# Controversial encounters between law-enforcement and civilians - the omnibus thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942 "2014-10-10T07:35:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 336
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6701 "2015-10-28T15:10:10Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > For one thing, why send only one cop? The school only _has_ one cop. Should the entire class be forced to wait for reinforcements and miss out on an entire lesson because Her Majesty refuses to follow the rules? > [@](#): > > Two could have each grasped a forearm and lifted her safely out of the desk, cuffed her, and walked her out. Until she wraps her legs around the desk and/or starts kicking them, which, in your world, would _still_ be proof that the psycho power-hungry cops were brutally manhandling this poor innocent child and she was only defending herself from their fascist aggression. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6702 "2015-10-28T15:15:15Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The school only _has_ one cop. Should the entire class be forced to wait and miss out on an entire lesson because Her Majesty refuses to follow the rules? Does the entire class need to stop and wait for this, or at some point can’t they continue anyway? I’m a known bigmouth asshole, so I’m the type who would be saying exactly that in class. “Stop holding up everyone else for her. Teach the class or give us something to read, but all of us don’t need to be waiting for her, no matter what she thinks she’s doing.” And when the Department of Justice and the FBI step in to investigate the incident, you can throw out the stupid “It’s only politicians” crap. Reasonable people do not feel this is reasonable, and are taking steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Only unreasonable people like you think it was reasonable and that this is the way it’s supposed to work. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6703 "2015-10-28T15:16:40Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > And when the Department of Justice and the FBI step in to investigate the incident, you can throw out the stupid “It’s only politicians” crap. The Department of Justice and the FBI investigated Hillary Clinton’s email server. Are you willing to call that apolitical? This is how this has been happening over and over again. Some out-of-context police action stirs up public outrage. Politicians declare that The Police Acted Inappropriately, and Something must be done, and We Will Investigate and Find Out the Truth. The investigation happens, it turns out the officer was completely justified, and the same people who keep getting outraged over nothing forget entirely about it the next time a cop gets filmed doing his job. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6704 "2015-10-28T15:17:09Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Apparently you’ve missed the updated stories. This morning, CNN’s Carol “Isn’t my whiney-style of reading the teleprompter really cute” Costello’s guests again mentioned the basic story with some additional facts. The phone asshole is 16yrs old. The phone asshole refused to stop disrupting the class and hand over her phone when the math teacher requested that she do so. The Assistant Principal was present (in the room) and was also ignored. (That phone call must have been very, very important :rolleyes: ) At that point, they requested the Deputy come to the classroom and deal with the situation. The phone asshole chose to ignored the deputy’s requests also. Your attempted mischaracterization of her actions as “disrupting the class” are at odds with the eyewitness testimony I linked to above. Your ad hominem attacks on her by continually referring to her by the dehumanizing term “phone asshole” are not swaying me to view your commentary as anything other than needlessly inflammatory and biased. Your assertion that “that phone call must have been very important” is not backed up by any evidence that there was, in fact, a phone call that she either made or received. Basically, you’re just making shit up. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6705 "2015-10-28T15:19:41Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Your attempted mischaracterization of her actions as “disrupting the class” are at odds with the eyewitness testimony I linked to above. So you’re saying she _didn’t_ have her phone out, and she _didn’t_ refuse to leave when told to? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6706 "2015-10-28T15:33:12Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Until she wraps her legs around the desk and/or starts kicking them, which, in your world, would _still_ be proof that the psycho power-hungry cops were brutally manhandling this poor innocent child and she was only defending herself from their fascist aggression. Just grasp the front of the desk and drag it and the girl out of the room. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6707 "2015-10-28T15:33:50Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The school only _has_ one cop. Should the entire class be forced to wait for reinforcements and miss out on an entire lesson because Her Majesty refuses to follow the rules? > > Until she wraps her legs around the desk and/or starts kicking them, which, in your world, would _still_ be proof that the psycho power-hungry cops were brutally manhandling this poor innocent child and she was only defending herself from their fascist aggression. Then they could use a staff member or wait for a city cop to show up. If she wraps her legs around the desk she could hardly kick them, and if her legs are free it would be easy enough to avoid any kicks she might try. In the overall scheme of things, SC has some crazy laws about student behavior. If you’re caught chewing gum in class you could get a criminal record out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6708 "2015-10-28T15:46:29Z")
