After a long week of stressful work, you finally made it – you’re at the bar with your friends. You decide that now it’s time to have some drinks so you can relax and recharge your batteries. But as emotions increase more and more with each drink, tensions between you and other people present at the location might grow too. Somehow, you wake up in the middle of an altercation, one that may have resulted in injury or even death.
Now, what happens after a bar fight? These incidents are quite violent, which is influenced even more by the alcohol consumed. Can you face charges? This article will explain what happens after getting in a bar fight.
What Leads to Bar Fights?
Bar fights are not unusual. In fact, it’s easy for these situations to escalate given the environment, the different types of people that go there, and the substances you can consume. Usually, there are several things that lead to bar fights, including:
- Alcohol Consumption – It’s harder to manage emotions after drinking alcohol. Someone who suppresses their anger has a higher chance of getting violent after a few drinks. Also, some individuals are triggered by certain things when they’re drunk, things that wouldn’t trigger them when sober.
- Misunderstandings – Someone may have bumped into you by mistake or spilled a drink on you by mistake. Under the influence, you may think that this was intentional and you’re willing to start a fight.
- Impressing Other Men – Some men who get into arguments and fights in bars do it to impress other men, particularly when a woman or partner is involved.
- Losing Games – If you played games at the bar while intoxicated, losing can trigger you and escalate into a fight.
Charges You May Face After Getting in a Bar Fight
If you get into a bar fight, what happens afterward depends on the outcome of the altercation. For instance, you should expect charges if the other individual was injured or even killed during the incident.
Now, there are different charges you could face, including:
- Disorderly Conduct – Disorderly conduct means a breach of the peace. You were involved in something that disturbed the peace of others, so this charge makes perfect sense. This could lead to a second-degree misdemeanor charge.
- Disorderly Intoxication – Once you’ve had a drink or two, you may begin to act under the influence of alcohol. Some people become dangerous to everyone around them when they are intoxicated. You may have become a threat to other people at the bar, so the owner or bartender has the right to ask you to leave. Now, if you get into a fight after having alcoholic drinks, people at the bar could call the police. You may end up with a second-degree misdemeanor charge that involves jail time or fines.
- Aggravated Battery – Sometimes, people under the influence take things too far, and a bar fight can quickly turn very dangerous for one of the individuals involved. Someone who gets violent after consuming alcohol might use a pocket knife, bottle, or a different weapon to harm the other person. This could lead to serious injuries, and you may end up with a second-degree felony.
- Manslaughter – Not all bar fight cases have a happy ending. Some of them end in tragedy. If bar fights get a bit too serious, one of the people involved may lose their life. This may be either voluntary or involuntary and you could end up in prison for this.
How to Deal with an Assault Charge
Things can easily go too far during bar fights. Under the influence of alcohol, even someone staring in your direction for 3 seconds can escalate. In other cases, you may have been swept up into a situation that didn’t have anything to do with you, to begin with.
When you are dealing with an assault charge, it’s important to know what you can do to handle this. If you did not commit assault, then you should gather evidence and prove this.
Keep in mind that judges in these cases tend to side against you, but this shouldn’t discourage you. You should be as confident as possible and have the right attorney by your side. This way, you will be able to prove that it was all a misunderstanding and that your involvement was either a mistake or just not something as bad as it may have looked.
Just know that intoxication is not a good excuse, even if you wouldn’t have committed an assault unless you drank alcohol first. You need to find a good defense. For instance, you may have simply tried to stop another intoxicated individual from harming you or another person.
Final Thoughts
Aggravated battery is considered a Class 3 misdemeanor in Colorado. And the last thing you want is to be charged after what was supposed to be a pleasant night. If you’re charged but it was all a misunderstanding, you can hire a Denver criminal defense attorney to help you out.
