No. He could've pushed her away again, or restrained her, for example. Punching an 11yo girl in the face was the problem. Now he's facing charges.
I don't know what happened before the video started, but, if he hadn't punched her, then the girl might've been in trouble - not him. Was that his wife and kid with him? If she had a cell phone, she should've been on the phone with the police.
I've been in worse situations with teens - male teens, older and bigger than those girls - and some grownups. As a woman, though, punching is not what I think of doing. First thing I always did was call the police.
“This is 911. What is the nature of your emergency?”
“A sixth-grader just punched me.”
“And?”
“I want her arrested.”
“Sorry. All our police are tied up.”
“Dang.”
I asked, Was that his wife and kid with him?
It turns out, that woman and child weren't with him.
“He could’ve pushed her away again, or restrained her...”
If he’d restrained her, what do you suppose the rest of the “pack” would have been doing to him while he did so, and how could he have responded to them while he was restraining her?