Your opinions on a very minor assault

gibson123

I was a licensee for 20 years and no I would not involve the Police. You obviously know this person well and he is a regular, was he out of character, is something else going on, an illness in the family or similar stress, or did some joking banter hit a nerve and did you make any comments that upset him. The problem with regulars are that they often begin to look more into the landlord / customer relationship especially if they are otherwise lonely and go to the pub for company. You would ahve to give a lot more detail on the relationship. it may be a freudian slip posting it in this forum!

meritaten

Yes, it may be a minor event now - but what if they come back with some mates? you have the evidence to show that you have been assaulted and you must persue it. at the very least it will send a message that you are not to be messed with.
I do hope they now have a lifetime ban from your pub - and that you also share this with other pub landlords/ladies in your area. They will be grateful for the heads up on troublemakers.

lollipopsarah

Back on topic OP normally this would call for an immediate ban, no excuses.
However not knowing all the details, I,m not sure if I would call the police for the reasons pointed out already.
You say this person is a regular, so just a thought but if this person comes in again I think I would take aside for a quiet chat (this person may be mortified at the behaviour and want to appologise/explain why he flipped)
Sorry not a big help, I wish you well though and hope you find a solution that is good for you and your business.
xx

LisaLou1982

Why did he take a swing at you OP?

themull1

I would bar him.

adouglasmhor

gibson123 wrote: »

it may be a freudian slip posting it in this forum!

Freudian Slip

1886

100 per cent bar him, don't use the Police on this occassion but if he comes back/won't leave/gets violent etc. call them

Torry_Quine

I wouldn't call any assault minor and in this case you only escaped serious injury by moving quickly. Yes you should most definitely call the police and of course bar them.

coolcait

brokenant wrote: »

I'm just after what people would do in my situation, I run a nice pub, hardly ever get any trouble.
Earlier this evening I had a slight altercation with a long standing regular customer, to cut a long story short on the way out he took a swing at me,I just managed to move at the last second, so all that happened was he bruised my cheek and sent my glasses flying twelve feet away , if he had caught me full on it would have hurt,
There's at least ten people that witnessed it and its on cameras.
Is it worth bothering the police over such a minor matter.

I think you need to do something - ban him, report him to the police, or both.

As others have said, you're calling it a 'minor assault' because you weren't seriously hurt. However, that outcome is entirely down to your own quick reactions, and luck.

There could have been serious consequences. If the punch had connected, your injuries would have been greater. You might have fallen and bashed your head, or been thrown against a table, a wall or the bar by the force of the blow - with a risk of serious injury.

You also have to think about the wider consequences. We see a lot of threads about violence on this forum, sadly. One point which comes up again and again is effectively 'You might accept being beaten up, but can you put your children at risk of harm at this person's hands?'. A very fair point, to my mind, but often ignored.

However, an employer can't ignore the question: 'You might accept being beaten up, but can you put your employees at risk of harm at this person's hands?'

You can't. You have a duty of care to your employees. You now know that this man can be violent, you could be found to be negligent if you put your staff at risk of a similar - or worse - assault by him.

You also have to consider the safety of you other customers. Will this incident damage your pub's reputation? There were a number of witnesses, and word travels. You don't have the power to gag them, and they will remember - even if you try to play things down. Especially if you try to play things down!

Above all keep the video footage of the incident. If the hard evidence is lost or destroyed, it's very easy for the perpetrator, and others, to try to sweep things under the carpet.

Yorkie1

I agree with keeping the evidence.

I've looked at the sentencing guidelines for a common assault of this type. He's likely to get a fine (or, possibly, a low level community order depending on the reasons for the assault), plus compensation, and the court will also want to consider a drinking banning order / exclusion order as this is an offence of violence on licensed premises.

Only the OP knows what may have led to this incident and what outcome he wants at the end.

Personally I agree with the posters who say it should be reported, but we don't know the whole background.