"You're going the wrong way!"

[Pingfah]

You big puss.

There was this old man in England who asked his neighbor to help him move his motorcycle. The neighbor said he was busy...could they do it another day? So because of that the old man framed his neighbor for attempted murder.

Now that's a man who knows how to get things done.

Why can't you be more like him? I suggest a dead body in the teen's trunk + another call to the cops.

Good god, what a nutter. I'm interested in the article's claim that he "staged an incident" to frame him for murder. One assumes he did not stab himself in the chest simply to frame the guy, and that somebody else stabbed him and he blamed it on the neighbour.

If he actually stabbed himself in the chest to frame somebody for attempted murder, the guy needs to be committed!

 

[B.J.]

I was thinking Starbuck.

Indeed. My brain read the title in her voice.

As did I. For a second I thought this was in the wrong forum.

Really? I was picturing an ugly metallic green car driving down the wrong side of the highway at night. Apparently Trekker thought the same!

Well, look at it this way. At least after you said he didn't drive his car between two semi-trucks.

 

[Scout101]

you screwed up one part. When the guy came over and started threatening you, should have used your phone to record some of it. My iphone takes nice video with sound, would have helped your story with the cops a bit.

 

[TheBrew]

Call the Health Department saying you saw him pick his nose and then knead the dough.

 

[SeerSGB]

Kid's lucky. Blowing up like he did, might have got him shot. Or he could have run up on someone bigger and more pissed of than him, who was willing to knock his head off.

"I'm just a teenager, you're a grown ass man" as if that has *anything* to do with what happened.

Well if anything it points to the likely problem with the guy: Likely (Likely) his whole life whenever he's fucked up or gotten out of hand, someone's said "He's just a kid/boy, kids/boys will be kids/boys". He's probably been let to get by with a lot of bullshit in life or had someone save him from the consequences and has developed a mentality that makes him think he's got a license to be a dick cause he's not turn 18.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Flux, i think you did the right thing and i'm pretty annoyed the cop didn't do a damn thing about it. That guy has serious anger management issues and that was an example of road rage if i ever heard!

Wow, i'll bet your girlfriend must have been really freaked. I would have been.


OMFG! I just read the article that Small White Car linked to. Holy shit!!!!

 

[John Picard]

Mouthy teenager? You should have knocked out a few of his teeth.

 

[data_lover]

that teenager is going to have a harsh reality check when he turns 18 and people start hitting back because he's no longer 'just a mouthy kid'. let him get knocked out a few times, see how often he decides to yell at random people.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

you screwed up one part. When the guy came over and started threatening you, should have used your phone to record some of it. My iphone takes nice video with sound, would have helped your story with the cops a bit.

Yeah, I guess that's just one of those things you realize in hindsight but don't think to do at the time. Based on the cop's attitude, I somehow doubt even video evidence would have changed anything. And they wonder why people end up taking things into their own hands in situations like these.

 

[Scout101]

Makes it pretty easy to get the cop in trouble if he doesn't do anything, though. When you've got video evidence of someone doing something illegal, and the cop doesn't respond, not tough to make your case, plus get the cop in some hot water if he blows you off...

That would have been fun, actually. The kid said "you can't prove that", that's when you hold up your phone and ask how sure he is about that, and if he wants to clarify his story. Even without having a video, might have been worth the bluff...

 

[Starbreaker]

I guarantee you some camera caught that.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

Its possible. He was drawing a lot of attention and making a scene. People were walking to and from the various stores. I can take comfort in the fact that he looked like a complete asshat while I was securely anonymous in my car.

 

[Spot's Meow]

It was kind of silly to call the cops and I can see why he blew it off. This is the kind of call that annoys them because it wastes time that could be spent on more serious issues. Since there was no proof of anything and the guy had already gone about his business, there was pretty much nothing the cop could do anyway. It would be nice if things weren't like this but with limited time and resources and them needing proof to do anything, that's just the way it is. I would have been freaked out by the situation but I would have just gone home or gone shopping somewhere else and tried to forget about the whole thing.

 

[Trekker4747]

It was kind of silly to call the cops and I can see why he blew it off. This is the kind of call that annoys them because it wastes time that could be spent on more series issues. Since there was no proof of anything and the guy had already gone about his business, there was pretty much nothing the cop could do anyway. It would be nice if things weren't like this but with limited time and resources and them needing proof to do anything, that's just the way it is. I would have been freaked out by the situation but I would have just gone home or gone shopping somewhere else and tried to forget about the whole thing.

Yeah, people should really just shrug off having their property attacked and their life threatened.

 

[Bears Discover Fire]

It was kind of silly to call the cops and I can see why he blew it off. This is the kind of call that annoys them because it wastes time that could be spent on more series issues. Since there was no proof of anything and the guy had already gone about his business, there was pretty much nothing the cop could do anyway. It would be nice if things weren't like this but with limited time and resources and them needing proof to do anything, that's just the way it is. I would have been freaked out by the situation but I would have just gone home or gone shopping somewhere else and tried to forget about the whole thing.

