[kavehm]

Ok, long story short, it was game weekend last Saturday (college football), I was looking for parking and noticed some folks in a car with the braking lights on, so I go behind, flash my blinkers (to let people know I'm intending to park in that spot if they're leaving, a big if)...so 10 seconds pass, I realize they're probably not leaving, about to put my car back in gear to leave when i see the 'joe six pack" driver get out, drunkenly starting to yell at me and walk over to my car, i quickly roll my window and tell the guy, i was just looking to park, and ask if they were leaving, the guy spits on my car, kicks the front fender and screams "no we're not fxcking leaving.." as his buddy quickly gets out from the passneger side and grabs him.....so i back up, find a safe spot to pull over, grab his license plate and car make/color etc, then i notice a campus cop drive by, flag her down and proceed to tell her the story, meanwhile they see me talking to the rent-a-cop campus policeman and take off. the campus officer, well, they couldn't do anything about the incident since it was technically off campus, and advised I go to local cop station and report him.... Anyway...long story short, what are my options, not only did this jerk put a small chip in my fender (not a big deal) but he drove off obviously VERY piss-drunk. Do I have any options to try and nail the jerk, im planning on going to the cop shop to report him, but i seriously doubt they can do anything? Any suggestions would be very much obliged......

[bsamoul]

i don't think that there is anything they can really do this far later. he's not drunk anymore, but you could probably go after him for scratching your car

[kavehm]

.....yeah, good point, so glad I took the time to take his license plate and car make/color down, i was so livid, even with him towering me I was too close to getting out of the car and facing him and that wouldn't have ended well for anybody.....

[bsamoul]

yeah that would have cost you a lot more than a small ding in the car. that's easily fixable, stitches not so much haha

[Joonsup]

Originally Posted by kavehm

Ok, long story short, it was game weekend last Saturday (college football), I was looking for parking and noticed some folks in a car with the braking lights on, so I go behind, flash my blinkers (to let people know I'm intending to park in that spot if they're leaving, a big if)...so 10 seconds pass, I realize they're probably not leaving, about to put my car back in gear to leave when i see the 'joe six pack" driver get out, drunkenly starting to yell at me and walk over to my car, i quickly roll my window and tell the guy, i was just looking to park, and ask if they were leaving, the guy spits on my car, kicks the front fender and screams "no we're not fxcking leaving.." as his buddy quickly gets out from the passneger side and grabs him.....so i back up, find a safe spot to pull over, grab his license plate and car make/color etc, then i notice a campus cop drive by, flag her down and proceed to tell her the story, meanwhile they see me talking to the rent-a-cop campus policeman and take off. the campus officer, well, they couldn't do anything about the incident since it was technically off campus, and advised I go to local cop station and report him.... Anyway...long story short, what are my options, not only did this jerk put a small chip in my fender (not a big deal) but he drove off obviously VERY piss-drunk. Do I have any options to try and nail the jerk, im planning on going to the cop shop to report him, but i seriously doubt they can do anything? Any suggestions would be very much obliged......

He spit on you so i'm assuming that's going to be some sort of assault, then there's the fact that he kicked your car so that might be property damage? If that happened to me I would definitely call the local pd, tell them what happened, and get a report, letting them know that you want to press charges. I'm guessing that at the min you can sue him in small claims court for the damage on your car? I'm not cop nor an attorney but it seems like that would make sense. I'm sure fellow members here who are cops and lawyers will chime in. Good luck man.

[kavehm]

for sure, will report it asap this afternoon, but before I do I was hoping for some options (in addition to what the police may suggest)....

[Prissy]

keep us updated

[down boy]

Damn, what a drunken jackass! Good job on keeping your cool and not squaring off. I don't know if I could have showed that restraint. But since you were cool, you can now nail him without him having any counterclaims.

I could be wrong but I believe a battery has to be bodily contact, so if he spit on you, that could be battery; not sure about his spitting on the car. (Although I think I faintly remember reading a case in law school where someone knocked a camera out of a person's hand and that was considered battery because a camera is closely held/attached to a person's body.) In some states, assault is the same thing as battery. But in other states, assault is separate so that if a guy threatens you so that you reasonably think you're in imminent physical harm, even if he never makes contact with you (like coming toward you and raising his fist and saying "I'm gonna punch you!"), he could be guilty of assault.

