Should I have done more to help a stranger?

[ElmaH]

I live in central-ish London in a pretty busy area. I was taking DS out of the car earlier and noticed a woman being chased by a man. He stopped her and held her back from running further. She didn't say anything or attempt to get away. They started walking back the way they had came, with him kind of pushing her from behind. It was very odd. I let them know i was watching and asked if everything was ok, he answered 'yes, ok'. She looked at me but didn't make any signs that she needed help. I'm not sure she spoke english, I think they were chinese.
I'm a bit freaked out by it and not sure if I should have done more. What would you have done?

[thelunar66]

Sounds a bit sinister. Not sure what you could have done though.

[ModernWank]

Probably the same as you, don't feel guilty about it.

[scottishmummy]

in reality in urban settings,faced with strangers and unknown variables i dont know what else you could/should do

i appreciate it preys upon you though

[kitkatqueen]

elmah, tbh with your ds with you there was not a lot you could have done to interfere. If you are really worrying over it then you could ring the police and simply log the incident. If for example the woman is reported missing then you could be contacted for a description of the man. I know that some people would say that contacting the police would be a waste of their time but actually in the long running having the info could save them a lot of footwork. It was probably nothing, but its your call, go with your gut.

[ElmaH]

Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better. I guess there's not really much I could have done. It hadn't really occurred to me to ring the police to log it - think I'll do that just in case it was something awful.

[scottishmummy]

get a cad number

[petetong]

I think that you did everything that you could by stopping and asking if everything was alright. You could hardly demand an explanation, with or without ds in the car, they would have probably have told you where to go.

[ElmaH]

Scottishmummy - thanks but I didn't see your post so haven't got a number.
I called (not 999!)and explained what happened. They said thanks and have passed it onto my local police station.

[scottishmummy]

dont sweat it,you acted responsibly did what you could

police log and give cad number

[kitkatqueen]

elmah, the cad number is normally the date it was logged with another number at the end. write down the incident on your calendar / diary with the time you called it in. if you ever need to ring the police about the incident they will be able to find it.