I wouldn't say arrest a rape victim who fought back, but you sure as hell wouldn't tip your hat and let them walk off either. You would have to question them, when the time was right.
I'll admit, I'm one of those sort the facts out first and verify everything types. Here in NYC, even if your a victim, the cops want every detail, even if your justified (sometimes criminals also are victims and may have a warrant out for there arrest), other times the "victim" wasn't really the victim but the real perp.
Naturally, I'm always a bit skeptical, my attitude is let the cops do there job and make sure everything is verified, and the facts are all there, god forbid, there is a screw up and you let a bad guy walk. The prosecutor has the responsibilty of pressing charges or not, in this case, it looks like he made the right call (though for the wrong reason). I'm glad this didn't happen in NYC, here a prosecutor would have pressed charges, which shamefully, they have in circumstances just like this.
Wouldn't you kind of have to in order to make sure they didn't walk off?
Listen, I understand what you are saying. You can't take everything at face value. You can't always believe what you see. Things aren't always as they appear. I agree. Two guys just standing in the middle of the sidewalk slugging it out ... there is no way of knowing.
A guy with a black eye in the nail polish section of Walmart, after the puncher CALLED THE COPS HIMSELF, and a corroberating daughter .... or even the more extreme examples, a masked guy with a scratches on his arm standing over a crying, hysterical woman who's clothes have obviously been ripped off. Sometimes you just know what has happened. you just do. And it doesn't always take a mind reader.
I think the "reasonable doubt" thing should come into play when arrests are made. Maybe 1% of the people who walk will be innocent, but the alternative is to discourage people from defending themelves or fighting back and then what kind of society do you have? The cops can't be everywhere and people need to be secure in knowing that if the do the right thing, they won't get arrest records, or have to plead the 5th ammendment.
You are right, it is not always so cut and dry. But please concede to me the point that sometimes it is.
Read post 107. I mean, come on. The guy touched his daughter. He detained the guy for police. If he was pimping his daughter he would have run from the scene after the punch was landed.
Sometimes it's just so completely obvious. Let's bring common-sense back to law enforcement and reward our citizens for doing the right thing.