But I agree with the above posters and think property damage to your car is the best bet. Good luck!

[Crisp]

Originally Posted by down boy

Damn, what a drunken jackass! Good job on keeping your cool and not squaring off. I don't know if I could have showed that restraint. But since you were cool, you can now nail him without him having any counterclaims.

I could be wrong but I believe a battery has to be bodily contact, so if he spit on you, that could be battery; not sure about his spitting on the car. (Although I think I faintly remember reading a case in law school where someone knocked a camera out of a person's hand and that was considered battery because a camera is closely held/attached to a person's body.) In some states, assault is the same thing as battery. But in other states, assault is separate so that if a guy threatens you so that you reasonably think you're in imminent physical harm, even if he never makes contact with you (like coming toward you and raising his fist and saying "I'm gonna punch you!"), he could be guilty of assault.

But I agree with the above posters and think property damage to your car is the best bet. Good luck!

Can't he sue for harassment?

Sucks because there was no witnesses there to witness the harassment.

I would not even go through with pressing charges just to have a small nick fixed on my bumper. The way I see it, I would have to miss a day of work/class to get this done, plus the time, which is definitely not worth it. You are going to lose more money than you are going to gain.
If you just want to press charges so that you don't let the guy get away with it... thats another thing, but the guy is an asshole and he is not worth it. I'm sure its not the first time he does this or the first time he has had the cops called on him for something like this.

I would just let it go only because its a waste of your time.

[simp0man]

Revenge, baby! Spat on isn't something I would never turn the other cheek. Hate the I-think-I-am-badass drunk.

[calvino]

don't let people fuck with you, be prepared...

[Boost Gomez]

Is that an airsoft gun?
























Just playing, don't shoot me.

[Crisp]

Originally Posted by calvino

don't let people fuck with you, be prepared...

Yea but if you pull that out, you better be prepared to use it.

That drunk guy might feel like a super hero and charge...you don't want him getting a hold of it.

If it's fake and you pull it out, good luck.

[bmw-hoya]

Originally Posted by kavehm

Ok, long story short, it was game weekend last Saturday (college football), I was looking for parking and noticed some folks in a car with the braking lights on, so I go behind, flash my blinkers (to let people know I'm intending to park in that spot if they're leaving, a big if)...so 10 seconds pass, I realize they're probably not leaving, about to put my car back in gear to leave when i see the 'joe six pack" driver get out, drunkenly starting to yell at me and walk over to my car, i quickly roll my window and tell the guy, i was just looking to park, and ask if they were leaving, the guy spits on my car, kicks the front fender and screams "no we're not fxcking leaving.." as his buddy quickly gets out from the passneger side and grabs him.....so i back up, find a safe spot to pull over, grab his license plate and car make/color etc, then i notice a campus cop drive by, flag her down and proceed to tell her the story, meanwhile they see me talking to the rent-a-cop campus policeman and take off. the campus officer, well, they couldn't do anything about the incident since it was technically off campus, and advised I go to local cop station and report him.... Anyway...long story short, what are my options, not only did this jerk put a small chip in my fender (not a big deal) but he drove off obviously VERY piss-drunk. Do I have any options to try and nail the jerk, im planning on going to the cop shop to report him, but i seriously doubt they can do anything? Any suggestions would be very much obliged......

I would go to your local police station and file a police report. If the cops don't want to take your report, be insistent (a lot of them are lazy). Be sure and mention the damage to your car (estimate it, rounding up). Also be sure and mention the fact that he was drunk and driving (say exactly HOW you know that he was drunk: bloodshot eyes, alcohol on breath, staggering movements etc.). Mention that you felt that you felt that your "personal safety was in danger" (or something like that) if that's true.

Even with all that, the cops will probably not consider the report a priority (over all the rapes, murders, burglaries etc.). Don't expect anything to come of it, but this is the most you can do, I think. It will create a record, in case you need it for any reason. Who knows, maybe the guy has a record (wouldn't be a surprise) and this would add to it. I'm not a criminal lawyer and I'm not licensed in WI, but I think that is what one would say.

