"You were too rough on that thief"

[snopes]

Comment: Is this one true?

In the late 80s in downtown Johannesburg, a certain fellow was minding his
own business just walking along when he observed a thief roughly snatch a
bag from a middle-aged woman and set off at pace.
Well, the man who had seen this chased after the thief and caught him
within two blocks. During the reacquisition of the woman's handbag, the
thief was pushed around a bit and also caught some meaty slaps around the
face too.

Anyway, the woman soon caught up to the two men. The fellow had the thief
by the shirt in one hand, and was holding the woman's handbag in the
other. He offered the woman the handbag back and berated the thief loudly.
Well...the woman complained about the rough handling of the thief!!!! She
accused the rescuer of her handbag of being heavy-handed and was very
upset with him that he had shoved the thief around and hit him like that.

The fellow listened intently, considered the situation, and then nodded
and smiled. "You're right," he said to the woman.

And he handed the handbag back to the thief and told him "Run, boy!"

True story, one of my favourites.