Violence on Muni vehicles or in Muni stations may or may not be on the rise. It is difficult to say whether or not the sudden rash of fighting on Muni is truly an uptick, or if the proliferation of cheap cameras or cell phones with video capabilities means there are merely more recordings of them.
Either way, there are plenty of fisticuffs going down on Muni property, no doubt about that. And I think we can all agree the violence is too frequent.
Last night a Muni station agent, who was allegedly having soda can(s) thrown, began fighting a pair of sister said to be responsible for throwin' Coke. In fact, one of the females was punched in the face. Stories about who provoked whom are fuzzy, and whether the reaction from the station agent was wrong to react the way he did is up for debate.
Was he defending himself from assault? Or did he begin hitting these sisters without provocation? And even if he was being hit with soda cans, was the level of his violence against the females appropriate?
One local Twitter user who heard about the brawl wrote:
So lemme get this
straight. MUNI station agent is assaulted, he fights back, but b/c his
punches actually did damage, he gets arrested.
The altercation began, apparently, after the station agent asked for ID from one of the sisters who showed a Youth Fast Pass. If the sisters are indeed underage, that makes the situation even hairier.
What do you think? Can you think of a way this situation could have been avoided? A closed station booth door? Eyewitnesses say the sisters entered the booth and hit the agent. Self defense applies, even if the assailants are minors. If the eyewitnesses are correct, should the station agent be charged?
Your thoughts below.
