David Steven Bell Defends Himself Against Belligerent Pubescent Female
Justifiable Self-Defense?
David Steven Bell, age 51, from Black mountain North Carolina is seen in the video below above defending himself against an aggressive gang of teenage female youths. Mr. Bell was with his wife and daughter at a shopping mall where it was reported that the female youths were causing a disturbance. I don't know how the confrontation with Mr. Bell began but, the video shows how it ended.
We can learn important lessons about self-defense from this video:
1) Mob Mentality Angry mobs/gangs are dangerous even if they are comprised of female youths. In mobs, individuals are embolden to commit acts they would never do alone. None of those females would dare confront a man of Mr. Bell's size individually. However, in a group, inhibitions go out the window. Mr. Bell was surrounded and the females were probing for weakness and preparing themselves to seize the opportunity to attack.
Angry mob situations should best be avoided. However, if you are caught in one and you have to defend yourself, try to disable the leader as quickly as possible. As seen in the video, after Mr. Bell knocked down the most aggressive female who was apparently the leader, the rest scattered into the wind.
2) Personal Space Mr. Bell was surrounded. The most aggressive female in the black jacket had stepped into Mr. Bells personal space a couple of times and even shoved him from behind before he retaliated. Personal space is the arms length 360 degree radius around one's body. An invasion of personal space by an angry individual is very dangerous and should be regarded as an attack even if an actual blow is not thrown. Never let anyone do this to you. Why? Because if an attacker within your personal space decides to strike, you won't be able react quickly enough to stop it.
3) Strike First Street fights are often won by the first person to launch a decisive blow. So if physical violence is immanent, you be the one to strike first and end the confrontation. If a person wants to argue with you, they can do it from outside of your personal space. Getting into a person's face is a common street fight tactic to probe for weakness and launch the first blow. Don't let this happen to you.
In Mr. Bell's case, the powerful shove he gave the pubescent punk was a fair warning to which she foolishly did not take heed. After she charged and reentered his personal space winding up for a strike, he was perfectly justified in retaliating as he did. Unfortunately Mr. Bell was arrested for punching the female even though he was clearly defending himself.
I have no doubt that a jury of his peers will ultimately find him not guilty. This incident was perfect for the application of a potent dose of pepper spray. If he had it he could have easily ended the confrontation without being subject to a politically motivated arrest.
Many critics claim Mr. Bell's reaction to the young girl was excessive." She is only 12 years old", they say. They scream," how dare a grown man strike a little girl!" My response is that age does not preclude violence and that girl had violent intentions. There is no shortage of little girls and boys in youth detention centers across the county who have committed all manner of violent crimes, including murder!
There are few more important self-defense lessons that can be learned from this incident. I cover them in my free email self-defense course. Subscribe today and learn self-defense fast!
To Your Defense,
Len
is there a defense fund for Mr Bell? You’re so right about the dangers that youths pose – as you say detention centers are full of them because of the real, physical, damaging crimes they commit.