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Cop Pulls Gun On Kids Building Tree Fort

Hatuey said:
... So what you're saying is that 11 year old black kids... don't have a right to use the same tools used by 11 year olds around the country... without looking suspicious to cops? Lol.
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That county has a crime problem, violent crime is 2x greater than the mean for the entire state of Georgia, so I'm OK with cops being aware of the fact that they operate in a location with higher than normal levels of violence.
 
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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In my town those investigations routinely take two years to do.
 
Hard Truth said:
I don't want to judge the case without all the facts...but the photo suggests that it may have been because he's a black kid, who are more likely to stopped by police, more likely to be abused, more likely to be shot, more likely to be arrested, and more likely to get a stiffer sentence.
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What race were the officers involved?
 
Higgins86 said:
I always personally felt that American police go for the gun way to quickly. I have seen them operate first hand and was always suprised by the automatic hand movements to their weapon at the slight hint of trouble (even if it wasn't directed at them). A good police officer should always be able to diffuse any situation using his words and body movements, the gun should be used only as a last resort or if the officer is in immediate danger.
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That is not the American way.

John_Wayne_12.jpg
 
RiverDad said:
That county has a crime problem, violent crime is 2x greater than the mean for the entire state of Georgia, so I'm OK with cops being aware of the fact that they operate in a location with higher than normal levels of violence.
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That's not what I asked you. I asked you if cops should feel threatened specifically by 11 year old boys using tools to build a tree house?
 
Kobie said:
Is that how you drew the conclusion that they were destroying someone else's property?
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Did the tree belong to the boy's family?
 
It is way past time we made this the nationwide standard....


Copcams.jpg



it would put a stop to the BS on both sides...
 
Hatuey said:
That's not what I asked you. I asked you if cops should feel threatened specifically by 11 year old boys using tools to build a tree house?
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Show me evidence that the cops knew that they were responding to a complaint involving 11 year old boys building a tree house. We all know this after the fact, so do the cops now. Back seat driving isn't a good method of analysis.
 
RiverDad said:
Show me evidence that the cops knew that they were responding to a complaint involving 11 year old boys building a tree house. We all know this after the fact, so do the cops now. Back seat driving isn't a good method of analysis.
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Show evidence that they didn't. Show some evidence that there was a legitimate reason to feel threatened.
 
Goshin said:
It is way past time we made this the nationwide standard....


View attachment 67164411



it would put a stop to the BS on both sides...
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It would, but there are some here to whom it wouldn't matter. Guns are either evil or the root of all things wonderful.

Come on Goshin, where's your debating skills? You know there's no middle.
 
RiverDad said:
That county has a crime problem, violent crime is 2x greater than the mean for the entire state of Georgia, so I'm OK with cops being aware of the fact that they operate in a location with higher than normal levels of violence.
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So then nuke 'em? Maybe send in the army?

I mean, it justifies any use of any force, right?
 
CRUE CAB said:
Till you strap on a gun, pin on a badge you really dont know what its like.
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I got the BTDT shirt on this, and the Police Academy pic hanging on my wall within reach of where I sit.



It is hard to judge without all the details, which we don't seem to have. As a rule I am hesitant to second guess the officer-on-scene without some reason.

But on the whole I have to agree that police seem to be reaching for either the guns or tasers a lot more quickly than was once the case... and that drawing on some 11 yr olds, absent a clear threat, seems a bit much on the surface.


I'll grant you, my day was almost 20 yrs ago... but in my day, I dealt with quite a number of squirrelly or potentially dangerous characters without drawing a gun. (We didn't have Tasers back then).
 
rocket88 said:
It would, but there are some here to whom it wouldn't matter. Guns are either evil or the root of all things wonderful.

Come on Goshin, where's your debating skills? You know there's no middle.
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Well I'm sorry to hear that, since the middle is where I am often found...
 
Goshin said:
It is way past time we made this the nationwide standard....


View attachment 67164411

it would put a stop to the BS on both sides...
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Absolutely. Long past due. Officer misconduct and false claims would all but dry up.

I'd like to know what the downside is. It simply can't be that expensive. One day's storage in a USB drive saved for X years. The cost is about $900 per camera. According to another link, we have 780,000 law enforcement officers in this country. That's $702 million. Chicken feed for the problems it would solve. Hell, I'll bet many towns could raise the funds with donations.
 
solletica said:
GA is a conservative state, and conservatives oppose freedom, so this was expected.
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that's really stupid/ some conservatives oppose some freedom. like the freedom to obtain abortions or practice buggery

many liberals oppose some freedom-like the freedom to own guns, associate with whom you want and property rights

and then we have faux libertarians who really don't understand the concept
 
Kobie said:
The story doesn't say either way. It says "a wooded area behind his home."
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So you think the policemen came on the boy's property?
 
Texmex said:
So you think the policemen came on the boy's property?
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I don't know if they did or if they didn't -- the story does not say if the tree was on his family's property or not. That said, even if he was on his neighbor's property, that's still hardly an excuse to draw a firearm on an 11-year-old.
 
Goshin said:
I got the BTDT shirt on this, and the Police Academy pic hanging on my wall within reach of where I sit.



It is hard to judge without all the details, which we don't seem to have. As a rule I am hesitant to second guess the officer-on-scene without some reason.

But on the whole I have to agree that police seem to be reaching for either the guns or tasers a lot more quickly than was once the case... and that drawing on some 11 yr olds, absent a clear threat, seems a bit much on the surface.


I'll grant you, my day was almost 20 yrs ago... but in my day, I dealt with quite a number of squirrelly or potentially dangerous characters without drawing a gun. (We didn't have Tasers back then).
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Hah! Handgun and a PR-24, baby.

If you were really tactical, you had a Ku Baton for your keychain!

The saps were great for the back pocket.
 
SMTA said:
Hah! Handgun and a PR-24, baby.

If you were really tactical, you had a Ku Baton for your keychain!

The saps were great for the back pocket.
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They'd already taken our saps away by then, but we still had the PR24. I never used it. I knew how to fight and wasn't afraid to jump in and grab somebody... but apparently these days they actively discourage officers from doing that. Not safe, y'know. :roll:
 
Many posters are correct in stating that we should not rush to judgment in this particular case, as, in common with many other instances of media report, not much in the way of established fact is known.

We may, nevertheless, treat the matter as one of principle, and in an hypothetical situation, I am inclined to agree that pulling a gun on a couple of 11 year old boys building a tree fort, and making them line prone on the ground, is an example of excessive force by an officer of the law.

Conjecture as to how violent unarmed 11 year old boys might possibly be, or how dangerous the lot of a policeman may be, is not relevant to the circumstances of this hypothetical situation.

One of the more insidious dangers a society may face is the increasing propensity to justify the excesses of that society's armed and police forces 'in the national interest'. On that horizon lie the Gulags, the Concentration Camps, the Police State, and the sort of armed anarchy which is a characteristic of the current Egyptian crisis. When Civil Society feels a need to call in the men with the guns to remain civil, it has lost its status as a Civilisation. In addition to which, from those to whom privilege and protected status has been granted - greater responsibility, self-control, and accountability must be expected. Neither a badge of office nor a uniform is a license, nor is it a shield, and justice must take precedence over expediency.
 
TeleKat said:
I would lean towards believing them, though an investigation is needed for disciplinary action. Also why does it matter whether or not they are telling the truth? In your opinion, terrorizing children is always justified as long as you have a badge.
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Funny, seeing as I said none of that.
 
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