Below is a copy of an email I've just sent to the Customer Services of my work's local shop…

So should I notify the police?

I have just returned from my local Londis Store ({address removed}) where I was assaulted by another customer who was then defended by the staff in the shop.

On approaching the store I was aware of a person in front of me who was muttering incoherently to himself, other than this, there had been no interaction between us at all. He entered the store ahead of me and as soon as he was inside he turned around and punched me in the stomach. I pushed my way past him further into the store and asked him what he thought he was doing, he incoherently babbled at me but proceeded to approach me again. I evaded him around the shelves and shouted to the shop keepers what had happened, they just smiled and told me that he was OK and not to worry about it. The other person continued to approach me aggressively, I once again appealed to the staff to do something however they continued to defend his actions. At this point I left the store whereupon he followed me for a short distance and continued to shout at me.

As the punch was fairly mild, I am currently undecided whether to raise this minor assault with the police or not. However, as I'm sure you can understand it is the actions of your staff that concern me the most. The way they interacted with him indicated that they knew the man in question quite well, either as a friend or a regular customer. For the staff actively defend the actions of the assailant is appalling and other than to let them know how displeased I am, I shall not be returning to that store.

should 'they' have not called the Police???

Indeed, it's their actions that bother me more than his given that there wasn't a lot to the punch.

They should have called the police in that instance otherwise they're an accessory aren't they? Bad form if you ask me. If that had happened to me I would have kicked off and probably called the police there and then reporting both the man and the shop. At least that way you have a clear time of day so that cctv footage can be seen.

Grab some zip ties, tie him up to a shelf and call the police 🙂

Obviously wasn't much of a punch if you were able to push past him and run round the aisles.

I take it you haven't much experience of people with mental health problems and the fact that the staff were not concerned makes me wonder if you overreacted just a smidgin ?

By all means report it to the police but I would be very surprised if they were not well aware of this chap.

Edit ps. sorry but the way you have written the account has made me giggle.

and own him with some bombers ck? 😉

Woody, I take your point but what if verses had a delicate heart problem.. has been known to happen that people have died from the lightest touch! They may be aware of him but if verses wants to make a formal complaint then they have to act upon it.

+1 with woody. The guy obviously has mental health problems. Then again, I've been a psychiatric nurse for twenty five years, so perhaps I have become a little blase about these things. If he didnt physically hurt you, I wouldnt worry too much about it, and the staff in the shop are obviously used to him.

I would have swiped something off the shelf for my trouble and left it at that.

I'd have put some Dennis Pennis style windmills together and beaten the living shit out of him. Then finished off the cocks behind the counter, then nicked a few hundred Lamberts and a some clipper lighters. That'd show them not to mess with you.

I have just returned from my local Londis Store ({address removed}) where I was assaulted by a politician who was then defended by the staff in the shop.

On approaching the store I was aware of a person in front of me who was muttering incoherently to himself, other than this, there had been no interaction between us at all. He entered the store ahead of me and as soon as he was inside he turned around and punched me in the stomach. I pushed my way past him further into the store and asked him what he thought he was doing, he incoherently babbled at me but proceeded to approach me again. I evaded him around the shelves and shouted to the shop keepers what had happened, they just smiled and told me that he was OK and not to worry about it. The other person continued to approach me aggressively, I once again appealed to the staff to do something however they continued to defend his actions. At this point I left the store whereupon he followed me for a short distance and continued to shout at me.

As the punch was fairly mild, I am currently undecided whether to raise this minor assault with the police or not. However, as I'm sure you can understand it is the actions of your staff that concern me the most. The way they interacted with him indicated that they knew the man in question quite well, either as a friend or a regular customer. For the staff actively defend the actions of the assailant is appalling and other than to let them know how displeased I am, I shall not be returning to that store.

Poor old Gordon Brown how the mighty have fallen

I'm not sure how I can be accused of overreacting… A complete stranger punched me with no provocation at all, and at the time my only reactions were to;
a) tell him to F-off while walking away from him as he repeated approached me in a confrontational way.
b) ask the staff to do something about it.

I personally don't feel it needs police involvement but others have suggested it does, which is why I asked for more opinions.

I can see why the writing style raised a giggle, but I seem to fall into formal writing mode when writing such things.

Disgruntled of Tunbridge-Wells

deadly – am I to assume that you've already been for that 'ride' with ton?

As above a few posts, probably someone with mental health issues (not that that means they are not possibly a danger), you could have been a pregnant woman etc, I'd have hoped the sthop staff would have helped out a bit (though I dont think it's their "duty" to do something, they're just members of the public like you are). I'd have spent more time discussing it with the shop staff as they obviously know of him, and think a little more about the guy who obviously has some serious issues to deal with.

My first thoughts were that he was pissed, he seemed to be staggering and slurring, but as you say it could well be mental health issues.

Either way, the staff clearly knew of him and had plenty of chance to explain it to me, it took place over a couple of minutes.

Keep going down there, next time you see him punch him in the stomach. See what the staff say then.

Whether someone's mentally ill or not, if they go round punching people at random then yes, i think the police should be informed. What if he punched a kid instead?

barnsleymitch – Member
deadly – am I to assume that you've already been for that 'ride' with ton?

😆
No, not yet mate. Just getting into the frame of mind though. Pity that one got shut down…it was great fun.