Yeah, people should really just shrug off having their property attacked and their life threatened.

It's good that the cops came out. They have this guy's name, place of business, car etc. He's on record now with the PD and when (not if, when) he next gets pissed off over nothing and acts out his aggression by assaulting someone or damaging property, his established pattern of behavior raises the likelihood (but no guarantee) that he won't get off too easy and will get a more appropriate measure of punishment, and his victims/the community will get their appropriate measure of justice and safety from his menace.

 

[John Picard]

It was kind of silly to call the cops and I can see why he blew it off. This is the kind of call that annoys them because it wastes time that could be spent on more series issues. Since there was no proof of anything and the guy had already gone about his business, there was pretty much nothing the cop could do anyway. It would be nice if things weren't like this but with limited time and resources and them needing proof to do anything, that's just the way it is. I would have been freaked out by the situation but I would have just gone home or gone shopping somewhere else and tried to forget about the whole thing.

Yeah, people should really just shrug off having their property attacked and their life threatened.

It's good that the cops came out. They have this guy's name, place of business, car etc. He's on record now with the PD and when (not if, when) he next gets pissed off over nothing and acts out his aggression by assaulting someone or damaging property, his established pattern of behavior raises the likelihood (but no guarantee) that he won't get off too easy and will get a more appropriate measure of punishment, and his victims/the community will get their appropriate measure of justice and safety from his menace.

Police uphold the law; however, society, in general, is responsible as well. If people would quit "leaving everything to the police" and confront twerps like this then they (twerps) wouldn't be acting like complete asshats.

One of these days, that kid is going to get punched squarethefuckinthenose, and it will be the biggest shock of his life.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

It was kind of silly to call the cops and I can see why he blew it off. This is the kind of call that annoys them because it wastes time that could be spent on more series issues. Since there was no proof of anything and the guy had already gone about his business, there was pretty much nothing the cop could do anyway. It would be nice if things weren't like this but with limited time and resources and them needing proof to do anything, that's just the way it is. I would have been freaked out by the situation but I would have just gone home or gone shopping somewhere else and tried to forget about the whole thing.

Yeah, people should really just shrug off having their property attacked and their life threatened.

It's good that the cops came out. They have this guy's name, place of business, car etc. He's on record now with the PD and when (not if, when) he next gets pissed off over nothing and acts out his aggression by assaulting someone or damaging property, his established pattern of behavior raises the likelihood (but no guarantee) that he won't get off too easy and will get a more appropriate measure of punishment, and his victims/the community will get their appropriate measure of justice and safety from his menace.

I would agree with this...if the cop had even bothered to get names from us. They have my name from my initial call to PD, but not his. All they had of his was his license plate number...and only because I gave it to them.

You are right though, and John too...this guy is lucky he came across someone as law abiding, calm and patient as myself. Had some pissed off ex-con with a .45 in his glove compartment told this guy he was going the wrong way down the lane, that guy's night could have ended far worse than it did. I can only imagine what he will do or has done if anyone ever, say...flipped him off?

This experience with the complete lack of follow through with the police leads me to think the best way to deal with a punk like that in the future is to keep my Louisville Slugger in my back seat.

 

[Holdfast]

I'm a big believer in zero tolerance on nonsense like this, and would have called the cops as well. Whether they take it seriously or not is up to them, but if someone threatens me in the way they did to Flux, I at least will do my part in showing them where the boundary lies around their behaviour. As Bears says, at the very minimum, he's now in the system.

 

[cultcross]

I've been in a similar situation. I was told that the police have no power to act upon threats they did not observe. Makes sense, really. It's that innocent until proven guilty thing.

What BS. A threat is like any other crime, if you can prove it, you can act on it. Witnesses, cameras, etc etc. A lot of people think that certain traffic offences can only be proven if an officer sees it, but again, rubbish. All crimes have the same standard of proof, none say 'this is only actionable if a cop sees it'. You may not be able to prove it, but that doesn't mean a cop cannot try if they didn't witness it themselves.

The punch to your window, at least in English law, would be harder - there is no offence in respect to the car if there was no damage, but there are numerous other potential public order offences that might apply.

That the officer didn't check witness accounts or look for a camera (although as I understand it the chances of that are much more remote in the US) is... of interest. I'd mention it to my local PD and see what the official line is on what an appropriate response would have been.

 

[An Officer]

I probably wouldn't have spoken to him in the first place, you should not assume everyone is sane and reasonable, they are not, people get hurt for less everyday. As long as he did not damage you or your property in any way, it's up to him where he wants to drive. Road rage is a very real thing, and when you challenge people, you have to be ready for the consequences, as in getting out of the car and teaching the kid a lesson about making threats. Not the best situation to start up when you have a loved one in the car, of course. Having said that, if I were a 6 foot plus guy, and alone, I probably would have got out and landed him on his ass, that's what he really needed. I don't agree with this passive aggressive business of getting him in trouble with his workplace. A little underhand and not very becoming. You already took it to an extreme calling the police, I'd leave it there.