She was only riding a skateboard...

[Nitrogen]

Exhibit #634,234,995 on police getting out of control:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH6AYVn2yw4

While I'm not a fan of letting kids break the law (Skateboarding is apparently against a city ordinance there) performing a takedown on a kid and choking them seems to be excessive for this.

I don't want to come off as a cop basher, but come on.  There's something inherently wrong with thism wouldn't you say?

[Mabs2]

Disgusting.

[RadioFreeSeaLab]

Saw that.  Unacceptable.

[vernal45]

I agree, that cop is a common thug.  But over at another plastic Austrian pistol site, this guy is a hero and the kids deserved it.

[Bogie]

Karma knows no time limit.
 
Sooner or later, it'll come back to bite everyone who deserves it.
 

[LadySmith]

Karma knows no time limit.
 
Sooner or later, it'll come back to bite everyone who deserves it.
 

Absolute frikkin' truth.

[Dannyboy]

Karma knows no time limit.
 
Sooner or later, it'll come back to bite everyone who deserves it.

Which is exactly why I don't plan on having kids.

On topic, though, Karma would be this *expletive deleted*che tripping over his own kid's skateboard and falling down stairs.

[mtnbkr]

What they conveniently leave out is the cop telling them not to skate there a dozen times or the skaters nearly or actually running into folks, threatening them, mouthing off to passers by, etc.

Chris

[cordex]

While I'm not a fan of letting kids break the law (Skateboarding is apparently against a city ordinance there) performing a takedown on a kid and choking them seems to be excessive for this.

Anarchist!  The law is the law.  If that kid didn't want to get busted, she wouldn't have broken the law.  The officer was justified in using whatever force necessary to stop the dangerous criminal.  As Chris points out, the skaters probably even disobeyed him and been naughty or impolite in other ways.  I'd say he should have gone straight to tasing that little skaterat to protect the little old ladies whose walkers have become the target of Geriatric Grinds.  EXTREME Geriatric Grinds.

We need that officer in my town.  I've petitioned my HOA to install tiny tank traps along the sidewalks.  If that doesn't work, I'm setting up pillboxes and minefields.  My driveway is going to look like Omaha Beach, littered with shards of wood and tiny wheels.

[Sindawe]

Fine example of the behavior of the urban Sus scrofa in full charge.

[Manedwolf]

Karma knows no time limit.
Sooner or later, it'll come back to bite everyone who deserves it.

I used to not believe in that, but then I saw stuff like, near here, an incident wherein someone grabbed the Salvation Army kettle from in front of a store, ran away across the street with it, and got run over by a bus. 

[Paddy]

Ya know, it looks harsh, but we don't know what happened before the camera started rolling.  I'd bet the cop approached the kid about skateboarding on the sidewalk, and the kid spewed out some profane crap that pissed off the cop. 

[RadioFreeSeaLab]

I don't think violence is a reasonable answer to profanity, especially when you're a cop, and especially when dealing with a little girl.

[Sindawe]

I'd bet the cop approached the kid about skateboarding on the sidewalk, and the kid spewed out some profane crap that pissed off the cop.

So the next time *I* confront some skaters using the HOA property as a skate park and they get mouthy, *I* can choke 'em and put them in headlocks?

Oh, wait.  That's right. I'm not one of The King's Knights, I'm just a lowly tax-paying unit.

[Paddy]

I don't think violence is a reasonable answer to profanity, especially when you're a cop, and especially when dealing with a little girl.

Maybe not, but if you act like an outlaw, why shouldn't you be treated like one?  A cop is an officer of the law.  They wear uniforms which identify them as authority figures; they are the enforcement arm of our legal system.  The roadside or the sidewalk are not the places to challenge that authority; that's what the courts are for.

So the next time *I* confront some skaters using the HOA property as a skate park and they get mouthy, *I* can choke 'em and put them in headlocks?

Oh, wait.  That's right. I'm not one of The King's Knights, I'm just a lowly tax-paying unit.

Well, that's essentially correct; you are not the same as a cop. You're an adult, but not necessarily an authority figure; you're not wearing any uniform that identifies you; you could be just another child molester.

[Manedwolf]

I don't think violence is a reasonable answer to profanity, especially when you're a cop, and especially when dealing with a little girl.

Maybe not, but if you act like an outlaw, why shouldn't you be treated like one?  A cop is an officer of the law.  They wear uniforms which identify them as authority figures; they are the enforcement arm of our legal system.  The roadside or the sidewalk are not the places to challenge that authority; that's what the courts are for.

Once upon a time, they were officers of the peace, not officers of respect and compliance.

And define "acting like an outlaw"?

[roo_ster]

Outlawry is the same as "Disrespecting the King's Men" in the eyes of the King's men.

The cop in question is a knucklehead for several reasons (Assume the youths in question were, indeed obnoxious, profane, and disrespectful.  Not a stretch, IMO):
1. Getting physical with non-violent, non-threatening types.
I did not notice any threatening or dangerous behavior by the slackers.  I think the cop just didn't like to see his authority questioned by punk slackers.  I hope he got his satisfaction.  I also hope he gets the karma-wedgie he deserves.

