Adult Slapping a Child

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: MD

My 12 y/o son was slapped by an adult at his bus stop. I received a call from friday morning telling me to hurry to the bus stop that some man just hit my child. I made it to the bus stop, my son and two of my step children were there along with other students that ride the bus. A man approaches me and says " I open hand slapped your son." I told him I had a real problem with this. I took a photo of him and his license plate. Police were already in route. Witnesses said that the man pulled over when my son wouldn't step out of the street. According to the witnesses, the man pulls over gets out of his car and proceeds towards my son, yelling " get the **** out of the road, I'm tired of this shit." My son says " we didn't even do anything." The man continues with "your a pussy boy." And continues to verbally assault him. Supposedly taunting him challenging him to fight and very close to my sons face. My son pushes the man away with one hand. His other arm, dominant arm is in a sling from an elbow injury the previous day. The police arrive, my son is crying and clearly agitated. The officer asks my son why he is crying? The officer speaks to my son, then me then the adult male. After hearing everyone's version of the story. The officer tells me " if I have to write a report, I'm gonna charge all parties." I didn't pursue things because I didn't want my child to have a criminal record due to pushing an adult away from him. However, after school was over I waited at the bus stop to make sure there weren't any problems and asked the kids that were there if they would be willing to write a statement of what occurred. After reading what these kids wrote I am furious! This mans intent was malicious from the start. What did he intend to do? Mind you, there isn't a side walk at this bus stop. You are either standing on someone's property or you are standing in the street. I'm not saying that this couldn't have been avoided had my son just moved but that doesn't mean he should be berated with vulgarity and in my opinion verbally assaulted.this a grown man! It infuriates me that this man hit my son, he thinks it's ok because he did with an open hand and he had the audacity to say to me that he thought my child was 16. I found this astounding, considering, the man had just told me he has complained to the school several times and if he had, he would know that these are middle schoolers, not high schoolers.! Anyway, I know I am rambling and I apologize. My question is: although I initially denied pursuing legal action can I still do so now, and how do I go about it? Also, what are people's thoughts on this? Should I just let this person get away with this? Am I being a over protective mother? Do I have leg to stand on in court? I apologize if I've posted in the wrong category. I posted here because I was told that pursuing this would mean my son would be charged with second degree assault.

Nobody can guess what will or won't happen; you can either make a police report and let them deal with it, or not.

As far as you obtaining statements from the other kids, that's really not going to help you and you are at a disadvantage to begin with - you weren't there.

Am I reading this right?

Your son physically assaulted the man and THEN got slapped in the face?

If that's the case let it go and get over it.

Teach your son to move to the curb when a car is coming.

So your son and his buddies thought they were the shit and blocked the road to traffic, when someone trying to travel the road who has obviously encountered your son or his idiot friends before stops, your son assaults him? I think your kid should be put in a juvenile detention for the weekend and you should be forced to take parenting classes.

We dealt with these idiot kids late at night passing through the projects on the way to the hospital. You hit the high beams, the horn and the accelerator, they scatter like roaches.

Thank you for your input.

- - - Updated - - -

Yes, my son pushed the man away from him. Btw, I didn't think it would be this hard to hear people's opinions but I wanted unbiased opinions. Thank you.

Quote:

---

Quoting Tryan0311

---

Yes, my son pushed the man away from him. Btw, I didn't think it would be this hard to hear people's opinions but I wanted unbiased opinions. Thank you.

---

OK, let's try this a different way. The law does not allow you to strike someone because they yell at or are rude to you. You cannot claim self defense if you do so. In my state, striking someone under these circumstances would constitute the crime of Battery, a misdemeanor. No doubt, the person who was hit would claim they struck back in self defense, which could be lawful.

Based solely on your description of events it sounds like the officer decided all parties acted unlawfully. All things being equal he gave you a choice of everyone being charged or everyone walking away. It sounds like everyone chose the latter.

Were you to try to pursue this where I am, the District Attorney would most likely decline prosecution as this appears to be a case of mutual combat. Both parties were willing participants, both are equally culpable, neither are true victims and little good would come from prosecution.

With the child having pushed the adult prior to the slap, and different accounts of what happened none of which involved any prior physical contact, the police officer apparently chose to express that he would cite both the adult and the child, or write up a report but not recommend charges against anybody. The police may be willing to initiate charges against the adult if the matter were pursued by a parent, but that could also mean that they refer the minor to juvenile court.