TECHNICALLY you could sue this guy for assault, which is fear of an imminent battery. In civil court, someone does not have to hit you to be able to sue them. You have to be in reasonable fear of bodily injury. However, this will cost you a lot of time and money and, at the end of the day, will not be worth it. Also, no lawyer will take your case for free or for contingency (I guarantee you) because there is not enough money in it. Sometimes lawyers take pro bono cases, but this is not one of them, because the public interest issues are not big enough (think ACLU cases, domestic violence cases, eviction help etc.) Believe me, it is not worth doing this. You will probably end up losing money and it will not change anything. I litigate cases (not criminal ones) for a living and it takes a lot of time and money and is rarely worth it!

Sorry for the long-winded response and I'm sorry that this happened to you. The guy is an a**hole and will get his come uppings (I believe in karma). Just file a police report. Rest well knowing that there is a police report out there with this guy's name on it that may, may prompt police action or be used against him in the future.

[methodtim]

Should have swabbed the spit and saved the DNA. Don't you know you can't bust anyone without DNA these days?

[kavehm]

thanks a lot everyone, I really appreciate your concern and all your suggestions will be taken seriously (except the gun, hopefully just a joke, the guy may have been an asshole, but I'm sure he has a family somewhere and I would hate to cause them concern/harm over a small paint chip on a plastic fender, although at the time I know I would feel differently and wouldn't hesitate to pull it out, again, most likely not a good scenario). Police report was taken, with hesitation on their part, case is closed for now...

[mfstout]

2 guys from Matamores. $500 and the guy's history. Just kidding. Seriously, this guy sounds dangerous, so as much as we would all love to see you nail him, if you file a complaint, he'll know where you are and my guess is you'll need a new car. Because the damage was slight I'd have your insurance fix it and steer clear. He's one of those people Palin likes to talk to, and they are very scary. Sorry you had to go through that and good luck.

[calvino]

Originally Posted by Crisp

If it's fake and you pull it out, good luck.

why will a carry a fake gun? is a 380 auto

Originally Posted by kavehm

thanks a lot everyone, I really appreciate your concern and all your suggestions will be taken seriously (except the gun, hopefully just a joke, the guy may have been an asshole, but I'm sure he has a family somewhere and I would hate to cause them concern/harm over a small paint chip on a plastic fender, although at the time I know I would feel differently and wouldn't hesitate to pull it out, again, most likely not a good scenario). Police report was taken, with hesitation on their part, case is closed for now...

I always carry my gun I dough I had use it in your situation, guns are the last resort, and I hope I never encounter a situation were I have to use it again another human being, but what if the guy was alone, who knows what he had done. Maybe you can consider carry in your car a pepper spray or a taser just for protection.

[kavehm]

taser's are illegal in WI.........I think pepper spray is illegal as well, although I'm sure i could find some......maybe I need to find my old nunchucks ......
as Bruce Lee once said 'you have insulted our family and the shaolin temple, prepare to die....'

[BaLLzZz]

lol I would have definalty done something of my own "LAW" per say and then been able to sleep at night

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by Crisp

Yea but if you pull that out, you better be prepared to use it.

That drunk guy might feel like a super hero and charge...you don't want him getting a hold of it.

If it's fake and you pull it out, good luck.

Well I guess using an M107 would solve that issue...

[samson]

Just file a claim under your comprehensive coverage and forget about it. Unless you want to take out a warrant yourself through the Sheriffs Department, but I can almost guarantee that the judge will throw it out. The fact that he was drunk was meaningless unless he was stopped while he was drunk. He did damage your property and you might be able to file a warrant for criminal damage to property, but most likely it is a misdemeanor. I arrested (on copy) someone once for kicking a vehicle, but there were witnesses, the incident had just happened, and the suspect admitted he had kicked the car. I do not know the disposition of that case though and it is not worth your time to worry about it. At some point he will get stopped and get his DUI or get his butt kicked.

BTW I do not know what campus PD you were dealing with, but generally they do have jurisdictional leeway to affect traffic stops and arrests off campus. If that officer was on patrol, they should have stopped the vehicle. If the officer was off duty working an extra job than --- good luck!!!