[Stuart]

Funny how the one person I am certain has some direct experience of the law (Derek S) has stated that this may be considered a reasonable course of action. Others (whose experience of the law may or may not be limited to what they read, see and hear in the media) have said it won't.

My own personal belief (assuming it came to court in this country) is that it would be considered a reasonable response. Certainly any halfway decent barrister would point out that had they not nicked the bag and rode away at high speed, he would not have thrown the bike at them, and I'd be surprised if any jury disagreed with that assessment.

Remember people, our legal system requires that a jury (made up of people like you or I) decides whether people are guilty or innocent. Those jury members are likely to have pretty much the same feelings about a crime that we do, but they often have access to much better info on that crime.