2. Getting physical without somebody to watch his back (later rectified)
I kept thinking, "Why doesn't anyone use their skateboard to bash his skull in?" while he is fiddling around on the ground.  Obviously, the cop discounted the threat the other slackers posed.  If the threat of the punks was so negligible, why the need to throw down in the first place?

3. Threatening to use OC for not flopping over on command
Hmm, I wonder if this occurred in a state where using OC is considered some sort of force to be used only in reaction to another threat of force.  OC & Taser used as a means of compliance & not officer safety.  Is this their training?  As Borat would say, "Niiiice!"

4. Running off willy-nilly after another slacker while the first is cuffed and hanging out on the street.
No explication necessary.

-----

Knucklehead had the means to call in reinforcements.  It would certainly have been wiser to wait until they had arrived before going Royce Gracie on one punk while the others stand around with bludgeoning objects in hand.  Also, the presence of multiple LEOs on-site may very well have caused the punks to disperse.

Knucklehead just plain lost his cool and acted irrationally.  For the love of Pete, he ran off after another punk while leaving the first to hang out on the city street. 

IMO, nobody in that sordid scene acted like an adult.  Just a bunch of punk adolescents, one with the power of the state behind him.

[Manedwolf]

3. Threatening to use OC for not flopping over on command
Hmm, I wonder if this occurred in a state where using OC is considered some sort of force to be used only in reaction to another threat of force.  OC & Taser used as a means of compliance & not officer safety.  Is this their training?  As Borat would say, "Niiiice!"

While it seemed as if the original purpose of the taser was a nonlethal means of putting down a physically fighting suspect, it's become an electric whip to enforce verbal compliance and as a means of punishment for talking back.

[zahc]

Imagine how many would have listened to the kids try to explain about this cop, if there was no video. I'm beginning to think that the advent of micro video and audio recording devices is coming just in time for these tools to become indispensible defenses against the police state. At least as long as we retain the right to use them. In about half of these kind of videos I hear an officer order the videographer to turn over the camera. I'm sure many do.

After he left the cuffed kid on the sidewalk, could said cuffed kid have left? Imagine if he asked 'am I free to go' while the officer was two blocks away.

Street skaters are no better than graffitti artists, actually they are worse because a lot of them seem to think they have some kind of right to destroy property that isn't theirs. The sooner they recognize themselves for the vandals they are the better it will be for everyone. I used to ride bmx and we just knew better than to even go out in the daytime. We painted our bikes flat black, yanked all reflectors, taped down all clanking cables, wore dark clothing, fixed sqeaky brakes, we put the picnic table back where we found it and when we went out riding nobody knew we had been there.

What's even worse about street skaters is that harmless longboarders such as myself share the hate that they generate.

[HankB]

The kids look like they're not exactly the kind I'd like next door . . . but the loudmouthed cop came off as nothing more than a bully hiding behind the authority of his badge. All the threatened charges he mouthed appeared to indicate a willingness to fabricate evidence and offer perjured testimony.

If he treats everyone he meets like that, one day he's going to do it to the wrong party, and end up having his nose introduced to his ear. (Someone else mentioned karma . . . )

I'm kind of surprised the handcuffed kid just sat there when the cop ran off after another kid . . .

[Thor]

3. Threatening to use OC for not flopping over on command
Hmm, I wonder if this occurred in a state where using OC is considered some sort of force to be used only in reaction to another threat of force.  OC & Taser used as a means of compliance & not officer safety.  Is this their training?  As Borat would say, "Niiiice!"

While it seemed as if the original purpose of the taser was a nonlethal means of putting down a physically fighting suspect, it's become an electric whip to enforce verbal compliance and as a means of punishment for talking back.

Manedwolf, I'm kind of seeing it that way, too. Don't obey a cop or get mouthy, you get tased. The police have been granted far too much power in many instances. I'm not real sure I like what's going on with the cops.

[S. Williamson]

Police procedure has changed since I was little... 




 

[Sergeant Bob]

While it seemed as if the original purpose of the taser was a nonlethal means of putting down a physically fighting suspect, it's become an electric whip to enforce verbal compliance and as a means of punishment for talking back.

Ever played the game "Halflife 2"?

It didn't seem to me like the kids were very mouthy at all. I thought they were quite civilized considering what was going on.

[Paddy]

Once upon a time, they were officers of the peace, not officers of respect and compliance.

Outlawry is the same as "Disrespecting the King's Men" in the eyes of the King's men.

While it seemed as if the original purpose of the taser was a nonlethal means of putting down a physically fighting suspect, it's become an electric whip to enforce verbal compliance and as a means of punishment for talking back.

Manedwolf, I'm kind of seeing it that way, too. Don't obey a cop or get mouthy, you get tased. The police have been granted far too much power in many instances. I'm not real sure I like what's going on with the cops.

So y'all are saying that citizens have no obligation whatsoever to obey the lawful commands of a police officer?  What should happen then?  Should the police officer simply turn around and walk away?

[ilbob]

I am sick of skateboarders ruining it for everyone else. For some reason these thugs seem to feel they can do whatever they please regardless. My guess is that these punks had been told to stop with the skateboarding multiple times in the past and figured no one would do anything so they keep doing it. It may have just caught up with them.

Does not make the choking any more acceptable, although just having someone by the throat is not necessarily choking, and it is hard to tell just what is happening from the edited video.