To report my colleague for hitting me

[QueenyLaverne]

Colleague (quite substantial guy) who's job is to bring supplies up to our floor, brought some stuff up. He came to find me, I was on break, to tell me and did so in a very sarcastic way. Not unusual, he is a sarky bastard and we don't like him much, but hey ho we tolerate him and are nice to him. I jokingly pulled him up on it and said something like, 'oh, who do you think your talking to!' 'Laugh laugh' he said something else and I was holding a newspaper which I pretended to hit him with, it tapped him with as we were having banter.
He then comes at me and walloped me on my arm, it really hurt, my arm was still hurting at the end of my shift and I felt really quite tearful, not from the pain, (although it did really hurt) but more because I felt really violated.
Can you tell me if I'm being overly sensitive or if this is unacceptable behaviour and should be reported?
AIBU?

He assaulted you.
Of course you should report it.
Shocking behaviour.

But you instigated the behaviour, by pretending to hit him?

Yes speak to your line manager. He doesn't know his boundaries

Do you really need to ask? Of course you should.

You hit him first.

But when you hit him it's "banter"?

You hit him with the newspaper first.

Rjay, playful hitting with a newspaper is hardly the same as a wallop on the arm with force, Jesus

So it's ok for you to hit him but not him go hit you?

Yes you should, but you do have to accept he will likely say you hit him first and he was simply retaliating.

You hit him first.

"But you instigated the behaviour, by pretending to hit him?"

So if I play smacked my DH, that would justify him belting me one?

Don't hit people then. Sorry, he might have over reacted but you started it. With someone you were uncertain about. Madness!

I actually think you are BU. You instigated the 'banter' but then when he gave it back its assault?

Derlei - yes, but still would be investigated by work. It could be classed as provocation.

Did you hit him or just pretend to hit him? It's not clear from your post.

Rjay, playful hitting with a newspaper is hardly the same as a wallop on the arm with force, Jesus

Matter of perspective isn't it? Who knows (other than the two involved) how hard EITHER hit was.

And he probably didn't mean to hurt you, maybe didn't realise his own strength.

I was holding a newspaper which I pretended to hit him with, it tapped him with as we were having banter.

If you report him, I would suggest being prepared for him to make a lot of this part of the sequence of events in any subsequent investigation.

You made it physical, he's a wanker for really hitting you, but you did cross that line first.

Of course he shouldn't have behaved like that but I don't think either of you have any awareness of boundaries.

IMO if you hit someone, they have every right to hit you back.

You say you pretended to hit him in banter, maybe he hit you back as banter too... it was just harder as he was bigger.

Not like he walloped you for asking who he thought he was talking too.

Chalk this upto experience and don't 'pretend' to hit someone with an object in the future.

Still. He may not have seen it as any different. I'd just avoid him from now on and not do any further banter fullstop.

Report him if you like but the fact you hit him first might just back fire on you. As much as you say yours was jokey it might not have seemed or felt that way for him, and in that same token he may too have felt he was just being jokey back.
It's probably more sensibly just to not hit someone first in the first place. Even if you think it's 'banter'.

OP:
He sounds like a humourless thug. He hit you properly; you jokingly biffed him with a newspaper. Absolutely report the creep.

I agree with ETanny.