You know what they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. One man from Reno, Nevada, was arrested and charged with battery after he tried to break up a fight by using his car.
Nicholas Bottjer, a 35-year-old man, was in the Grand Sierra Parking lot at the end of last week, when he noticed a man and a woman in a fight. Presumably, he also noticed that the man was being violent towards the woman, so he decided to step in and stop this instance of domestic violence.
Bottjer ran the man over with his car, 2News notes, citing the police report. He later told the police officers that he had noticed the man had pulled out a knife and was about to attack the woman with it, so he felt like he had to step in.
Bottjer ran the supposed assailant with his car, leaving him “seriously injured,” the report adds. He is now facing battery charges, or even worse, if the man dies from his injuries.
While authorities encourage people who suffer from or who witness instances of domestic violence to come forward and seek help, or to intervene if the situation allows it, running another person over with your car is still illegal, even if you do it to save someone else.
There’s little doubt at this point that Bottjer’s intentions were good, but he went about it the wrong way. He should have called the police or tried to engage the man himself, if he thought the situation didn’t pose a danger to his own well-being.
If Bottjer was hoping for a pat on the shoulder and a handshake for his kindness, he got neither. Hitting the alleged assailant with his car and causing him injury only got him in trouble.
Bottjer ran the man over with his car, 2News notes, citing the police report. He later told the police officers that he had noticed the man had pulled out a knife and was about to attack the woman with it, so he felt like he had to step in.
Bottjer ran the supposed assailant with his car, leaving him “seriously injured,” the report adds. He is now facing battery charges, or even worse, if the man dies from his injuries.
While authorities encourage people who suffer from or who witness instances of domestic violence to come forward and seek help, or to intervene if the situation allows it, running another person over with your car is still illegal, even if you do it to save someone else.
There’s little doubt at this point that Bottjer’s intentions were good, but he went about it the wrong way. He should have called the police or tried to engage the man himself, if he thought the situation didn’t pose a danger to his own well-being.
If Bottjer was hoping for a pat on the shoulder and a handshake for his kindness, he got neither. Hitting the alleged assailant with his car and causing him injury only got him in trouble.