Ok, I'll play along. What would have happened had it out the club down? Remember, she's there to accuse him of swinging the club at her.
Had he not gotten so belligerent, simply set it down and then explained that he was using it as a cane, she likely would have asked him why he waved (swung?) it at her as she alleged. Then, she likely would have just told him not to swing it around and to go on his way. But no, he clearly wanted a confrontation and immediately escalated the situation. That brought out her inner bitch and now my tax dollars are going to give him a nice chunk of change.