How to avoid going to jail in a barfight.

A friend of mine asked me the other night after a martial arts class, "how does a bouncer decide if he's just going to throw someone out of the bar or if he's going to call the police on them?" I figured that what he really meant was, "If I pick a fight with a guy in a bar, how can I avoid being sent to jail for it ?" I gave him an answer but I wasn't really satisfied with what I told him and so began to give it some thought.

First off, I would suggest that you avoid getting into fights in bars (or anywhere else for that matter). It's stupid and potentially very dangerous. Even if you are good in a fight, you never know when "Mr. Murphy" is going to rear his ugly head and give the advantage to the other guy. If you have any awareness of someone who you think is "mad doggin'" you, let the security staff and/ or bartender(s) know what's going on so that they can keep an eye on the situation. This can help later if you do find yourself in a fight and the Bouncers recognize you as the guy who came to them earlier in the night and told them what was up. Also, have sense of humor and don't take shit personally. Remember that "it takes two to tango" and if you don't take the bait, the fight is not going anywhere unless the guy just blatantly attacks you. If you "have" to fight, remember that more and more bars and nightclubs are installing and using fairly high tech camera systems and if the cops are going to use the footage from that to investigate a crime, you want it to clearly show that you did everything you could to avoid the fight and that you were acting in self defense.

In some jurisdictions, like the one I live in, mutual combat is not illegal, so long as you stop when he says "uncle". You could only be cited for, at most, secondary crimes such as "disorderly conduct" or "public intoxication" (if you are). Be aware that if you don't stop when he says "uncle" you could be charged with some version of "aggravated assault". I don't know how to else to say it other than this: If he is no longer a threat, stop hitting him! See "The difference between fighting and self-defense" and "Legal" by Marc "Animal" MacYoung.

If you do end up in a fight and the bouncers show up, stop fighting the guy! Don't make the bouncers think that you are a continued threat, to them or the other guy. Get calm and become as cooperative as possible. If you get thrown out, you get thrown out. Take it in stride and go home or move on the next bar.

Secondly, as I have stated elsewhere in my blogs, if you find that you like to pick fights with people, you should consider seeking some psychological assistance. I can understand being young and dumb and wanting to "prove yourself", but if you over the age of 25 and still think that this is an appropriate method of "earning your chops", I think that you should spend some time in deep introspection and look at why that is. Basing you sense of self worth on your ability to kick someones ass is not very healthy. At some point you need to start looking for peace in your life. If you still think that you have something to prove, please consider a regulated, sport oriented, outlet for your issues and aggression, i.e. boxing, MMA, submission wrestling, etc.

Now to answer the original question. Although these are general and idealized scenarios, as a rule, this is how I decide if I'm just going to throw someone out or if I'm going to call the police: First off, Bouncers as a rule, don't really care "who started it". My job is to see the signs of aggressive behavior before it gets as far as a fight and intercede and de-escalate the situation, if I can. If this works, no harm no foul. Just know that you will be watched for the rest of the night. If I walk in on a fight in progress, and have to break it up, you're both getting kicked out of the establishment. How I accomplish this and where you spend the night (home, jail, or hospital) is largely going to depend on how you react to my presence and "interference" in your bullshit drama.

When I and/ or another member of the security staff comes up on a couple of guys "woofin'" at each other, we will usually try to establish a physical presence (also known as"command presence", the first level on the Use of Force Continuum or, ironically, U.F.C.) and try to de-escalate the situation. In order to cover ourselves legally, this will usually entail at some point telling the parties involved that if they don't "cool it" they will be verbally trespassed from the property and, furthermore, if they do not leave of their own accord, they will be placed under citizens arrest and the police will be called to cite for criminal trespassing. Much of this will simply be a show of force on my part, and is just a ploy to get them to stop focusing on each other and to start paying attention and listening to me. Often this doesn't work, because people in this predicament are too drunk to care what we are saying or doing, so they will ignore us and try to carry on.

If they do ignore us and continue with their "woofin'", because they have been trespassed, under citizens arrest laws, I now have the right to call the police and detain the people until P.D. shows up. We now go to the next rung on the U.F.C. and, along with my fellow security staff, take up an escort position on them (usually a hand on an elbow or the small of the back). If this doesn't work and the guys "throw down" despite us, getting between them is usually not an issue but keeping them apart sometimes can be. The trick is to grab the guy who appears to be the most aggressive and drag him outside while the remainder of the security staff deals with the other guy. If this works and nobody is worse for wear, we'll usually just be happy to be rid of you and let you go along your marry way.

If this doesn't work and we now have a brawl on our hands, it now becomes an issue of strategy: I just want these guys out of my bar. If you resist me in my effort to get you outside I will usually get very annoyed and apply some variation of an "attitude interrupter". This amounts to causing you enough pain to get you less concerned about defending you're ego and more concerned about finding a way to relieve said pain. You're physiological response to this pain will usually give me enough room to maneuver you into a position (rear naked choke, full nelson, joint lock, etc.) that will allow me to "escort" you outside. If your behavior has made me put that much work into getting you to stop fighting, I'm probably going to call the police.

I'm still thinking about this, so if the subject of this post interests you, come back from time to time as I will undoubtedly update it.

For reference, please remember that I am not a lawyer. Don't take my word for it on any of this stuff. Be smart and do the research yourself. After all, that is the point of the blog in general!

Stay safe!