Hi,

I know you guys are not lawyers and anything you say is to be verified should I want to look into it.

I would like to run it by you guys.

I was on the shoulder of a county road taking pics of cows in a pasture from the truck seat. A fellow on a harley comes by and goes real slow. I nod and continue. He goes into the driveway (about 200 yards away) of the land owner and returns. I roll my window down and he yells at me "Can I help you"? I say no thank you, I'm just taking pictures of the cows. He says I need to get my fuc#$%^ a$$ out of there it's private property. I say I understand but the shoulder of the road is not. Before I could continue and say god bye and introduce myself as a neighbor living 1/2 mile down the road he jumps off the bike, removes his helmet coming at me screaming profanity like he is going to hit me or my truck with it.
I hit the gas. The road is a cul-de-sac so I have to turn around. He body slams my truck hitting the door with the helmet missing my glass by an inch denting it.
I move on out. He pops on the bike and comes at me so I 911. He sees the phone and backs off.
The sheriffs come and get him for DUI, assault, and more. Turns out he is not the property owner, his sister lives there. She is not the owner but renting a room.

Now, maybe I handled it wrong I don't know. I'm a sick man and know better than to challenge a person. I have made that mistake before. I was smiling and trying to tell him who I was so he would know I was not casing the place and he lost it.

I live in Georgia. I wonder guys, and certainly the images I was getting were not worth it. He had me cornered too. But now I have vehicle damage.
At first I demanded an arrest, restraining order, restitution. The officers got us together and he was singing a different tune now.

Perhaps there is a lawyer in this group familiar with the laws or rights or have links to the info. Maybe some do's and don't's........?

Good Evening,
Laws vary from state to state I believe, but generally, anything visible (not behind a privacy fence or window, etc) is fair game,and it looks like the cows are in plain view. I would also press charges to the fullest extent.Here is a link that may be of some help. http://www.photoattorney.com/
Have a good evening
Jim...

You did nothing wrong......if he was arrested for DUI then that is something that you have no influence on......that will stand on its own............the assault and vandalism to your vehilce are all charges that YOU can drop is you prefer.......i wouldnt ......and request restitution to repair your vehicle.........get some estimates, keep them for court purposes........

That guy was a total idiot........you were on a public road........you did nothing wrong.

I think you handled it a lot better than I would have. This guy was a total jack nut. Way to keep your cool, though a swift kick to the testicles then cry self self defense wouldn't have hurt.

Yeah, you might recall some of my previous posts on this kind of issue but in this case, you were right on the money and the guy does deserve what the justice system will serve up...violence is out of bounds and I don't see any justification.

Sorry, can't agree to fighting back...then you would be in the justice system too being prosecuted and dealing with it...over a photo and a guy hitting your truck? Not worth it in any way...you did the right thing.

The guy was a mental case; if it wasn't your camera it would have been something else - the car you were driving, the way you were looking at him, the little voices in his head, who knows?

I'd try to forget about it.

It sounds like the photography is irrelevant.

Submit a request for restitution for the damages.

What a crack head, lol!

I am going to sue for repairs.
Below is a pic of him going by my house. He has seen me thousands of times.

Yep........... so many people buy a Harley and become a tough guy.
Maybe it's the leather chaps or the stupid looking helmets squeezing their peanut sized brain.

Yeah, he sure does look like a ToughGuy™.

By shooting from the road, you were within your rights. However, it's my experience that NO ONE understands this, nor do they care to understand this...not when it comes to their property, and sometimes themselves. Even though you were doing nothing wrong, you did the right thing by trying to avoid him once he became violent. I've learned that sometimes, even though I know I'm right, it's not worth the possible ramifications that an uneducated (and ignorant, most of the time) person can bring on.

eyelikeart wrote:
By shooting from the road, you were within your rights. However, it's my experience that NO ONE understands this, nor do they care to understand this...not when it comes to their property, and sometimes themselves. Even though you were doing nothing wrong, you did the right thing by trying to avoid him once he became violent. I've learned that sometimes, even though I know I'm right, it's not worth the possible ramifications that an uneducated (and ignorant, most of the time) person can bring on.

So very true...agree with every word and my experience as well.

eyelikeart wrote:
By shooting from the road, you were within your rights. However, it's my experience that NO ONE understands this, nor do they care to understand this...not when it comes to their property, and sometimes themselves. Even though you were doing nothing wrong, you did the right thing by trying to avoid him once he became violent. I've learned that sometimes, even though I know I'm right, it's not worth the possible ramifications that an uneducated (and ignorant, most of the time) person can bring on.

+2. You did exactly the right thing and handled it better than I would have.


Give 'em hell.



Tony

better you than me. i don't take kindly to bullies. i would have put a foot or monopod where the sun don't shine on that feller. you handled it better than i would. cheers......................

I live in this neighborhood and I gotta see this guy all the time. I'll post to this thread the outcome.

haha thanks for posting the pics to along with the story.

By shooting from the road, you were within your rights. However, it's my experience that NO ONE understands this, nor do they care to understand this...not when it comes to their property, and sometimes themselves. Even though you were doing nothing wrong, you did the right thing by trying to avoid him once he became violent. I've learned that sometimes, even though I know I'm right, it's not worth the possible ramifications that an uneducated (and ignorant, most of the time) person can bring on.

This principle is called "might makes right."

therock wrote:
Turns out he is not the property owner, his sister lives there. She is not the owner but renting a room.




Myabe he was simply looking out for his sister.... in a drunk biker kind of way.

Maybe his sister is undercover or something. Now the FBI will have to rent another room somewhere else for her.....

annayu wrote:
Maybe his sister is undercover or something.

Or maybe he's just a lunatic. Seriously, there's SOO many people in this world just like this biker guy. I can't tell you how many times I've faced them...even been chased by car once.

Just looking at the picture and without reading your story I would have thought you were attacked by the cows when you were taking pictures of them. >_>

One possible explanation for his violent reaction towards you is there is something they do not want to show to the rest of the world going on within that house.

Nathan Hobbs wrote:
One possible explanation for his violent reaction towards you is there is something they do not want to show to the rest of the world going on within that house.



My thoughts exactly --- maybe something drug related.

that guy needs his arse whupped! (he looks too hard core for me though..lol)... maybe martha stewart could do him in