Dude, you have issues.
The officer was an asshole, he shouldn’t be one if he can’t keep his temper around children. What do you think this kid did when they finally got away? He probably laughed at Rivieri and couldn’t wait until the next time he could make him blow his top. A vicious circle which could be stopped on the adult’s end by a cooler head.
Sure, Eric was probably taunting him, but he’s an adult and should be able to act appropriately. What if the kid hit his head on the curb when he was pushed down and had a brain injury or died, is that what he deserves for being a little bit of a punk?
Rivieri shouldn’t be an officer of the law if he’s got that much of a problem keeping his temper. Maybe he could learn to act more appropriately but it’s a big risk to give him the chance.
Og damn it. Seriously people. The point isn’t that the cop was acting like an upstanding citizen who was acting professionally and playing the role of good cop. The point is, had the kid acted differently, the situation would have proceeded differently.
kthxbye
You’re right. The cop should definitely have just said “that’s okay boys, you keep skateboarding, you little dickens!” Then, when one of these kids knocks over a little old lady and she breaks her hip we, as a society, really need to sue her for getting in a child’s way.
Levdrakon, your reading of SP2263’s post to come to this conclusion is as off as Santo Rugger’s post #63 that says blame the victim.
Are you really that dense, or are you just trying to get a reaction out of me? Do I really need to explain the fundamental legal difference between possession of skateboards and possession of illegal drugs? If so, I hope you don’t vote.
Why not? You yourself said that they were all breaking the law to an equal degree.
I’m not so sure.
Not every post in this thread is intended as a direct response to yours.
No, the point was had the cop acted differently the situation would have proceeded differently. If the cop can’t handle someone calling him “dude” without going librarian pooh on him, he shouldn’t be a cop. The cop, as the adult, should be the one handling the situation, not the kid.
Did I say that? No. How about if he said
1st offense:“You can’t skateboard here”
2nd offense:“I told you kids before you can’t skate here so I need to write you citations” Those citations need to be for fairly large fines with mandatory court appearance and the parents are notified that the kids got them.
3rd Offense " I have told you enough times about not skateboarding here, I need to confiscate your boards and your parents can call the station and talk to us about maybe getting them back" If they don’t hand over the boards the cop knows their names already so there can be some sort of consequences for this also.
4th Offense - a ride to the station, and the parents have to pick them up.
I’m thinking it’s not going to be a problem after the second offense for most kids.
No adult ever should lay their hands on a child who is not their own for anything as minor as borderline disrespect.
Is it at all possible that both parties acted improperly, or is this like Highlander?
You guys who are arguing about whether the cop has a right to confiscate the skateboard are missing the point. Assume for the sake of argument that he does.
So, with that in mind:
Option 1: “You can’t skate here. I told you before, you ignored me. I am going to take your skateboard. Put it on the ground. [kid: “I didn’t do anything”] You skated where it is not legal. Put your skateboard down.” etc.
Option 2: Walk up to the kid, say nothing, grab the board, “Give me that!”, Put kid in a chokehold, push him to the ground. “Sit down!”
Escalating the encounter to physical contact without giving the opportunity for peaceful compliance should absolutely not be tolerated in our police force. And you see him doing the same thing over and over again. He could have delivered his lecture in a stern and forceful tone from a reasonable distance, but instead he approaches the kid forcefully, threatens him with physical violence, and sticks his finger in the kids face. He’s just hoping the kid will flinch away from his obvious aggression in a way that lets him throw the kid to the ground and take him away in cuffs.
It’s fucking despicable.
SP2263 seems to feel an adult cool head would save the day. How? Did Eric just need a hug?
You, oh dense one, said:
I’m reasonably wondering what else can’t be confiscated because according to your reasoning, it isn’t being used as a weapon.
No, but since the officer was the adult, authority figure and presumably a trained peace officer, the skills attributable to all three is what should have been brought to bear.
From what I could see in the video, he used none of these sources in his decision-making in taking unnecessary umbrage, accosting a teenager, and asserting ownership of something that was not his to take ownership of under any law applicable to that situation.
The kids already admitted they think it’s amusing videotaping their run-ins with cops. This is probably 11th-ey offense.
Exactly. If someone had escalated the consequences or even fined him one time this would have been stopped. Also, a second offense doesn’t need to take place during a different incident. This Eric kid should have gotten it the minute he didn’t jump off his skateboard when his friends did. I would be happy with no warning and an automatic fine every time.
I don’t think kids should get away with anything ever, but I don’t think adults should be bullies. There is a difference between enforcing consequences and being a bully about it. The punishment in that area is a 100 dollar fine for skateboarding not getting screamed at and pushed down by a policeman.
I was really just giving examples somewhere between letting kids run the streets and resorting to physical force for breaking nonviolent laws. The debate isn’t about what the punishment should be.
Evil cop was more than willing to call mom and explain the situation to her. Innocent Eric declined. Perhaps he felt mom wouldn’t agree with his take on things?
Where did anyone in this thread say or even imply that Eric was innocent? Sure, Eric asserted he didn’t do anything wrong, but what teenager wouldn’t use incorrect and ill-formed logic at their age. The adult should have remained the adult here.
Listen the cop clearly was forced to dress in a Bee Guy suit and drive around in a clown car. Of course his temper was frayed.
The cop was an asshole. No doubt. He clearly is one of those who believes in instilling respect by fear.
Why doesn’t anyone in this thread pay attention? I responded to someone who felt if the kid had DEMANDED HIS RIGHTS AND GOT A BADGE NUMBER the cop would have backed down. No, he wouldn’t have. He was willing to call mom right then and there and he clearly stated his name.
Sometimes I think this is such a deeply ingrained concept in some people’s minds that they genuinely can’t believe that anything’s wrong with it. These folks respond with terms inadequate to the situation, like “fathering” or “discipline,” because they somehow want, or need, to perceive such behavior as appropriate.