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TIFU: I Made a Joke at Someone Getting Actively Mugged

A few months ago I was sitting on my local port, enjoying the last of the good weather with my fiance and daughter before the rain and wind beat the hell out of the coast. We were partaking in our favorite free pass time of people watching as there is a trail lining the coast that is frequented by tourists. Nothing abnormal was happening that day as we burned cigarettes and enjoyed the shaded bench; just some local teenagers bumping hip-hop from 2006 in the drainage ditch near a bridge on the trail, and the usual mix of dogs and strollers passing.

Then a man in a t-shirt, shorts, and sunglasses goes jogging by, a backpack slung over his shoulder but none too haphazardly. It looked like there was just some dude on a jog which wasn't uncommon for the time of year. He fit the scene. A few moments later a woman in jogging leggings and a hoodie passes by, in what would appear to be almost a playful(?) pursuit. She seemed to be jogging in slow motion rather than in an all out sprint. I called out a joke that she should really catch up to that other guy because he seems to have stolen her backpack. She did a double-take and looked at me with a quizzical glance and then continued on. I made the comment to my fiancé that I thought it looked like her boyfriend had taken her stuff and they were playing.

No later than 10 minutes into us resuming our bull session, we hear a cop flashing his siren in a way to indicate that he needed people to get out of the way. We look down the trail and up the bridge that connected the trail to the wharf and see a squad car had pulled up and had two officers out and unscrewing the metal divider pole that prevents threw car traffic but allows pedestrians. We got up from our bench and slowly walked in the direction of the officers, listening to them chat to other people in the vicinity. Apparently a woman had her backpack stolen on the wharf and the suspect in question fit the description of the man who I had scene initially.

My heart sank. I was that dick who couldn't keep their peanut gallery, ADHD having yap hole shut and the joke I made was the actual reality. I approached the officers and explained where I had seen them last and provided a description of both people who were jogging and then left the area. I have no idea what happened with her stuff or the guy who stole it. The embarrassment and shame of me shouting at someone who could have potentially been losing their life has kept me from blurting like that so far since.

TL;DR: I made a joke at what I thought was a pair of joggers. It turned out one of the joggers was a thief and the other was a victim being actively mugged.

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