Good Work ST
You did the right thing. Don't sweat the rest of these guys telling you that you could have done something less aggressive blah blah blah
If you had not been there and not acted like you did that woman would have been robbed beaten and worse yet, killed for what little money she probably had in her purse. I have no sympathy for low life turds who were, as they claimed, "askin the lady for some change." that is total BS anyway. The cop had to reprimand you because technically you assaulted that guy ,HOWEVER, had the crackhead decided to take you to court (yeah right) it would have gone in YOUR favor and it would have been ruled justified use of force in defense of that lady(or however the lawyers want to word it).
You just dont THINK about the "LAW" in situations like that, or in any confrontation where your life or someone elses life is in peril. The Law only comes in to play after everything is said and done and that is how it should be. You hesitate and you get hurt real bad or worse yet, YOU get Killed.
SO kudos to you for helping that woman ST.
TWS
It makes me mad when people say I turned and ran like a scared rabbit. Maybe it was like an angry rabbit, who was going to fight in another fight, away from the first fight.