# Teacher pepper-sprayed while talking on the phone **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 30, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330 "2015-01-30T14:45:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/81 "2015-01-31T04:50:04Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Horse crap. The police bicycles clearly indicate the area the police are trying to shield – they’ve made a barrier of them. She sprays him from behind as he’s walking away. The fact that he’s not walking away at a 90 degree angle from the barricade is meaningless semantics. It’s clear on the video she is in the wrong. > > And it’s clear from the video that you are not objective about what you’re seeing. That’s got to damage your credibility on this issue. Seriously, you might want to rethink your approach. Do you have a lot of time to kill? If so, convincing **Smapti** that police brutality EVEN EXISTS will take ALL the TIME. All that time. Every damn century. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/82 "2015-01-31T05:22:39Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Or, maybe, people could pay attention to their surroundings. I find it very hilarious that you seem to honestly forgive a ridiculous police fuck up because it lined up with your pet peeve punishment phantasy. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/83 "2015-01-31T05:33:55Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > See the above video. That’s an anarchist mob? And even if it is, that’s 2 anarchist incidents in 16 years. Yep, Seattle is obviously an anarchist hellhole. :dubious: Aren’t you a peace officer? I am not being snarky but just going off of memory. As an officer, could you actually explain how you view the clip? It’s a 15 second clip, and even giving the officer the benefit of the doubt, it’s challenging to understand how this is justified? Please enlighten. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/84 "2015-01-31T05:36:53Z")
I think a personal apology is in order. Privately between the teacher and cop. Then a public apology from a police spokesman. There should be a settlement too. Certainly not $500,000. Maybe 10k. Its pepper spray, not lead bullets. I would like to know what occurred a minute or two before the incident. Something happened to get that cop so excited. But obviously this gentlemen shouldn’t have been sprayed. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/85 "2015-01-31T05:44:38Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > That’s got to damage your credibility on this issue. Damage his what? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/86 "2015-01-31T05:52:21Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > So arrest the guy who knocked him off the bike. The video said they were not cops but security people. This needs more explanation. Protestors only have the right to peaceable assembly. Knocking cops, or security people, or any people off of their bikes is not peaceable. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/87 "2015-01-31T06:40:04Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Horse crap. The police bicycles clearly indicate the area the police are trying to shield – they’ve made a barrier of them. She sprays him from behind as he’s walking away. The fact that he’s not walking away at a 90 degree angle from the barricade is meaningless semantics. It’s clear on the video she is in the wrong. It also seems clear that while there are some people engaging the police, there are other people–like the man we’re talking about here–who were just trying to walk down the street, and get past the protest. The cops hadn’t blocked off the street entirely (at that point), so people probably understood that it was okay to just go around them. Apparently that’s all the guy (with some others) was doing. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/88 "2015-01-31T07:00:14Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > That’s an anarchist mob? > > And even if it is, that’s 2 anarchist incidents in 16 years. Yep, Seattle is obviously an anarchist hellhole. :dubious: > > Aren’t you a peace officer? I am not being snarky but just going off of memory. As an officer, could you actually explain how you view the clip? It’s a 15 second clip, and even giving the officer the benefit of the doubt, it’s challenging to understand how this is justified? Please enlighten. He’s no cop, AFAIK. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2015, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/89 "2015-01-31T07:17:39Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Aren’t you a peace officer? I am not being snarky but just going off of memory. As an officer, could you actually explain how you view the clip? It’s a 15 second clip, and even giving the officer the benefit of the doubt, it’s challenging to understand how this is justified? Please enlighten. I am not. And the 15-second clip clearly shows an officer issuing a lawful order, and an idiot who’s too obsessed with his cell phone to pay attention to the potential riot occurring around him. He didn’t do anything legally wrong, but he needed some common sense pepper-sprayed into him all the same. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/90 "2015-01-31T12:04:48Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > He didn’t do anything legally wrong, but he needed some common sense pepper-sprayed into him all the same. You have got to be fucking kidding me. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/91 "2015-01-31T12:38:19Z")
That was one of the most unintentionally funny videos I’ve seen in a long time. It’s so out of line and over the top that it almost can’t possibly be real. Obviously it’s not funny at all that this cop was actually spraying pepper spray in a wanton fashion into people’s faces, but it’s so ridiculously horrible that it’s hard to believe it’s real. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/92 "2015-01-31T13:52:40Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ6s-U1dKuk) is another video taken from an office building overlooking the incident. According to the [Seattle Times](http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2025568876_peppersprayedxml.html), someone from a splinter group knocked an officer off his bike. (I think he’s the body lying in the street or sidewalk.) That’s why the police set up the police barricade and the one officer freaked out and starting to spray into the crowd. I noticed in the video in the OP that she sprays twice more after hitting the guy; one time her spray was just into an empty part of the street. The Seattle Times article says that pepper spray was used six times. I particularly like the one guy that is trying to limp away, blinded by pepper spray holding his right arm out away from officers. Looks like he’s just trying to not bump into anything. The officers then go grab him and drag him back and take him down. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/93 "2015-01-31T13:56:06Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > And even if it is, that’s 2 anarchist incidents in 16 years. Yep, Seattle is obviously an anarchist hellhole. :dubious: And to be honest, the WTO doesn’t really count. That is a travelling gong show that pulls a bunch of anarchists in its wake. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/94 "2015-01-31T14:13:58Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I particularly like the one guy that is trying to limp away, blinded by pepper spray holding his right arm out away from officers. Looks like he’s just trying to not bump into anything. The officers then go grab him and drag him back and take him down. Obviously he was so clueless that he needed to be pepper-sprayed some more. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/95 "2015-01-31T14:21:36Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I particularly like the one guy that is trying to limp away, blinded by pepper spray holding his right arm out away from officers. Looks like he’s just trying to not bump into anything. The officers then go grab him and drag him back and take him down. That seemed to me to be particularly mean of the police. I don’t think the guy could see at that point. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/96 "2015-01-31T15:21:24Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ6s-U1dKuk) is another video taken from an office building overlooking the incident. Does that video show the incident involving the woman police officer? I can’t find it. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/97 "2015-01-31T15:39:17Z")
She’s way, way too casual with the spray. Disturbing attitude towards the use of such tools by a police officer. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/98 "2015-01-31T15:47:19Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > She’s way, way too casual with the spray. Disturbing attitude towards the use of such tools by a police officer. She does indeed resemble my first Wife spraying at wasps. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/99 "2015-01-31T16:07:33Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Protestors only have the right to peaceable assembly. Knocking cops, or security people, or any people off of their bikes is not peaceable. Aaaaaand that was my point. The man on the phone and the people around him were peacefully walking away. You arrest the person assaulting the cop in place of assaulting the people who had nothing to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/100 "2015-01-31T16:10:10Z")
The officer clearly heard a woman screaming and threatening, so she aimed as best she could and let loose, but unfortunately missed herself. The voices in her head require further training in how to use pepper spray to subdue herself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330.md?page=6)