Jogger Vs Gang...Jogger wins!

[ralee]

Just want to say well done to the jogger tho stood up to a gang of youths on Forest Hill Road on the evening of Saturday 16th. He was jogging past, minding his own business and a group of youths shouted at him/ challenging him. He could have 'jogged on' but no, he turned around and said, "what?". Of course the gang got all defensive and revealed a couple of bottles from there jackets...The jogger approached them and got right into there face and said, "Come on then?!" and the gang shut up and put their bottles away.

Yes, I know people will say it was stupid that jogger even challenged this group of youths and it could have ended badly but it was nice to see a local resident not keeping his head down and letting some 15/16yr olds threaten him.

[DJKillaQueen]

I think the bigger thing to do would have been to ignore them. They were probably just a group of teens hanging out and being a bit cheeky (and that is not a crime btw). If anything I would say his act of going up to them and getting 'in their face' was not only stupid but also an act of unprovoked aggression. He's no better than the teens themselves imo and had anything happeend as a consequence the law would have agreed I'm afraid.

[ralee]

Mehh...maybe? But it shut them up and in my opinion they need doing so.

[trentk69]

Nice work by the Jogger I say. Letting teens get away with this sort of behavior is a catalyst of worse to come.

BTW, should the behviour of the teens cause anxiety and stress of other passers by to the point they feel they need to cross the road to avoid the group, or the fear for their saftey, they are then straying into the definition of affray, which is a serious legal offence.

In current English Law, affray forms part of the Public Order Act 1986 under section 3. The act states:

A person is guilty of affray if he uses or threatens unlawful violence towards another and the person's conduct is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to fear for his personal safety.

Where two or more persons use or threaten the unlawful violence, it is the conduct of them taken together that must be considered for the purpose of subsection (1)

For the purposes of this section a threat cannot be made by the use of words alone.

No person of reasonable firmness need actually be, or be likely to be, present at the scene.

Affray may be committed in private as well as in public places.

[Odyssey]

Ralee, so where were you when all this was going on?

[Jeremy]

Hardly "unprovoked", DJKQ. If you're going to go around insulting and shouting at people, you have to expect that sooner or later someone's not going to stand for it.

We can't allow a society where grown adults live in fear of teenagers.

[Beulah]

So bullying an innocent passer-by in the street and then threatening them with bottles when they react is being a "bit cheeky" is it?

FFS some of you lot are nuts.

What if they'd thrown the bottle at him or tried to mug him - would you excuse that too?

For sure some teens do act "a bit cheeky" from time to time.

That's why they need someone like that jogger to show em what's what.

[KidKruger]

Intimidation in the street and the fear experienced by people going about their own business is one of this country's travesties IMO. The slack societal attitude allows it to continue.

The losers who get their kicks by ganging-up on folks are natural cowards and they need to know that it will be nipped in the bud, otherwise they just perpetuate and build-on that behaviour with ever-increasing aggression to innocent passers-by.

If there's no law against hassling someone just for passing-by, then there should be.

That jogger is a hero IMO, dealing with @ssholes and having the confidence to shove it back in their face.

He gets the medal this week.

[The Minkey]

"..and a group of youths shouted at him/ challenging him." Hardly unprovoked. More a case of getting a little taste of their own medicine. A salutory lesson life lesson.

[taper]

Don't mess with Runners. And don't call runners joggers.

We're sweaty.

We don't feel pain.

And we're fit with it.

[KidKruger]

woooaaaa... respect !!

Gulp.

[Chocoholic]

My husband would have done the say and I would'nt let them get away with it either. Well done Jogger.

[sophiesofa]

Wouldn't it have been better to leave at the bottles shown stage, rung the police with a description and let them deal with it? No point risking your life IMO for the sake of getting one up on a few teenagers.

[DonkyOne]

Beulah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> So bullying an innocent passer-by in the street

> and then threatening them with bottles when they

> react is being a "bit cheeky" is it?

> FFS some of you lot are nuts.

> What if they'd thrown the bottle at him or tried

> to mug him - would you excuse that too?

> For sure some teens do act "a bit cheeky" from

> time to time.

> That's why they need someone like that jogger to

> show em what's what.

And what would you say for the people who are bully on this Forum

Should we advice them to report to the police or should we invite them out

and stoke them here so they don't say anything. As Laddy Muck say we meet them only

for horse raising.

What about the hac.... and ca.... I am worry about all this folks I should clarify

I am not saying this for me but for the rich and handsome guys who are involve; some of you have mention

in this forum.I want to clarify I do not have any experience in all this but I know is being going for sometime now. Hope this forum teach people to speak or report without any fear, women should report to the authorities if this kind of crimes continuos.

We are aware of the threads that has been deleted for precautions that this forum has taken

to protect themselves of the abuse that has taken place did anyone knew about it.

What about Joinrider, Manuelita, Free Bee, Peckham Rose, Dulwich mum were are they now.

Does any of you know anything about them or are we ok to convince others that they are the bad guys.

Hope is not too late. Sorry forumities in future be more carefull this women are in the right all

of you are wrong. The last person was very intelligent somebody pretend something to invite the bad guy

out to show face but he never did and that tells everything but he was clever too. Why he did not go to see her did he new what happened. Who knows oh! my dear all.