Quote:

---

Quoting L-1

---

No doubt, the person who was hit would claim they struck back in self defense, which could be lawful.

---

"One who seeks to justify an assault on the ground that he acted in self-defense must show that he used no more force than the exigency reasonably demanded. The belief of a defendant in an action for assault that the plaintiff intended to do him bodily harm cannot support a plea of self-defense unless it was such a belief as a person of average prudence would entertain under similar circumstances." Baltimore Transit Co. v. Faulkner, 179 Md. 598, 600, 20 A.2d 485, 487 (1941). The push might be characterized as self-defense, depending on such factors as how close the irate adult came to the child, and what he was saying and doing at the time. The slap? You slap people because you're angry, not because you're fearful.

Quote:

---

Quoting L-1

---

Were you to try to pursue this where I am, the District Attorney would most likely decline prosecution as this appears to be a case of mutual combat.

---

That's not at all likely, either. It was not mutual combat. Neither party consented to being touched. There was no actual fight.

Without more details, it is of course impossible to render an informed opinion. However, I seem to be getting a bit different mental picture of the incident, based on OP, than others here. Certainly, a lot would depend on the size and age difference between the 12 y/o and the man. Is the 12 y/o unusually large and developed? Is the man slight of stature, elderly, or disabled? If (as in my mental image) the child is of average stature for his age, and the man is between 21 and 50 and of average stature and physical ability, I see no way that the man could reasonably claim self defense even if the child did push him. The only reasonable “self defense” action I would buy would be nothing more than maybe grabbing the child by the arms to restrain him from further assaultive behavior.

On the other hand, depending on circumstance (how physically intimidating the man was acting, what the man actually said, whether the child felt “cornered,” etc.), the child’s push could well be viewed as an act of self defense even without an actual prior physical assault. If the child reasonable felt fear that a physical assault was imminent, the push might well have been a reasonable self defense response. That being said, from the description given, it sounds like the kid’s push was an act of aggression, not defense.

It sounds to me like the kid was being an ass by blocking traffic and was defiant and/or belligerent when chastised for his behavior. Now, while many may feel that this sort of delinquent behavior is deserving of a bit of corporal punishment (and I would tend to agree!), only a parent or legal guardian can legally administer such punishment (within certain limitations). And, OP’s choice of wording implies that the “slap” was to the head or face, not the ass.

It sound to me like both parties were behaving badly and the cop just wanted it all to go away. Since neither party suffered any real injury (other than to their respective egos), it does not sound like criminal charges were warranted. Although argument can be made that, technically, a crime was committed by both parties, criminal charges would be a waste of a lot of people’s time – after all the paperwork and processing, the prosecutor would read the report and decline to file charges. So, when mom shows up and demands the cop “do something!” he provides the option of A – everyone let it go and move on, or B – both parties get charged and let the prosecutor decide. It sounds reasonable to me for everyone to just quit acting like spoiled $h*ts and let it go – and the options provided by the cop encouraged that outcome.

I do not know what I am seeing this differently than anyone else. However, here we have a child with one arm in a sling, whose personal space is being invaded by an angry adult, who is a stranger, and the child pushes the adult away and then gets slapped, in the face, by the adult. I am really surprised that the police officer let it go like that.

Even if the children were deliberately baiting the guy by standing too far into the street, there are no sidewalks and the man should never have gotten out of his car. Who does something like that? What stranger gets out of their car and starts trouble with children? I personally feel that the police officer handled this poorly.

What lesson has this child learned? That the police won't help you if some stranger hits you? Seriously, even if the child was large for his age he had one arm in a sling? What danger did he pose to this adult stranger?

Quote:

---

Quoting llworking

---

I do not know what I am seeing this differently than anyone else. However, here we have a child with one arm in a sling, whose personal space is being invaded by an angry adult, who is a stranger, and the child pushes the adult away and then gets slapped, in the face, by the adult. I am really surprised that the police officer let it go like that.

Even if the children were deliberately baiting the guy by standing too far into the street, there are no sidewalks and the man should never have gotten out of his car. Who does something like that? What stranger gets out of their car and starts trouble with children? I personally feel that the police officer handled this poorly.

What lesson has this child learned? That the police won't help you if some stranger hits you? Seriously, even if the child was large for his age he had one arm in a sling? What danger did he pose to this adult stranger?

---

I agree, a person is not wrapped to tight if they pull over, get out and start yelling,, seems its was just kids being kids,, you would think somebody caught this on video nowadays. you might want to ask around, you would be able to get a better understanding of what really took place.