A story about my grandfather.

[Snake Alchemist]

Many years ago my grandfather was a police officer in NYC. He was a huge man with enormous hands, and a great boxer to boot. The people who knew him or had seen him called him Mr. Gorilla (a play on his last name).

One day he and his partner responded to a report of domestic violence. What they found was horrifying. A man in a tenement had beaten his wife within an inch of her life. My grandfather described her as looking like her face had "gone through a blender" and believed that she probably never healed many of the scars.

My grandfather was not a man of much patience or restraint. When he saw what had happened he drug the assailant out of the tenement and onto the street outside. After thrashing him a bit he pinned his forearm to the curb, and as he described it, "snapped it like a twig" with his foot.

His partner asked if they should bring him into the station to which my grandfather countered that he wouldn't be beating his wife again with that arm, and that they would be back if he did.

He's long gone now, but his stories always had me riveted.

[ret5hd]

1. What made him so much more admirable than the other guy?

[Snake Alchemist]

2. The other guy was a violent, wife-abuser? nt

[ret5hd]

3. and he was a violent cop, right?

[Snake Alchemist]

6. Absolutely. nt

[ret5hd]

9. So i ask again, what makes him so much more admirable?

[Snake Alchemist]

16. He was directing violence against a violent wife beater as opposed to his wife?

[ret5hd]

20. Just not seeing the distinction...

a powerful person beats up a less powerful person for beating up an even less powerful person, and does so under the color of law.

here, looks like you're running low:

[Snake Alchemist]

21. I am sorry you do not see the distinction. nt

[ret5hd]

23. Oh, don't worry about me.

I was about to say i was sorry you do see a distinction.

[Bluenorthwest]

4. So they did not arrest the criminal?

Also interesting feature of if not his story, at least of your retelling of it, is that the only mention of the woman is the image of her injuries, the story does not tell us what was done for her, if she got medical care, if she was simply left there with the man they did not arrest.
See, to me, she is the central figure of the story, and yet in the telling of it, she is used as a prop, without humanity, specifics, nor any need to tell her part of the story. In a story of the 'great hero' the rescue of the person in peril is always an important factor. Here that rescue is not mentioned. And that is an interesting aspect of this story.

[Snake Alchemist]

7. I have no idea. This was well before WWII.

He's long gone so this is all the story I remember.

[Warpy]

19. Years ago, arresting a bastard who beat his wife into intensive care

only got the wife interrogated as to what she had done to make him snap like that. Domestic battery was poorly understood because women had no power and nowhere else to go and were thus a low priority. When she got out of the hospital she went back for more. She had nowhere else to go.

At least the batterer in this story got at least three months out of commission, allowing her wounds to heal before he started in on her again. It's better treatment than she would have gotten in the courts.

Now we know domestic battery affects both sexes, although beaten women outnumber beaten men and are generally injured more severely. A few communities have taken it seriously and have programs which have made a difference.

However, there are still too many places where the wife is still interrogated about what she did to set him off.

[CBGLuthier]

5. I would need to know WHEN this happened to be able to fully judge it

What he did was wrong but in the 50's and earlier it was fairly common.

But if this was in the 70's then that would be a whole nother matter.

[Snake Alchemist]

8. Somewhere between the early 20's and mid 30's. nt

[CBGLuthier]

24. Yeah, it was a different world then.

[MineralMan]

10. Instant retribution is always tempting in such cases.

It's also wrong. I understand your grandfather's actions, but can't support them. The result was that a violent person was let go and not arrested, tried, and imprisoned. His arm will heal, and he'll likely repeat the offense. How is that a good thing?

[polly7]

12. Back then, I don't think women being beaten was taken very seriously, legally.

In all fairness, maybe the police knew he wouldn't receive much of a punishment and decided a personal lesson might be the only one he'd 'get' .... so as not to do it again... to her, or anyone else.

[Snake Alchemist]

13. That is probably correct. nt

[MineralMan]

18. Perhaps. Still, violent retribution by police is still going on,

as we've seen. It is wrong now, and it was wrong then. Some things are wrong, no matter when they happen. Just my opinion.

[polly7]

22. Of course.

We're living in a much different time though, where the courts do protect women. I've also heard stories from my grandmother of women being brought into the hospital with horrible injuries (she was a nurse) and taken home that night or the next day by the same man who did it.

[denverbill]

11. That's a very conservative philosophy you seem to have towards justice.

To hell with judge, juries, and the legal system, let's just decide for ourselves who is guilty and who is innocent and mete out our own justice on the spot.

It's the kind of philosophy that got a lot of black men lynched in the south back in the day.

[Snake Alchemist]

14. This was not me.

I would take no such action. But wife beaters are taken more seriously in today's world.

[quinnox]

15. that is a heartwarming story n/t

[Snake Alchemist]

17. LOL. They weren't exactly endearing when I was a child. nt