[KidKruger]

Couldn't have put it better myself.

[DJKillaQueen]

What if they'd thrown the bottle at him or tried to mug him - would you excuse that too?

Of course not, but they didn't Beulah so that point is irrelevant. If they had done that then it changes the situation completely and the jogger is legally allowed to defend himself. As things stand all they are guilty of is words on a street corner and that is NOT an offence. Similarly if the jogger had just replied with words that is not an offence either but you just can't go round challenging people 'in their faces' (as the OP described). That is also threatening behaviour.

Of course there are mouthy teens who hang out in groups but show less bravado when on their own. There are adults like that too. Yes they are bullies and yes they can seem very frightening to some people (I deal with anti-social teens often enough to know what the impact is). But the mob mentality of 'they need teaching a lesson' with 'a taste of their own medicine', whilst not only being ineffective (most teens will have you up on a charge double quick), just translates with another version of bullying. There are laws that protect from harassment in severe cases and as Sophie has sensibly said, if any group seem menacing or threatening, call the Police and let them deal with it - they are trained to do so and will apply the law. Don't get yourself on a charge because can't ignore a few stupid kids.

[K2]

Sorry DJkillaQueen I would like to participate in this thread. As we all know

these people are not kids who are doing this, they are adults and they know

were their victims live,aswell the area and more than that etc. And some women being threat by this people

here. I would suggest anything suspicious administration should inform to the police for safety of

the neighbourhood and to avoid discrimination which is something else I would like to mention becouse I found out something about in LL.

And what you are saying about the jogger Vs Gang does the police know this !

Thanks for keeping this thread going DJKILLAQUEEN hope we can help to the police; for the well being of the East Dulwich Residents and for their safety of their children,women etc.

[Applespider]

"challenging him" or were they perhaps just having some fun and it got taken out of context

Last week, I was sitting on my bike at the traffic lights at the Harvester when a group of yoofs started shouting at me asking if I could take on the car that was slowly encroaching into the ASL. I could have been grossly offended and over-reacted but instead I just played along.

Amusingly the car then stalled so I easily beat it round the corner and got a round of applause and some cheers from the 'gang'. Sometimes we can assume that groups of kids have to be potential dangers when they're not

[trizza]

Applespider

"he turned around and said, "what?". Of course the gang got all defensive and revealed a couple of bottles from there jackets..."

You're absolutely right that not all groups of kids are potential dangers, but i'm not sure the brandishing of bottles after the jogger asked "what" suggests these kids were just "having a bit of fun".

For other posters to suggest that standing up to them (withour anything more) could have have had legal consequences for the jogger if anything had happened is nonsense. There is nothing to prevent someone responding to a challenge - if he had hit them that would have been different. We need more people to stand up to antisocial behaviour - not just walk on and ignore it. The police can't be everywhere.

[DJKillaQueen]

No one has suggested that standing up to them (with words) has legal cosequences and I wish people would actually read what is being written sometimes.

The op said that the Jogger 'approached them and got right into there face and said, "Come on then?!"' - sorry but the law would regard that as an act of precipative aggression if an assault then followed. That is ALL that has been said regarding legal consquences.

And I absolutely agree that communities can do more to tackle anti-social behaviour themselves, but in my experience the vast majority of people only care about themselves, that their own street is quiet and crime free, that their own kid gets to go to a good school and so on.

At the end of the day, if you want society to change, YOU find some time and some others equally motivated and do something together. I live on an estate. We don't have ongoing problems with crime or anti-social behaviour, because we work together as a community and use methods that don't need anyone to put themselves at risk. But it means investing some free time, taking an interest in the people around you, your neighbours, liasing with officials, and putting yourself out sometimes.

[exnorthener]

"Of course the gang got all defensive and revealed a couple of bottles from there jackets...The jogger approached them and got right into there face and said, "Come on then?!" "

its safe to say that i would not got in their face and said "come on then!" not after they had revealed a couple of bottles! i would the second a weapon came into view hit them!!

[DJKillaQueen]

Then you would be arrested for assualt I'm afraid.

[Jeremy]

We've got a fairly sketchy account of what happened, with many important details missing. So I think DJKQ is maybe right to point out that it might have been a huge overreaction by "the jogger". But at the same time, it's completely pointless to speculate about the legal ramifications should events have unfolded differently.

[Damian H]

I would merely observe that in terms of reporting the behaviour of these youths to the police, I wouldn't hold your breathe for a result. Recently a friend of mine was burgled in the middle of the night - three youths actually in his house with him, his partner and his baby and subsequently returning to try to steal the car.

Despite being rung immediately it took the police until eight o'clock in the morning to turn up. What chances they would turn up at all for a report of a few mouthy teenagers?

[Louisa]

I always make a point of confronting anyone who shows aggression towards me in the street, always with a verbal dressing down and never anything which involves putting myself in danger. I think there are fundamental and entrenched problems in a society in which people are scared to approach aggressive behaviour head on because the law may take the side of the people who created the confrontation.

Louisa.