scary experience today

[Lorelei Lee]

I'm a New Yorker. Huge crowds don't phase me. Having someone in my personal space is par for the course.

So I was in Penn Station today, making my way through the rush hour crowd towards my train. Some guy walking backwards bumped into me, and started screaming "Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" And then he hit my arm. He didn't hit me very hard, but he definitely hit me --it wasn't accidental.

One quick glance told me all I needed to know. This guy is mentally ill, probably off his meds. But probably not homeless -- too clean.



I didn't stop to think, I just walked away from him as fast as I could.

I suppose I was more startled than scared.

It's a few hours later and the incident is still bothering me.


I keep thinking maybe I should have looked for a cop. But what would have happened? Would they arrest the guy? Send him to a hospital psych ward? Let him go with a warning he might not understand?

 

[PizzieDuster]

This reminds me of that movie As Good As It Gets. Jack Nicholson says the same thing walking down the street and some old lady told him to "get over yourself". Something like that. But Jack never hit anyone walking down the sidewalk saying "don't touch, don't touch".

With all the scary things going on these days, I would feel the same way.

 

[Handbag Lady]

If you were startled, he must have been petrified.

I would have done the same thing you did, just get away as soon as possible. The scarier thing is that you don't know: is he violent, just frightened because maybe he lost his helper, or just mad as a harmless hatter.

ETA: And I didn't answer your question. The cop would probably either try and find out who he was to take home or haul him in for assault.

 

[bcla]

I've seen something similar, although probably not someone seriously mentally ill but just angry/unbalanced.

Saw a blind guy with a cane just walking at an extremely fast pace for someone with a cane. He was also randomly walking everywhere. He was bumping into parking meters and signs without much care for his personal safety.

So eventually he was about to walk right into the bumper of someone's car, and a HS-aged girl instinctively grabbed him before he hurt himself and/or damaged the car. Then he just got indignant and yelled out "Don't touch me!" Several coworkers were with me as we walked back from a coffee break at a local cafe. They were absolutely stunned.

I actually saw this guy doing the same thing at a later date from the window of our office. Couldn't figure out what his deal was.

 

[iheartdisney]

The outcome really would depend on many factors. On how lucid the man is. If he is under the influence of anything. On the officer that responds.
In Fullerton, CA last week two officers were acquitted on all charges for the brutal beating death of a young man who was homeless.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Definitely sounds scary, a good idea to just get the heck away from him and hope you don't see him anymore.

 

[Disney Doll]

I probably would have pointed him out to a police officer if his behavior was that erratic. Not to get him arrested, but perhaps to intervene to get him to a hospital.

 

[anniemae]

I would have done the same thing, just get away asap.

I would have found a police officer though since it was obvious the guy needed help. I would have been concerned what he would have done if a child or elderly person accidentally bumped him. Sounds like he was agitated and unpredictable. I think a cop would have talked to him and tried to figure out who he was and maybe tried to contact his relatives or send him to get a mental health evaluation. Cops deal with this kind of stuff all the time, they know how to handle all kinds of people.

 

[Schmeck]

I would have moved out of his reach, kept him in my sight, and either called 911 or found a security guard or police officer. I'd want to make sure the guy was not going to assault anyone else. What if he went after a kid or elderly person next?

 

[aprilgail2]

Sounds like a typical day in Penn Station to me, I would have just shrugged it off and walked the opposite way of where he was walking.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

Sounds like a typical day in Penn Station to me, I would have just shrugged it off and walked the opposite way of where he was walking.

Really? Someone hits you and you shrug it off?

Honestly, I have been commuting through Penn for 30 years. I'm used to seeing the professional beggars trying to make a buck off the crowd, I've seen the occasional homeless person sleeping in the station, I'm used to the drunk Ranger/Knicks fans waiting for the train home . . . And this was different.

 

[SLP958]

I would have done exactly what you did.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Those things dont bother me one bit. I wouldnt even think twice about it. I guess cause i work in downtown toronto and im use to seeing this sort of thing. Especially around the area i work.

I would have just walked away and gone about my business. Probably wouldnt have bothered calling the police.

 

[NFLDERS]

I would have done the same thing, just get away asap.

I would have found a police officer though since it was obvious the guy needed help. I would have been concerned what he would have done if a child or elderly person accidentally bumped him. Sounds like he was agitated and unpredictable. I think a cop would have talked to him and tried to figure out who he was and maybe tried to contact his relatives or send him to get a mental health evaluation. Cops deal with this kind of stuff all the time, they know how to handle all kinds of people.

This and especially if you encounter him again.

Also, I just mentioned your post OP to my husband. He wondered if it was possibly a diversion for a theft?

 

[Poohforyou]

I could understand a tourist perhaps being startled by that but a regular commuter? I commuted into Manhattan through Penn station for 8 years and that encounter wouldn't have been a blip on my radar.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

I guess I'm just not as "hard" or "tough" as some people. There's a huge difference, in my mind, between what I see every day in the city and actually being in an altercation with someone.

 

[cluvsdisney]

If I felt it was that serious or felt that threatened, I would have found a cop.

ETA...I'm not sure what they would have done. Give him a citation? Arrest him? Give him a warning?

 

[Lorelei Lee]

So my sister, the former assistant district attorney, admonished me, told me not to make eye contact with guys like this "because you never know what they might do." 15 years in the Bronx DA's office, I guess she ought to know...

 

[cluvsdisney]

Isn't it kind of common sense to not engage or make eye contact with anyone that may seem off? My parents taught me that way back when I started taking the subway to high school.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

Isn't it kind of common sense to not engage or make eye contact with anyone that may seem off? My parents taught me that way back when I started taking the subway to high school.

Yeah. And I didn't make eye contact with him. I think the broader message is "Don't engage the crazies.


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