didn't stick around.

 

[WaysideMaze]

A couple of years back my younger brother was attacked. He was out with a group of friends, another group came over to try starting trouble, things escalated and my brother was hit around the head with a length of wood. He had to be taken to the emergency room, having lost a lot of blood. He's been left with 2 scars.

Despite having multiple witnesses (his group of friends) the police response was to interview none of them, claim my brother was uncooperative (they only tried to talk to him when he was still in shock) and say that because there were no cameras there's nothing they can do about it.

Thing is, if the police around here can't be bothered to go after someone who very nearly killed my brother, I highly doubt they'll do anything about someone who's just slapping people. I doubt there's much I'd bother reporting to the police these days.

 

[Lilani]

I may inform the police some jerkface is slapping people in the street. Not to pursue charges against the individual for what happened to me, but just so they know it happened in case it becomes an epidemic and they need to prove it wasn't an isolated case.

 

[TallanKhan]

Ok well first of all, if you have started this threat because you have seen a stranger in the street who you want to slap and you are trying to guage whether you will get away with it, DON'T DO IT!

To answer the question, maybe.

I would be naturally disinclined to, both because I have very little faith in the Police (more interested in cataloging crimes and handing out reference numbers than actually solving or preventing them) and because I would feel utterly foolish trying to file that report.

However, I really can't condone the idea of someone roaming the streets slapping people. What if they are a serial face-slapper and my reporting it to the police would have caused them to act just that little bit sooner to stop them? Also, to my mind, unprovoked violence is morally indefensible and I do believe people should be held to account for their actions.

Overall I think reporting it to the police would be the right thing to do, but if I were actually in the situation I don't know if I would do it.