So they knew that he'd punched you? Not sure what I would have done in your situation – I think I may have reacted physically if I thought another punch coming but depends on how much of a threat he seemed. I'd assume either drunk of mentally ill so probably just keep my distance.

Go back and ask the shop people about him.

It's common assault and even if he has 'problems' it's the police's job to decide what action to take if any, I'd report him.

Without scaremongering that fact that it was only a mild punch this time doesn't mean he's not going to progress.

A ha a chance to shine 🙂

This is exactly what I deal with every day as a business crime coordinator specialising in retail premises.

Yes you should report it to the Police as it counts as ASB and assault (if they want to run with it). If the individual has issues then these need to be referred and dealt with as this type of behaviour is unacceptable. He may not have injured you too much as a fit average age man, however if it had been an elderly lady or a child the matter would be quite different. I would regard this as a trigger offence for further actions.

If it was one of my cases and the staff of a store acted this way I’d be looking at their alcohol licence and considering their suitability to retain it.

Then again, I've been a psychiatric nurse for twenty five years, so perhaps I have become a little blase about these things.

BM obviously has much more experience than me in this area but he is right re becoming blase. It is something I come across frequently and realise it can be very upsetting if you are not used to it. So apologies if I appeared less than sympathetic.

I just have this image of you running up and down the aisles shouting at the staff "HELP! HELP! detain the babbling assailant with great haste my good fellow lest he smite me once more"

Sorry [img] /happy-smiley-575.gif[/img]

I'm with finbar, what if it had been someones kid, or what's to say he wouldn't stop at hurting a baby? Report it, mental issues/drunk or not, it's just not acceptable.

Again, I second what woody said, and can only apologise if I appeared to be making light of your situation. However, you have stated twice that the punch was fairly insignificant, so perhaps involving the police would be a bit of a waste of time. Having said that, it might be worth trying to raise your concerns with whichever community mental health team are involved with this chap (presuming he does have mental health problems and is known to local services). Maybe go back to the shop and discuss this with the staff there, as judging from your original post, it would appear that they already know / know of the guy.

Whether someone's mentally ill or not, if they go round punching people at random then yes, i think the police should be informed. What if he punched a kid instead?

+ 1

its unacceptable, imo, regardless of their situation.

I would 50/50 call the police. I would 100% get shirty with the shop staff.

They should have called the police in that instance otherwise they're an accessory aren't they?

No. There is no obligation on anyone to call the police about a crime or prevent a crime from happening. You would be quite (legally) entitled to watch me being beaten senseless while you do the crossword.

What if he punched a kid instead?

WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!?!?!?

Surely it is not the staffs responsibility to defend customers?

, I take your point but what if verses had a delicate heart problem

– or if, being disturbed he takes it on himself to carry a knife next time to defend himself against people who happen to walking in front of him?

I'd have put some Dennis Pennis style windmills together and beaten the living shit out of him. Then finished off the cocks behind the counter, then nicked a few hundred Lamberts and a some clipper lighters. That'd show them not to mess with you.

+1

quote]deadlydarcy – Member
I'd have put some Dennis Pennis style windmills together and beaten the living shit out of him. Then finished off the cocks behind the counter, then nicked a few hundred Lamberts and a some clipper lighters. That'd show them not to mess[/quote]

Like the finer things in life do we? 😆

And now the over-reaction starts. He's already said (twice) that the punch was insignificant, and the fact that the staff in the shop didnt react would suggest that they've probably seen it all before. I'm not suggesting that the bloke's completely harmless, but the 'what if he starts to carry a knife' comments are just scaremongering.
PMSL at konabunny.

Report, let the Police review the shop CCTV and decide what action is required…

It was indeed a light punch, I'm totally unharmed, it was more the continued aggression from no provocation that riled me.

My problem with the staff isn't that they didn't react, it's that their reaction was to just smile and tell me that he's fine and nothing to worry about at the same time as he was "coming after" me.

They also interacted with him in the way friends do rather than how a shop keeper would with a customer they knew.

On balance I would probably report it. I would also return to the shop and ask them WTF was going on.

Sounds like mental health issues to me.

community police are the way forward with manging/tracking incidents for issued you do not want to trouble the police with. this sort of info is useful as they may have a file already and it helps build up a picture the of the persons activities. Talking to them on the phone or via email only takes a few minutes and will help serve your community as he could well do it again to someone who was less fortunate than yourself.

They can also have a "word" with the shop who may well need guidance as to how to help, imagine they have to deal with him daily and the abuse, its easy to see why the did not want to make something of it.

Its not scare mongery, its about helping to protect your community

How would you feel if he harms someone in the future and you didn't warn anyone?
I'd send the mrs to the shop in future 😀

If someone lays a finger on you in an agressive manner, lay him out as quickly as possible, ideally with a headbutt as he punches you! The lesson Ive learnt in life is that noone will look after you, you gotta be able to look after yourself. Police will be as much use as a chocolate fireguard as usual, whereas a broken nose might make him think twice about who he picks on next time.

"whereas a broken nose might make him think twice about who he picks on next time."

whereas if he is mentally ill it'll have no effect (other than physical injury) because he's not in control of his actions.

Think I would ask questions later and chuck a pringles tube down his throat-in self defence…find him in ice cream freezer.

Report it, he's a dangeer to frail ppl.