Heads up for a likely charge

[chellnjeni]

What would grabbing a female bar staff be seen as? My friend's female, it was late on in a bar and she was purposly short change by �15. After watching her laughing with the other bartender and looking back at my friend she threw �1.60 on the bar. My friend waited for her to rectify the short change but after a good few minutes she snapped and grabbed her. I remember everything i think. Pretty positive no punches were thrown and seconds later she's escorted out by the bouncers. Outside my friend was not irrate but calm and co-operate and tried to explain she 'went fo her'. The bar manager and door staff let her go but i suspect another co-owner of the bar may be going to the police. I'de assume they have CCTV but who know's.

What should she be expecting? She's 27 absolutely NO previous ever and never arrested. Many thanx

[Martyn77]

Depends on the circumstances, but at the very least you are looking at an assault charge, the seriousness being reduced by the mitigation. Laying hands on a person in their place of work is seen as very serious as we all have the right to do our work unmolested.
In defense DO NOT say that the person doing the grabbing had been drinking - that makes it worse. The best thing is to own up and apologise, offer to pay compensation and then shut up.
As for you, make some notes right now - a 'contemporaneous record' (that's the technical term) carries far more weight than vague recollection when it eventually gets to court. If you can show you wrote down your recollection of the event soon after it happened it will carry more weight.