Wayne Arnold

There's also a leap between stating people are using innuendo from the cold-cocker's lawyer as a tool "to make the victim look like she deserved what she got" and thinking or stating that the same posters really believe that she got what she deserved.

Good post. Not at all. That's not my intent, sorry if my posts somehow come across that way.

"No....he decked he because she raised her fist to him immediately and he grabbed her arm to prevent her swinging and she immediately swung with her other fist, followed immediately by his response. She started a sequence of events that would lead any reasonable person in that circumstance to conclude that it was to continue. Look at the video. She immediately took umbrage to him bumping into her and became aggressive. Add to that that she was probably drunk and you have a pretty good case of self defense, IMO." That's just one example. There are others, including from one poster who called me a "white knight" for daring to defend this woman lol

Do we have to be so literal? Let's not be naive here. There is a whole lotta 'she had it comin to her' mentality in this thread.

No. It's sad that people in this thread are using his lawyer's claims as a fact to make the victim look like she deserved what she got but not at all surprising.

lol nicely done

I'm pretty sure you have it backwards. Since Johnson is the one who invaded her space by grabbing her wrist, Johnson's lawyers have to prove that she was acting with the intent to harm him. And since her arm/fist never moved forward, that will be extremely difficult to do.

So when a woman or anyone else raises her arm to point at the person behind her, it's officially open season on her face? I can't wait for the next time a person waves at me. According to a couple of people on this forum I'm going to be within my legal right to grab his/her arm, clutch it until he/she is able to defend and get away then I'm going to bash his/her face in because it looked like the person was about to slap me!

It's ok from a legal standpoint because she was acting in self-defense. Why is this so difficult for some of you to grasp? He was creating apprehension by invading her space in the form of reaching for her arm and clutching it against her will. By definition, that is assault. And that was before his punch even occurred. Look - no one thinks this girl is an angel on Earth. My daughters are both under 5 but 15 years from now I'll show them this video as a demonstration for how to not act in bars. And I think it speaks volumes that no one here has been able to give me an answer as to what she could possibly be charged with.

Then post it. I didn't post a longer gif because I couldn't find one. Good Lord. So because the other girl didn't have a problem with Johnson rudely shoving people out of his way to the bar, that means no one else should feel defensive or uncomfortable with it?

You don't have internet access? Find it yourself. Yeah, imagine that.

What consequences would be appropriate for her? Maybe she should be banned from the bar for being belligerent but that would be up to the owner(s). From this video alone, I see no illegal actions from her. Johnson, however, broke the law.

I think you need to look at it again if you think Johnson doesn't push the blond directly...right into the guy on her right. Which may be who she's pointing at (although there is in fact a bartender there). I'm not going to speculate what she's saying.

I'm not going to go there. Not being a "white knight" - I'm looking at the video impartially from a legal perspective.

To me that's what it looks like happened. Whether her little fist ball was her gearing up to punch him or her pointing back behind her toward the bartenders is irrelevant - he committed the first invasion of space between the two of them by grabbing her arm. Whether her hand was at her side or up toward her head - he invaded her space before she ever did. Is that what that was? Unlike his sense of entitlement - "get out of my way, I need another drink."

Creating apprehension by grabbing someone's wrist and holding her against her will isn't a crime? Seriously?! So you're telling me that you think you can walk down the street and grab and clutch each random person's arm as they scream and attempt to get away any time you please?

He was physically restraining her against her will, which he had no right to do. From a legal standpoint she was acting in self-defense. If he had walked away and called the police instead of decking her, the police would have come and found that there were no marks or evidence of a punch on Johnson because it was so weak. They would then question the witnesses. My guess is it would have resulted in no charges and a simple "Knock it off" from the officer because they were both being idiots. "if a female swings at a guy, why are they able to walk away from any discipline or legal action because she's a female?" - This isn't true at all. Women are arrested for violent offenses against men every day.

One had to know that Darby's comments would be blown out of proportion and/or taken out of context simply because he's a black professional football player who attended FSU just a few months ago. Therefore, no matter what he said about the subject, unless he was 100% against Johnson it would just look like he was defending the psychopath who punched a strange woman in the face in public. That said, "Yall can't keep letting females provoke guys in all ways then walk free" sounds a little too "The girl's skirt was too short" to me - at least in this instance. Yes, she was drunk and too belligerent. But Johnson was the one who made physical contact with the girl first because he either refused to wait his turn or couldn't politely move to an open area without invading her space. Yes, she obviously overreacted to that - but holding up her hand (which could easily be construed as her pointing back at the bartenders) does not give a person the right to grab her wrist in a violent manner and clutch it against her will. After that she was in defense mode, trying to get her to stop and swung at him. And even then he was never in legitimate danger when he clocked her. You guys can blame this girl all you want with the "She hit him first!" defense. It won't fly in a court of law because from a legal standpoint she did nothing wrong. Being a loudmouth isn't illegal.

If she didn't, she certainly should have in hindsight. Both are scumbags but to me, assaulting a complete stranger is more indicative of psychopathic behavior. But then again, I'm not a psychologist.

Yeah, I'm sure he felt his life was in serious danger. Come on, man.

She definitely looks like a sloppy drunk. But he had absolutely no right to grab her wrist. A normal person would have laughed at her and moved on.

Johnson made physical contact first by needlessly pushing her into the bar table. He then grabbed her wrist violently and held her against her will. I don't see her "cocking her hand to hit him" - I see her pointing to the bartender behind her. And even if she was threatening to throw a punch - Johnson has a foot and 100 pounds on her. Self defense? At some point common sense should come into play here.

She may be clenching her fist but to me it looks more like she is pointing back at the bartender like "I already ordered my drink he's getting it right now. Stop pushing me and wait your turn."