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Cop Pulls Gun On Kids Building Tree Fort

There is a very simple way to stop this abuse of power by any public servant: remove sovereign immunity. Once that is done I promise you everyone from overzealous prosecutors, corrupt judges and brutal cops will start to behave.

Sovereign immunity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Hard to say, seems we are only getting one side of the story.
Was the gun "drawn and aimed" or just at his side in his hand?
 
CRUE CAB said:
Hard to say, seems we are only getting one side of the story.
Was the gun "drawn and aimed" or just at his side in his hand?
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The area police department is doing an investigation. Watch the video, they interview the victims and their parents to get their side of the story.

But that begs the question, even if it were at his side...can even that be justified when dealing with fifth graders??
 
PoS said:
There is a very simple way to stop this abuse of power by any public servant: remove sovereign immunity. Once that is done I promise you everyone from overzealous prosecutors, corrupt judges and brutal cops will start to behave.

Sovereign immunity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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no need to-under 42 US sec 1983, the cop can be sued in his INDIVIDUAL capacity for a constitutional tort of violating the child's rights under color of state law and the employing agency can also be sued for its "servant's" actions
 
First of all, we need to hear the other side and also more information on what the kids were using to cut the limbs off.

If one of them had a machete or something similar, the officer would need to proceed with caution, even if it is children. But by their account, they fully cooperated and seemed very scared and intimidated and since they were doing nothing wrong the officer should have handled that in a much better way.
 
TeleKat said:
The area police department is doing an investigation. Watch the video, they interview the victims and their parents to get their side of the story.

But that begs the question, even if it were at his side...can even that be justified when dealing with fifth graders??
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Yea I know, fifth graders have never done anything wrong.
YOU were not there. You don't know if the kid wouldn't listen, wouldn't drop a tool like a saw or shovel. YOU don't know. And if you want to know, join the force.
 
TeleKat said:
Absolutely disgusting. There is no valid justification for pulling a gun on an 11 year old building a tree fort.

Cop Pulls Gun On Kids Building A Tree Fort (VIDEO) | The Libertarian Republic

11-year-old building tree fort says officer pulled gun on him,... | www.wsbtv.com
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Not enough information about this incident to call it. Here's a photo of the kid . . . could be the cop thought the kids were older:

images


He was responding to a vandalism complaint. Maybe that's where his head was. Did he point it at them and threaten them with it? I've had an officer unholster his weapon on me. Drew his gun and held it down at his side until he understood what was happening. I didn't think much about it. 'Course to a kid, I'd imagine it'd be scary, exciting and a good story to tell.

I'd also remind people that young kids have guns in some neighborhoods.

Long and short of it is that, without video evidence to see exactly what happened, it's hard to crucify the cop.
 
CRUE CAB said:
Yea I know, fifth graders have never done anything wrong.
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Of course they have, but are fifth graders notorious for being dangerous and armed criminals that require having a gun pulled on them and have profanity used against them?

YOU were not there. You don't know if the kid wouldn't listen, wouldn't drop a tool like a saw or shovel.
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That's why there is an investigation pending.

And if you want to know, join the force.
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Why should I have to join the police to learn the truth?
 
TeleKat said:
Of course they have, but are fifth graders notorious for being dangerous and armed criminals that require having a gun pulled on them and have profanity used against them?



That's why there is an investigation pending.



Why should I have to join the police to learn the truth?
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Before you draw conclusions, which I can tell you already have. You should do the job. But I digress, I am sure the kid is a perfect angel. Was totally respectful and all his actions were appropriate.
 
MaggieD said:
Long and short of it is that, without video evidence to see exactly what happened, it's hard to crucify the cop.
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Agreed, I still think this is worthy of an investigation though. If these cops legitimately pulled a gun on an innocent child, there has to be some sort of repercussion.
 
CRUE CAB said:
Before you draw conclusions, which I can tell you already have. You should do the job. But I digress, I am sure the kid is a perfect angel. Was totally respectful and all his actions were appropriate.
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Yes, I'm sure the cop was perfectly justified in pulling a gun on and cursing at 11 year old children. Cops have never used unnecessary force against the innocent before. :roll:

I'm prepared to believe them, though obviously an investigation is necessary before legal action is taken.
 
CRUE CAB said:
Before you draw conclusions, which I can tell you already have. You should do the job. But I digress, I am sure the kid is a perfect angel. Was totally respectful and all his actions were appropriate.
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Might have been. Even if the cop approached with caution he saw a kid when he got there. Once there he choose to keep his gun out, yell and use profanity. That is not appropriate. The cop should be disciplined.
 
