Flight is generally the safest option when threatened and so it is in an aircraft. The last thing you want is a hysterical person yanking open the pilots door and grabbing the collective or beating hell out of the pilot. The pilot should have realised what was going to happen more quickly and taken off regardless of any pre take-off checks. A shout of "hang on tight" to the pax would have been enough, then up and away, if only to a high hover.
What planet are you on? So most of you seem to agree that the pilot did the right thing on this occasion by continuing take off whilst being threatened by some loudmouth halfwit, but had the outcome been different and he had crashed and killed all on board that would still be ok because the nasty man was shouting at him?
I think he was lucky this time. The pilot was being harassed by one fat moron waving his arms about throwing bags of rubbish, not a dozen armed men! Solution - close throttle, fuel off, rotor brake on, jump out, put fat mans lights out, jump in and continue with flight...
Perfectly legitimate self defence.