Has this world gone mad or is it the rainy weather to blame? If someone can tell me the difference between an assault and a battery and  which should be used to describe the event below, I would really appreciate it.

Yesterday at 5:25 PM I was travelling on 5^th street towards the freeway. I turn left on Minna street, which connects 5^th and  4^th streets behind the Mission Street Garage (www.fifthandmission.com). Minna is a one way street and I was travelling in the left lane. About half way right a front of me, a black Mercedes Benz SUV exited from the garage. To avoid the collision I used my horn to warn the Mercedes and moved to the right lane.

What happened next has very little explanation. As I continue travel on Minna, I see that the driver of the Mercedes, which is still technically inside the garage, opens the door and begins to chase me. I slow down because I have no idea what will happen next. The guy reaches for the driver side door handle and tries to open the door. I stop. He starts to yell and reaches his hands through the partially open window. When I try to close the window, the man simply spits in my face.

I see a security guard approaching and the man starts running back to his Mercedes. I open the door and walk towards the security guard asking to call the police. The security guard is confused because he has no idea what just happened. What happens next is scary.  The man notices that speak to the security guard, turns around, grabs a black object from the car and runs towards me. He raises his right arm as he wants to hit me. The metal object might have been a gun or a small metal pipe. As the man runs towards me he repeatedly threatens me. Realizing the potential consequences of his violent behavior, I run towards my car to call the police.  

November 20, 2011 17:38

I make the 911 call and explain the dispatcher that I have been assaulted. The dispatcher was nice, she tried to calm me down, asking if I was physically hurt and in need of a medical unit. She asked me if I got the license plate number of the car and, if the car is still visible, I should not pursue the car. She offered that I have two options: 1) wait for the police officer to come to my location or 2) drive to the police station myself.

November 20, 2011 17:55 Ingleside  Police Station

I came to the window and asked to speak to the officer. The officer at the front desk asked me what happened and why I need to speak to the officer. I explained to her what happened. She asked few standard questions. When I told her the location of the incident there was a sense of relief – “It is not our district”, she said. “Southwestern will handle this”. She asked me to write down what happened and issued me the case number. She said the case will be transferred to the San Francisco police department  Southern district in the morning and I can call the Southern office in the morning to speak to the investigator assigned to the case. There were no attempts to look up the driver using the license plate number. I was simply told to wait until the case gets to the Southern office.

I have witnesses and I have the license plate number of the Mercedes. I am trying to understand whether the above is an assault or a battery or neither. The officer at the Ingleside police department made me feel like this was not a big deal at all. She did not explicitly said that, but that is the feeling I got.

 November 21, 2011 10:45

Called Southern office. Friendly dispatcher asked for my name and why I am calling. I gave a brief explanation of why I am calling and tried to give the case number. The dispatcher explained that considering the fact that the incident happened yesterday evening and was filed at the Ingleside station, the report will not be transferred until after Wednesday, which is at 48 hours from the time the incident took place.