So last night I was out in town grabbing takeaway for the family when I ended up coming across a drunk guy. Not intentionally, he was in the way of the path I was walking into town and I had no idea he was there until I was practically on top of him (he was round a corner and I didn't hear him, my fault for having earphones in).
He'd been drinking enough that he couldn't even stand still without staggering or falling over and had just vomited on the floor. I thought for a brief moment that I got a whiff of cannabis around him but it was only brief and could equally have been another passer by.
I did actually consider just walking past like everyone else but it worried me that if someone didn't help him, he was going to get into more trouble later on (hit by a car, falling and banging his head, etc). So I ended up stopping and asking if he was all right or needed any help.
For the first...15 minutes? He kept ranting about how violent he could be, what a temper he had, how it was building up inside him and his posture kept switching between being calm and incredibly hostile. He kept staggering towards me when he did as well which put me a little on edge. I kept trying to make sure I was a few feet away from him and that I was at least pulling some monstrous mutilation of a fence in case things did get a bit more hostile (my only experience of this is from one of JWT's books so I can't say if I pulled it off well or not but at least the basic idea was there). I did notice his hands kept slipping into his pockets and out again which did make me worry he might have had a knife on him, but if he did then it never appeared.
I did find though that just asking him things like if he'd like to sit down, does he need a drink of water, offering him my coat to keep him warm, etc, did seem to placate him a lot and that after that, he calmed down a lot and started just talking about what had been happening to him (it was rough).
He started asking me what I should do about his life situation (eek!) so I offered a couple of suggestions which he responded to. I did notice I had to keep asking him "does that sound like a good idea or...?" at the end of each suggestion as he seemed to respond better when asked for his opinion. He even ended up telling me that I had been the nicest person to him in years, bless him.
About half an hour later when he had sobered up enough to walk in a straight line(ish) I escorted him across a couple of busier roads, excused myself (told him I had to get back to my family but that I wanted to make sure he was going to be OK before I left) and left after he decided he was just going to head home.
I know it probably doesn't seem like much but for the first 15 minutes he had me on edge as I was trying to judge if he was likely to attack me or not.
So, I have to ask...what signs should I have looked for? Should I have stopped to talk to him at all? Was there anything I should have done to keep myself safe(r)? Was I right to offer him my coat (which he did respond to well admittedly, but was it a sensible thing to do in the first place)? If he had attacked me, did I have a duty of after-care to him if I had hit him (as in calling an ambulance, keeping him warm, etc)?
He'd been drinking enough that he couldn't even stand still without staggering or falling over and had just vomited on the floor. I thought for a brief moment that I got a whiff of cannabis around him but it was only brief and could equally have been another passer by.
I did actually consider just walking past like everyone else but it worried me that if someone didn't help him, he was going to get into more trouble later on (hit by a car, falling and banging his head, etc). So I ended up stopping and asking if he was all right or needed any help.
For the first...15 minutes? He kept ranting about how violent he could be, what a temper he had, how it was building up inside him and his posture kept switching between being calm and incredibly hostile. He kept staggering towards me when he did as well which put me a little on edge. I kept trying to make sure I was a few feet away from him and that I was at least pulling some monstrous mutilation of a fence in case things did get a bit more hostile (my only experience of this is from one of JWT's books so I can't say if I pulled it off well or not but at least the basic idea was there). I did notice his hands kept slipping into his pockets and out again which did make me worry he might have had a knife on him, but if he did then it never appeared.
I did find though that just asking him things like if he'd like to sit down, does he need a drink of water, offering him my coat to keep him warm, etc, did seem to placate him a lot and that after that, he calmed down a lot and started just talking about what had been happening to him (it was rough).
He started asking me what I should do about his life situation (eek!) so I offered a couple of suggestions which he responded to. I did notice I had to keep asking him "does that sound like a good idea or...?" at the end of each suggestion as he seemed to respond better when asked for his opinion. He even ended up telling me that I had been the nicest person to him in years, bless him.
About half an hour later when he had sobered up enough to walk in a straight line(ish) I escorted him across a couple of busier roads, excused myself (told him I had to get back to my family but that I wanted to make sure he was going to be OK before I left) and left after he decided he was just going to head home.
I know it probably doesn't seem like much but for the first 15 minutes he had me on edge as I was trying to judge if he was likely to attack me or not.
So, I have to ask...what signs should I have looked for? Should I have stopped to talk to him at all? Was there anything I should have done to keep myself safe(r)? Was I right to offer him my coat (which he did respond to well admittedly, but was it a sensible thing to do in the first place)? If he had attacked me, did I have a duty of after-care to him if I had hit him (as in calling an ambulance, keeping him warm, etc)?
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