Yesterday, I witnessed a man assaulting a woman. I was walking to my car and I noticed some odd movement behind a pine tree near my car. A woman was walking away from a man, and he was speaking to her in an angry manner. Then he pulled her hair and tried to lead her away from my location. I didn’t want to escalate the situation, so I said to him calmly, “You don’t want to do that.” He told me it was none of my business. I repeated myself and decided to keep an eye on the situation while I called the police. I got in my car to get something between me and the man, and about that time a store employee ran up to the couple and a man in a truck driving on the street broke hard and backed into the parking lot to intervene. I pulled my car up to the guy as well so he would know he was surrounded by people who were going to put a stop to the abuse.
The men dealt with the assailant while I and a female store employee assisted the woman. She had been hit (I didn’t see it) and she was bleeding badly from her lip. It turns out the man was her husband and was drunk. He got in his (her) truck and drove off before the police arrived.
I was glad to see that strangers would still come to the aid of others. Everyone offered the victim support by bringing her ice and tissues, and letting her know that no one deserves to be abused and that being drunk is no excuse. Me and the guy who had been driving down the street tried to encourage the woman to remove herself from the abusive relationship. She said this was the first time things were this bad, and we both said that they were likely to get worse. The police said they would tell her she had options. I just hope she is strong enough to exercise them.
This was a pretty scary situation before the men came to the woman’s aid. Before the men got on the scene I was just trying to keep an eye on things and keep them from escalating. I didn’t want to get physically involved unless it looked like he was going to hit her or worse. I didn’t know anyone else saw anything and I didn’t know if he had a weapon, while all I had were my golf clubs – which I would have used if necessary. I’m just glad it ended with as little damage as it did, and I hope the victim does find the strength to get out of that violent situation, and I hope her husband learns to deal with his anger in a more positive manner.
UPDATE:
Just after I posted this, I received a call from the victim. She said that she’s given all of her husband’s things to one of his friends and has removed him from the lease and is having the locks changed. Hopefully, he won’t press the issue and she’ll be fine.