TeleKat said:
Agreed, I still think this is worthy of an investigation though. If these cops legitimately pulled a gun on an innocent child, there has to be some sort of repercussion.
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You tell me what kind of investigation should be done. It ought to take 30 minutes tops. Testimony from officer involved. Testimony from the kids. Testimony from any witnesses. I'd guess there were none. You can't destroy an officer's career simply on the testimony of a couple of (possibly) overly-dramatic kids.

"I unholstered my weapon and held it at my side until I knew what was going on." Sans any other independent witnesses or perhaps previously inappropriate conduct by the officer, if we don't take the word of the copper, we might as well close down the force.
 
Kreton said:
Might have been. Even if the cop approached with caution he saw a kid when he got there. Once there he choose to keep his gun out, yell and use profanity. That is not appropriate. The cop should be disciplined.
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He had no way of knowing the age of the kids. See that picture I posted? How old is that kid? As for using profanity, sometimes that's what cops do to get attention and compliance. "Get down out of that God-damned tree!!! Now!!!"

We have an obligation to give police officers the benefit of the doubt, in my opinion.
 
MaggieD said:
He had no way of knowing the age of the kids. See that picture I posted? How old is that kid? As for using profanity, sometimes that's what cops do to get attention and compliance. "Get down out of that God-damned tree!!! Now!!!"

We have an obligation to give police officers the benefit of the doubt, in my opinion.
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On the risk of sounding like a racist, yea I am sure I will get called that. Look at the names.
 
MaggieD said:
He had no way of knowing the age of the kids. See that picture I posted? How old is that kid? As for using profanity, sometimes that's what cops do to get attention and compliance. "Get down out of that God-damned tree!!! Now!!!"

We have an obligation to give police officers the benefit of the doubt, in my opinion.
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I can understand approaching a situation with caution. However I cannot accept keeping a gun on children, or cussing at them. There is no reason a cop cannot be professional. Especially in what was obviously clear to be a non hostile situation. Seems to me once the cop arrived and saw it was kids building a fort he could keep his gun out, cuss and make kids lay on the ground, or he could talk to the kids in a professional manner until something happened that changed the situation. There is no reason to treat a 12 year old kid like a criminal in a situation like this.
 
MaggieD said:
You tell me what kind of investigation should be done. It ought to take 30 minutes tops. Testimony from officer involved. Testimony from the kids. Testimony from any witnesses. I'd guess there were none. You can't destroy an officer's career simply on the testimony of a couple of (possibly) overly-dramatic kids.

"I unholstered my weapon and held it at my side until I knew what was going on." Sans any other independent witnesses or perhaps previously inappropriate conduct by the officer, if we don't take the word of the copper, we might as well close down the force.
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No way would they want an officers career destroyed. Oh, wait. Pretty much everyone that even gets a speeding ticket does.
 
Kreton said:
I can understand approaching a situation with caution. However I cannot accept keeping a gun on children, or cussing at them. There is no reason a cop cannot be professional. Especially in what was obviously clear to be a non hostile situation. Seems to me once the cop arrived and saw it was kids building a fort he could keep his gun out, cuss and make kids lay on the ground, or he could talk to the kids in a professional manner until something happened that changed the situation. There is no reason to treat a 12 year old kid like a criminal in a situation like this.
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Yea, and the little angel and his mother would never stretch the truth or over dramatize the situation in the wake of all the cop vs race baiter issues going on today.
 
CRUE CAB said:
Yea, and the little angel and his mother would never stretch the truth or over dramatize the situation in the wake of all the cop vs race baiter issues going on today.
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This is not a race issue. Well, hopefully not. Seems to be an asshole cop. Its not ok to have a gun out, cuss at, or make 12 year old kids lay on the ground simply because they were building a tree house.
 
CRUE CAB said:
Yea, and the little angel and his mother would never stretch the truth or over dramatize the situation in the wake of all the cop vs race baiter issues going on today.
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What his mother says is completely and totally immaterial. She wasn't there. (I agree with you in this thread...just pointing that out.)
 
CRUE CAB said:
No way would they want an officers career destroyed. Oh, wait. Pretty much everyone that even gets a speeding ticket does.
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Yeah because 11 year olds are licensed drivers that probably get those all the time.
 
Kreton said:
This is not a race issue. Well, hopefully not. Seems to be an asshole cop. Its not ok to have a gun out, cuss at, or make 12 year old kids lay on the ground simply because they were building a tree house.
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Seems you just have an issue with cops. YOU were not there, but YOU are ready to draw conclusions. Done.
 
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