Dinner, and a show

[MattInFla]

Work has been a royal bear the past couple weeks, and the wifester is out of town on a contract job, so I decided to grab an early dinner at the local chain steakhouse.

Owing to the early hour, there were only a handful of customers in the restaurant. Unfortunately, one of them was a truly obnoxious horse's rear end. I was seated toward the end of a row of tables, kind of in a corner. The problem child was seated several tables away, and was seated facing away from me. He was dining with another adult male, and both were in their late 20s or perhaps early 30s.

I was happily reading a magazine and awaiting my dinner when a loud crash got my attention, along with a loudly voiced complaint about a food item being overcooked. The crash was the plate hitting the floor. The horse posterior began berating the waitress (a petite young lady about 5'3 and 100 pounds) using language I can't repeat here. (I mentally longed for the days when such behavior toward a lady was considered lawful justification for a good thrashing...)

The manager came out, and the disturbance continued. After a few more minutes of profanity laced ranting, the manager had had her fill, and asked the guy to leave. (all this time, his dining companion was sitting there, trying to get him to "chill" with a completely mortified look on his face). The guy responded to her request by telling here to go do something anatomically impossible with herself. He stated that he would remain as long as he wished and she should get someone from the staff "who isn't a blankety-blanking blank blank" to bring him a properly cooked meal.

The manager told the waitress to go call the police, at which point the charming fellow threatened bodily harm if anyone called the "blanking law on me".

Naturally, I called the law. Not the blanking law. I didn't see this as a vice problem. So I just called the regular law. Sadly, the guy didn't overhear my conversation. I also moved to the edge of my seat and made sure my t-shirt was loose over the right side. I gave the dispatcher the quick rundown, and he asked if there were weapons involved. I said "not actively, but it is a steak house and there are sharp knives on the tables...". The dispatcher said they were on the line with another caller from the restaurant, and that units were enroute. He offered to stay on the line to keep me company, but I felt safe enough to hang up. The guy was still sitting in his seat, occasionally yelling obscenities and throwing things.

The manager - probably unwisely - returned to the table and asked him to stop throwing things, at which point he began to berate her again and threatened to beat her. Not in those words, of course. He also speculated about the possibility of cutting and / or raping her. He started to slide to the edge of the booth, and she backed up a bit. I pulled out my off-hand implement (similar to a kubaton) under the table, and contemplated what I would do if he got physical. I'm not at all interested in getting in a fight with some idiot in a restaurant, but I'm also not able to sit back and watch a grown man beat on a woman, either.

After another few moments, punctuated with highly offensive, obscene comments by the idiot, the first Sheriff's unit arrived. The fellow greeted the deputy with a loud "What the <blank> do you want, pig?".

Wrong answer.

The deputy quickly progressed through the continuum of force, asking and then ordering the guy to stand up. After being met with a string of profane verbal resistance and a lack of compliance, the deputy grabbed the guy's arm, applied a hold and yanked him out of the booth like he was starting a giant lawnmower. The guy ends up taste-testing the carpet with a knee on the back of his neck while the cuffs go on, and then gets dragged out of the establishment to the applause of a few other diners and staff.

After the show was completed, I ended up giving a statement to the deputy, which began with my presenting both my ID and CWFL and advising him I was armed (not required in Florida, but IMHO a good idea). His response: "Good."

They arrested the guy for assault, resisting arrest without violence and trespassing. Turns out, he's also got outstanding warrants for aggravated battery and theft.

I'm glad I didn't have to do more than phone and watch. Dinner turned out to be good, and the show was interesting.....

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Guantes]

Glad you enjoyed your meal.
I've always liked dinner shows, especially those with a happy ending.

[RoadRunner71]

Ten years in the restaurant business, before I got smart, was enough for me to learn that these guys are everywhere. They can be grungy twenty-somethings or Boomer attorneys. They all have one thing in common. They all want attention. The more the manager tried to get him to leave the more he tried to "punish" the offending staff.

After the initial confrontation, the manager should have just backed off and called the cops. No other staff should have approached him.

Good on you for staying ready to lend assistance and I'm glad you didn't have to.

[varob]

Ahh, I too long for the days of when one could administer a good thrashing.

[archer51]

Seems there is always 1 horses you know what in a crowd.

After his threat to anyone calling the police, I think I might have been a little loud on the phone . Glad things ended peaceably for you and the rest of the patrons.

[ctsketch]

Geez, what the heck was up with that guy?

[gottabkiddin]

Wow! it sounds like that cat was just dumb enough to hurt someone. Good call prepping for his trip downtown.

Having warrants out on ya and causing a public disturbance is about as dumb as they come.

IMO, that called for a desert.

[ABC111]

mattinfla;

I think you did well. Congrat's on maintaining your cool.

[OldVet]

I just gotta get out more. Haven't seen a good show in a long time.

[fastk9dad]

Wow, that's a pretty good show for a Wednesday night. I wonder what they have planned for the weekend. ;)

[jdsumner]

Wait, so you were a 'good witness', and that's it?
And it still turned out ok?
No 'draw down and hold' for police?
Hmmmmmmmmmmm.....

dan

[mdmorgan]

I would have started with a smoke bomb to confuse the bad guy. Then, I would have laid down cover fire with my M1A until I could work around behind the guy and break his neck. Kidding guys.... Good Job you did the right thing.

[shockwave]

Yes, back in the day, this would have been grounds for a good solid horse-whipping.

Thanks for making the call and being ready just in case.

[Devilsclaw]

Way to keep your cool while being prepared.

[paramedic70002]

If you had thrashed him maybe they would have comped your meal.