They should have told her she was expelled. She can sit and be disruptive today but tomorrow, she is not allowed back in the building. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6709 "2015-10-28T15:46:34Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Just grasp the front of the desk and drag it and the girl out of the room. Problem solved. “Insane Cop Violently Drags Girl Out Of Class” > [@BobLibDem](#): > > In the overall scheme of things, SC has some crazy laws about student behavior. If you’re caught chewing gum in class you could get a criminal record out of it. Maybe if more places stopped treating teenagers like children, they wouldn’t become adults who think it’s OK to steal cigars and punch cops in the face. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6710 "2015-10-28T15:56:07Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > …What is in dispute is the level of force employed and if it was proper. Most people here do not think it was, that it escalated a situation that was at best a PITA teen bucking for 2-days in-school suspension to a major incident that could imperil the officer’s job and cause costs to the school. > > Don’t you think it could have been handled just a _little_ bit better? (post shortened) First, **BobLibDem** is not crazy. He advocates for Democrat/progressive positions. Crazy, batshit looney Democrat positions but they’re honest opinions that make sense (most of the time 😉 ). Second, I believe the situation could have been handled differently/better, as I stated earlier - “\*Since phone assholes can no longer be removed from a classroom, the other option is to remove all of the other students from the classroom. Escort the good students to another area/classroom and resume teaching. Leave the phone asshole in the old classroom with the option staying there, or leave school property.” \* Phone asshole bears some responsibility for her incredibly arrogant actions. She made her choices. No one forced her to act like an asshole. Phone asshole didn’t give a shit about her fellow students. She didn’t give a shit about the teacher’s, assistant principal’s, or safety officer’s instructions or responsibilities. Phone asshole made some bad choices. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6711 "2015-10-28T15:57:28Z")
Good bit on the front page, above the fold, in today’s LA Times: > **[Violent South Carolina classroom arrest adds to 'school-to-prison pipeline'...](https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-police-schools-20151028-story.html)** > > It happens so often in classrooms that it's almost unremarkable. > [@](#): > > I think sometimes our officers are put in uncomfortable positions when a teacher can’t control a student. We don’t need to arrest these students. We need to keep them in school. > > - Leon Lott, sheriff in Richland County, S.C. > [@](#): > > “What we find is school safety becomes conflated with school discipline — officers dealing with classroom disruptions, dress code infractions, minor discipline infractions that in the past would have been handled by teachers,” said Janel George, a senior education policy counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6712 "2015-10-28T15:58:27Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Your attempted mischaracterization of her actions as “disrupting the class” are at odds with the eyewitness testimony I linked to above. (post shortened) Hahahaha. The story is being updated hourly. The internet isn’t that hard. Please try to keep up. Or not. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6713 "2015-10-28T15:58:54Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > (post shortened) > > First, **BobLibDem** is not crazy. He advocates for Democrat/progressive positions. Crazy, batshit looney Democrat positions but they’re honest opinions that make sense (most of the time 😉 ). Thank you for that. We may agree on very little, but I do think you’ve shown some wit and humor on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6714 "2015-10-28T16:37:31Z")
Officer Tough Guy has been fired. > **[Attorney defends actions of fired school officer as 'justified and lawful' | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/28/us/south-carolina-school-arrest-videos/)** > > An attorney for the South Carolina officer fired for slamming a student to the ground and tossing her several feet says his client's actions were "justified and lawful." ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6715 "2015-10-28T16:42:24Z")
And the department settles for wrongful termination in 3… 2… 1… ---
**Author:** ![desertmonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@desertmonk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/desertmonk)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6716 "2015-10-28T16:51:39Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > And the department settles for wrongful termination in 3… 2… 1… When that does not happen will you admit you are wrong about this case? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6717 "2015-10-28T16:53:53Z")
> [@desertmonk](#): > > When that does not happen will you admit you are wrong about this case? _If_ that does not happen, I will admit that I was wrong that he would win a wrongful termination suit. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6718 "2015-10-28T16:54:21Z")
> [@desertmonk](#): > > When that does not happen will you admit you are wrong about this case? He won’t be able to answer you for a bit. He’s on a plane to SC, since Officer Slam probably could use a good sloppy blowie. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6719 "2015-10-28T17:02:01Z")
Deputy Ben Fields violated agency policy when he picked up the teenage girl and threw her across a classroom as he attempted to make an arrest, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told a news conference. “That is not a proper technique and should not be used by law enforcement,” Lott said. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6720 "2015-10-28T17:05:06Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Deputy Ben Fields violated agency policy when he picked up the teenage girl and threw her across a classroom as he attempted to make an arrest, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told a news conference. Was that policy established before or after the department (and a jury) sided with Fields for similar uses of force a decade ago? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=335) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=337)