No, that wasn't a cowardly assault. He was facing a guy who'd just been spat upon by his Little Prince. Anyone with any amount of sense would have apologized before he was asked to put the boy down.
That's the cowardly assault...and hiding behind a child, no less. Society has been harmed since someone decided stupid, anti-social behavior shouldn't be painful.
He did the guy a favor.
More rationalizations of criminal behavior. Simply disgusting. And my wife doesn't understand why I'm simply anal about carrying a gun 24/7...sigh. I'll give you a clue though, in Texas, I can legally stop a physical assault against another person with deadly force.