Violence is only an effective tool when it is used to eliminate the root cause of a problem. If violence or threats are used to stop a symptom of the root cause, that symptom will temporarily get better, but the root cause will get worse, and in turn that will cause symptoms to become worse than before the violence or threat.

This is why hitting children seems to work, but makes for an more ill adult with much less potential then they would have had. It is also why calling the cops and even threating to call them was the wrong choice consequentially.

Do you think the balanced response is for you to show up at their house and get justice by threatening their life? That is ultimately what requesting police intervention is. This is the moral response you were threatening to bring about.

When you threatened them, and their mind began to race thinking of ways to threaten you back to get you to back down, that exercise made them a more hateful person (karma effect). You know how negative and positive energy spread...how it changes people. Love, hate and violence amplify when reciprocated and only cease through antithesis. This effect works on all people. It is why it was very difficult for you not to observe the violence they did to you and return greater. Likewise your threats to him likely encouraged him to decide to destroy even more things.

They had something to get across to you that was so unbelievably dark and hateful that this was the only way they felt they could communicate it to you. Consider if Buddhas response might have been more appropriate: A man spits in Buddhas face