Again with the police brutality this time with a little girl

[noremorse1]

Anyone ever seen the video of the skater kid getting in the cops face and then one of his friends comes up behind the officer and whacks the back of his head with his skateboard?

I gotta say, if I were a cop rolling up on a bunch of punk teenagers who might be up to no good... I'd probably assert force too.

But that's just me...

I was thinking that too, Thirsty. This cop had kids with boards swirling around him. It's one thing to be able to see the whole picture (or at least the whole picture after someone has been cuffed) in the cold light of day. But in the heat of the moment, I am sure the officer was concerned he might get attacked and reacted.

I never thought about that. I did not watch it thinking the cop may have felt threatened by those kids. It makes sense given the kids intentional presence on a day dedicated to skateboarding where the law tells you not to. However, this is a risk associated with his job. Just like with my job. It would be much easier to throw a flash bang into every house before I kick in the door to clear a room. It would be even easier to use some C4 to blow the door. However, we cannot do this (in most situations). We take risks associated with our jobs and escalate force as our SOP lets us.

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

I think it's funny how people think of skateboarding as breaking the law. I'm sorry this just hit a little close to home. I used to skate, in my much younger days, and remember getting harassed quite a few times. It never ended in violence probably since I just moved along but skateboarding is not a crime. I guess trespassing is and that's what I heard a lot even if there was no one around to bother or call complaining. All it took was a cop to decide you don't belong there.

Riding a bike isn't a crime either. But you can't ride on on the sidewalk where I live. Driving a horse drawn carriage isn't a crime, but you can't do it on Main Street before 6 pm here. Riding a motorcycle isn't a crime, but you can't park it on the sidewalk. driving a car isn't a crime, but there are some streets where you can only go one way, and going the other way will get you a aticket. These laws are on the books for safety reasons, and to protect the city from civil liability in case of injury.

The main problem with this video is that we don't know what happened before. Maybe the kid called the cop a douche. Maybe this was the third time he spotted the kids skating where it was illegal and he had already warned them twice.

[Thirsty Mallard]

Sadly, the law is just another case of government scapegoating, but who cares? If it's popular and gets them votes then that is what they should do right? Who cares if they are wrongly misleading the public by creating a scapegoat, it gets them votes, doesn't it?

Isn't the government supposed to be working FOR THE PEOPLE. If the majority of people think that an ordinance is needed, are legislators using "authoritarian" power by enacting one. I'm sorry that skateboarding kids are in the minority, but they are. If I open a brewpub, I don't want any skaters making my storefront their personal skatepark.

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

Sadly, the law is just another case of government scapegoating, but who cares? If it's popular and gets them votes then that is what they should do right? Who cares if they are wrongly misleading the public by creating a scapegoat, it gets them votes, doesn't it?

Isn't the government supposed to be working FOR THE PEOPLE. If the majority of people think that an ordinance is needed, are legislators using "authoritarian" power by enacting one. I'm sorry that skateboarding kids are in the minority, but they are. If I open a brewpub, I don't want any skaters making my storefront their personal skatepark.

And it's not always the majority, Thirsty. It's often a matter of who screams the loudest and most often. If the majority of people don't mind skating but keep quiet, the minority wins.

[Thirsty Mallard]

Touche.

I am a government purist. I believe in the government, on paper. In practice, it is a different animal. I retract my argument...

My opinons may be bias, also. I had a few altercations with skaters back in my younger days and I have grown to despise them.

[BrewBum]

Look, I understand the skateboard ordinances and they are fine, as long as the city provides locations for them to go in return. Here is where the problem comes in, for example, in Nebraska they had to close the skateparks on public land because some bitch tripped and broke her ankle in a hole in city park some where and the supreme court found the city liable for not filling the hole. This overturned a liability law in the state and sent muni's scrambling to fix every minor thing and enact ordinances and close skateparks. SO, unfortunately Miester that argument doesn't hold up because, if you hadn't noticed, you aren't responsible for your own actions anymore, it is always someone else's fault.

Look, I get the potential threat and I understand the cops position, I am speaking purely Utopian here, it would be nice if the cops showed as much respect for us as they demand from us. I think things would work soooo much better. Like I said, Utopian, but I can dream.

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

Touche.

I am a government purist. I believe in the government, on paper. In practice, it is a different animal. I retract my argument...

My opinons may be bias, also. I had a few altercations with skaters back in my younger days and I have grown to despise them.

No need to retract your argument, it's perfectly valid. It often works the way you describe. Sometimes business owners may motivate these ordinances and most of the time they are not in the majority. Locally, we have a noise ordinance which I think borders on the ridiculous because of one or two vocal complainers.

[dresselbrew]

Look, I understand the skateboard ordinances and they are fine, as long as the city provides locations for them to go in return. Here is where the problem comes in, for example, in Nebraska they had to close the skateparks on public land because some bitch tripped and broke her ankle in a hole in city park some where and the supreme court found the city liable for not filling the hole. This overturned a liability law in the state and sent muni's scrambling to fix every minor thing and enact ordinances and close skateparks. SO, unfortunately Miester that argument doesn't hold up because, if you hadn't noticed, you aren't responsible for your own actions anymore, it is always someone else's fault.

Look, I get the potential threat and I understand the cops position, I am speaking purely Utopian here, it would be nice if the cops showed as much respect for us as they demand from us. I think things would work soooo much better. Like I said, Utopian, but I can dream.

Well said. Respect is a two way street. And it sucks people don't take responsibility for their own actions. I've always had a problem with people being so quick to sue someone over nothing, or just a quick buck I suppose.