go skateboarding day

RivaOni · Full English! Age: 41 Gender: Joined: 24 Sep 2002

Of course he understood the severity of the situation and made it much much worse, the one kid was already on the floor in cuffs, so what does his mate do? leg it thats what, at that point the cop wasn't being aggressive to anyone, aside from putting the kid in cuffs and we didn't see exactly what happened for him to have put the kid into cuffs. We only have the kids word that they were skating.

The kid who ran saw the cop was busy and took his chances, made the situation worse for everyone involved which led to the later scenes of the cop using force to restrict the girl and another guy. He had a colleague nearby also who was trying to stop the other kids getting closer so there must of been more going on than we're led to believe from one video filmed by the "culprits".

Graillik Tur · Renaissancetaku Gender: Joined: 09 Jul 2004

If you watch the video closely when he grabs the girl to keep her from running the guy with 2 skateboards assaults the cop. He physically tries to seperate the officer from the girl. That's aiding and abbeding. We've become too soft on everything. A little slapping around is not going to hurt them beyond repair.

Now I've been to jail. Misdaminore theft under $250 dollars. Cuffs, condisending talk, 15 minutes in the tank. Never, ever, did I think of stealing again. I've been harrassed and detained on the side of the street for the way I looked. I've been through the system, and when you get a little taste of it, you suddenly realize you're not above it. And now I am in the military and I attribute my respect for order and discipline to those officers who did their job. If I'm out of line, then I'm out of line. But I have to ask, what is in line if obeying the law and wanting it to be upheld is out of line?

Silver Adept · Otaku Lord Age: 41 Gender: Joined: 20 May 2003

While there may be no permanent damage, it seems to many of us that the situation could have been resolved without as much force as was applied. The kid running away, that's just stupid. But it seems throughout the video that the officer is looking for any sort of way justify his use of force. I don't find that to be an effective way of garnering respect for the police and the rule of law. While some time in jail may have worked for Graillik, there's no guarantees that this incident won't result in a bigger confrontation next time. For all I know, it's now firmly established in the kids' minds that the police will use force at the slightest provocation, real or imagined.

Admittedly, without context, we have no knowledge of whether this is an isolated incident or a pervasive problem, and whether or not the people were just skateboarding. So perhaps the policeman is justified. From what's on video, though, it looks like he's over-reacting.

RivaOni · Full English! Age: 41 Gender: Joined: 24 Sep 2002

Judging by the comments from the video on YouTube its going to cause alot of problems between the Police force and skaters, well even more problems than there already is...

Legend · Queen of Terabithia Age: 41 Gender: Joined: 14 Oct 2005

Er. I guess I'm the only person in existence who has a healthy respect for the law without having to go to jail, then? I don't need a cop headlocking me and forcing me to the ground in cuffs to be completely aware that I'm not above the laws. I've never done anything remotely illegal, and never had a desire to either.

While I agree that the law should be upheld, it should also be upheld fairly. None of those kids was threatening him in any way, so there's no reason he should've felt the need to be so aggressive with them. The fact that he did so is not going to teach them to respect the law. It will, if anything, probably make them more rebellious and jaded -against- the law, because there's no reason they should be so poorly treated when they were behaving civilly (what they were saying makes no difference, and you'd think a cop would be able to zone out any insults by the time they're on the streets anyhow. The kids were not hitting him, or trying to hurt him in any way, so I don't see how they could be seen as threatening)

Graillik Tur · Renaissancetaku Gender: Joined: 09 Jul 2004

It's not a matter of them being a threat, it's about doing what they were told to do. You don't do what you're told, you get man handled into doing what you're told. That's the end of it. You disrespect the officer by talking back to him, you get knocked around. Because people have become so unafraid of bodily harm and the ability to sue if a cop touches you, civil liberty and freedom has gone down the toilet. Skateboarding kids or gun toting drug pushers, it's all the same. Take away the power of the police to do their jobs, you crush the freedom that we as Americans hold so dearly.

RivaOni · Full English! Age: 41 Gender: Joined: 24 Sep 2002

I agree with Grailik there.

Big groups of lads hang around alleys here, theres supposed to be a disperse order or something that the Police can give out to prevent them doing it but the Police here apparently have no power at all and all the kids ignore them.

Why do they have disperal orders? because they're pretty damn threatening to walk past no matter what your age and teenage crime these days in Britain has reached ridiculous heights because they know they can get away with it,

Blackmage · Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 6:39 pm Post subject:

I agree with Grailik, I mean how are you supposed to detain and keep someone from running without force? I mean hell thats like yelling "freeze!" or something like that to someone who's running away and you have no gun or any kind of power to back it up. I mean honestly if the kids are breaking the law and get caught and try to run you stop them. He could have brought out the asp or even his gun but he didn't.

Another example that can be paralleled to skating is drifting. Cops try pull them over and stop them and they don't stop so they start a chase. Now would you consider pitting or boxing someone in excessive force? It's just the same exact shit the cop did to those kids. and it's not like he tackled them either.

Legend · Queen of Terabithia Age: 41 Gender: Joined: 14 Oct 2005

I never said they shouldn't use -any- force. But grabbing kids by the throat is too much. Grabbing them by the arm would've been just as easy, and less likely to actually injure them.

SirGunslinger · Rebel without a clue Gender: Joined: 21 Jun 2007

All the cop needed to do is grab one or two of the kids, and put them in the back of the car. After having to have their parents pick them up from the police station, I'm sure the whole group of them would reconsider blantantly violating a city ordinace (if it is true).

P.S. I just noticed Legend's weapon... I won't say the first 10 jokes that poped into my head because I'm sure they have already been said =P.