Fight breaks out at barbershop and man is thrown through the front window. Should I have stayed?

Question

Getting my normal haircut from my barber, Brutus. It's usually so boring I fall asleep and he taps me on the back of the neck when he is done to shows me the haircut in a mirror. Anyway, two other customers begin to exchange words. Brutus stopped cutting my hair to calm the situation, as he knew both men. From what I could hear during the yelling, the men’s names were Marty and Shawn.

Brutus insisted they stop, as they have been friends too long. Marty and Shawn appeared to reconcile, but then Shawn hit Marty with a kick to the face and soon threw him through the barbershop’s front plate glass window.

Total mayhem & I was not pleased to witness it. The customer in the waiting area (another acquaintance of mine, Bobby) thought this was funny and stated Marty "jumped through the window to run away from Shawn". At that point, I left, unfinished haircut & all.

Now I wonder if I should have stayed so the police got the correct story. Should I go back to the barbershop today?

Answer 1

Yeah, I'd go back and talk to the barber. It's actualy a crime to leave the scene of a crime or accident. You should make sure the police got the whole story. If not, you need to tell them you left in concern for your safety but are letting them know that you were a witness if they need further info. I don't think they'd hold it against you since you left for your own safety.

Answer 2

I'll give you a different perspective: If I am ever around a fight like this I get the hell out as fast as I can. Here's why: One of the guys might have a gun, pull it out and start shooting and I might be the one to get hit. You did the right thing. You can always contact the police after you are safe and you can always go back and get your haircut finished. But, you can do none of these things if you are shot dead.

To the poster who stated you should have stayed because it was a crime to leave I say this: It is far better to be tried by twelve than carried by six. No cop in the world is going to arrest you for leaving a fight scene when you simply state that you left because you feared for your own safety. There is a huge difference between this and leaving the scene of an accident.

To the poster who set up a bunch of straw men (CPR, etc) and then knocked them down: A fight between two guys in close proximity is a hell of a lot different than offering assistance to some guy lying prostrate on the sidewalk. Start a trend about what - getting hurt because you tried to break up a fight? Obviously, you've never been in a situation like this.

Answer 3

Of course you should have stayed. Too many people walk away from a situation when they could have been of assistance. Your conscience is trying to tell you something. Would you want someone to back you up? If you needed CPR would you want everybody to walk by? Do the right thing...start a trend.