The days of duking it out behind a bar are over, at least in Vancouver.
By a unanimous vote, the Vancouver City Council adopted an ordinance Monday that outlaws physically fighting in public, regardless of whether the parties agree to participate in the fisticuffs. The crime, called “disorderly conduct by mutual assault,” will be a misdemeanor as of March 26.
Police Cpl. Duane Boynton told the council Monday that between the city’s bar brawls and gang initiations, he felt the mutual-assault ordinance was “appropriate.”
“We get a lot of bar fights, and when the police get there … of course, they’re intoxicated,” he said of the brawlers. “They’ve drawn police resources to a bar, and both of them want to walk away.”
In addition to banning mutual combat, the three-pronged ordinance prohibits entering a vehicle without permission or legal authority, even if the person trespassing has no intention of committing a crime. For instance, a drunk person might break into a car, wanting a warm place to sleep, Chief Assistant City Attorney Jonathan Young said Wednesday. Although perhaps alarming to the car owner, the break-in wasn’t technically a crime. When the ordinance goes into effect March 26, it will be a misdemeanor.
The third chapter of the ordinance requires drivers who strike a pedestrian or cyclist to share their identity and vehicle and insurance information with the victim before leaving the scene, whether or not the victim appears to be injured. Sometimes injuries aren’t apparent until the adrenaline wears off, but the driver already has left because the victim seemed unhurt, Young said.
The goal is to enhance public safety by defining certain offenses that aren’t specifically listed in state criminal statutes, said Young, who characterized the process as “spring cleaning.” In the 12 years since the city last updated its criminal ordinances, cases have come through the legal system that exposed narrow loopholes, he said.
“It ultimately violates the public trust when they see someone walking away from something there probably should be some ramification for,” Young said.
