My cousin has attacked me twice. I didn't call the cops the first time; I did refuse to speak to him for a year. The second time, he was very drunk, and had been up for 3 days. I managed to put him in a choke-hold. He went limp, and I let go quickly, trying to help him. He was faking, and proceeded to beat the shit out of me. I had just spent 4 months in a wheelchair too, and had been learning how to walk again. This incident set me back greatly.

Not everyone who tries to choke someone is truly trying to harm them.

I haven't seen this cousin for a couple of years now. Probably because he knows that if he ever touches me again, he's out of my life forever.

Why not sooner? Lots of family deaths, and we had been extremely close for most of our lives prior. He can't control himself, so has stayed away, not trusting himself to not sever what's quite possibly the only remaining friendship he has.

I would not have given this same 3-strikes policy to anyone I was in a romantic relationship with, btw.