# NC: Cops pepper spray black foster son of white family **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 8, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795 "2014-10-08T20:17:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/41 "2014-10-08T21:29:03Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Perhaps the police were trying to contact the home owners. Or contact the neighbor. Or ask the kid for ID. Or look for other photos. And in the course of the investigation, the foster kid became belligerent and uncooperative. I think we should wait for actual facts to come out before grabbing the pitchforks and torches. > > So, the police are investigating, and a kid become belligerent. What do you think the police should do? Apologize to the kid and leave? Say “Oh, sorry. It’s too weird that you would keep up this charade and now you’re angry, so clearly this is your house, we’ll just go ahead and leave. Sorry to bother you?” Or just wait outside while they get confirmation. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/42 "2014-10-08T21:29:42Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’m sorry. You were about to accomplish something really productive in this thread, I can tell. I hope I didn’t stop your crusade for whatever it is. I know waiting for actual information and basing opinions on actual facts are anathema to you, so I’ll just let you carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/43 "2014-10-08T21:32:55Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Or just wait outside while they get confirmation. And leave him alone in the house that they’re not sure of is his? What could possibly go wrong with that? Maybe they tried to get him to go outside with them. Maybe they asked him repeatedly to produce ID with that address. Maybe they asked him to please stop yelling at them while they investigated. Maybe they called him racist names and laughed as the peppersprayed him. The fact is, and I’ve said this before, we don’t fucking know. What we do know is that there is enough knee jerking in this thread to kick … a lot of stuff that gets kicked… Sorry, I lost it there at the end. This is just getting silly. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/44 "2014-10-08T21:40:16Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Well, ok. Do you have any evidence? The only thing I’ve seen so far is what’s in the OP, and it’s pretty evidence free. That’s what we have so far. That and - I hope - skepticism at the suggestion that a lone teenager is going to start a fight with three armed cops. Based on some other cases that have been in the news lately (and by that I mean almost all of them), people are very quick to assume that a black person will just attack a stranger at random, including a cop who was shooting at him. So when we see actual evidence that the police were having a serious problem or were in danger, I’ll consider that. Until then, it’s worth rebutting an invented presumption before it takes hold. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/45 "2014-10-08T21:47:50Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Or just wait outside while they get confirmation. Yes, while the burglar runs out the back with thousands in jewelry. Good job Mr. Shittiest Cop in the World. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/46 "2014-10-08T21:47:54Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I guess none of these cops ever saw _The Blind Side_. Oh that movie about the Ole’ Miss booster that found a talented football player to recruit for their alma mater by making him a foster kid. Becoming more common across the SEC these days. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/47 "2014-10-08T22:17:36Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Yes, while the burglar runs out the back with thousands in jewelry. Good job Mr. Shittiest Cop in the World. Who told them not to watch the back door? ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/48 "2014-10-08T22:22:37Z")
- Neighbours call and say there is an intruder in the house next door. - Cops call over and find the kid that neighbours say they have never seen before. - Kid says he lives there At this point I’m with the cops, it would be foolish of them to immediately take the kid at his word, as criminals tend not to be the most honest of folks. Everything after this is unknown. Cops ask for proof, dumb teenager tells them to get fucked and subsequently finds this was not a good idea. Or cops don’t bother asking for proof and just pepper spray the black kid. Gotta tell you, I’m leaning towards the kid being upset and reacting really badly to the cops enquiries, which leads to escalation and eventual pepper spray. Unless you have a chip on your shoulder about cops it seems the most likely scenario, so I don’t get the hate from certain mods towards those pointing out that perhaps the levels of RO are unwarranted at this stage. ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/49 "2014-10-08T22:22:49Z")
If the foster kid responded “What’chu talkin’ about, Willis?” when confronted by the cops, I’ll fully support his pepper spraying. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/50 "2014-10-08T22:24:20Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Gotta tell you, I’m leaning towards the kid being upset and reacting really badly to the cops enquiries, which leads to escalation and eventual pepper spray. “Leads to.” As an inevitable process, like the sun rising and setting. Nothing anybody can do about it. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/51 "2014-10-08T22:28:34Z")
> [@XT](#): > > We don’t know, since there doesn’t seem to be much detail about this. We don’t know, because who knows, maybe despite hundreds of years of black kids getting attacked by police in North Carolina, from slavery through Jim Crow through the drug war through this incident, maybe **this time** the black kid was really at fault, even though the police broke into his own house and confronted him for no reason other than that he was a black kid in a white neighborhood. No, we don’t know. Except we do, because we know the history of racism in the South. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/52 "2014-10-08T22:30:00Z")
[Maybe he was smoking and they had to pepper spray him out to save him from lung cancer.](http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/10/cop-knocks-out-teen-for-smoking-cigarette-video.html) Did you ever think of that, smart guy? ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/53 "2014-10-08T22:30:49Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > “Leads to.” As an inevitable process, like the sun rising and setting. Nothing anybody can do about it. Yeah, careful with that chip there. Yet again, nobody here knows what happened in that house. Saying that the road to pepper spray could easily have been started by a belligerent teenager getting aggressive is not exactly an outlandish statement. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/54 "2014-10-08T22:31:47Z")
We should take notice that, in the linked story, the cops _did not say that the kid attacked them or resisted in any way_. If he did, don’t you think the cops would have mentioned it? All they say is that he was ‘belligerent and threatening’. Angry words shouldn’t be enough cause for a kid to get pepper sprayed in his own home. We should expect a less violent response from the police in a situation like this, when the kid is not violent at all. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/55 "2014-10-08T22:33:10Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > [Maybe he was smoking and they had to pepper spray him out to save him from lung cancer.](http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/10/cop-knocks-out-teen-for-smoking-cigarette-video.html) Did you ever think of that, smart guy? Now I get it, some of you just want to bitch about your cops regardless of what may or may not have happened. Go for it then. Might want to change the thread title though. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/56 "2014-10-08T22:33:19Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Yet again, nobody here knows what happened in that house. We know three cops pepper sprayed an 18-year-old who lives there. > [@](#): > > Saying that the road to pepper spray could easily have been started by a belligerent teenager getting aggressive is not exactly an outlandish statement. Yes, it’s just unsupported and not particularly logical. It could even be true in spite of that because people don’t always behave logically, but actual evidence is required. > [@bucketybuck](#): > > Now I get it First time for everything. > [@](#): > > some of you just want to bitch about your cops regardless of what may or may not have happened. Nope. Well, maybe someday you’ll get one. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/57 "2014-10-08T22:36:31Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > We know three cops pepper sprayed an 18-year-old who lives there. Fuck cops, yeah, fuck the police! Did I get that one right? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/58 "2014-10-08T22:36:34Z")
Here’s another easy one: if the teenager was belligerent and aggressive, why wasn’t he charged with a crime? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/59 "2014-10-08T22:36:56Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Fuck cops, yeah, fuck the police! > > Did I get that one right? No, **Shodan** , you didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795/60 "2014-10-08T22:37:37Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Here’s another easy one: if the teenager was belligerent and aggressive, why wasn’t he charged with a crime? Because he was a saintly child violated by the pigs! Fucking cops. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-cops-pepper-spray-black-foster-son-of-white-family/700795.md?page=4)