Flutterby™! : Cops out of control 2007-06-27 22:37:03.523054+00

Cops out of control

2007-06-27 22:37:03.523054+00 by Dan Lyke 5 comments

YouTube video of cop assaulting kids for riding a skateboard, Hot Springs Arkansas mayor Mike Bush says:

"Unfortunately, the video shows it pretty good," Bush said.

Yeah, bummer that the cop got busted for assaulting a 13 year old, hey, dude?

Ya know, assholes like that in public service makes me want surveillance cameras freakin' everywhere.

#Comment Re: made: 2007-06-28 05:11:29.043041+00 by: mvandewettering

In this, as in so many other spheres of modern life, we learn that we cannot expect the government and its agents to act with even a modicum of restraint responding to situations with a measure of force and authority consistent with the threats proposed to the populace they are sworn to protect and serve. There is very little that I can imagine that merits me putting a 13 year old in a choke hold, and that includes skateboarding.

I'm with Dan on this one: if you are a police officer and you engage in this kind of brutality, you will be found out. We now have a camera in every single cell phone, and we have the network to publish such items. Get ready for that night job in security at the mall.

#Comment Re: made: 2007-06-28 14:03:48.641149+00 by: meuon [edit history]

Brutality? A little. Lack of control, Intolerance, Stupidity, Abuse of power, Abuse of Responsibility, Lack of Control, Lack of Judgment... Absolutely.

Hot Springs Arkansaw was. a resort town. It was a place where people go to have fun, cut loose a little... and if skateboarding is a crime, so should jogging, walking fast, bicycling, roller blades, skipping.. The crime happens when you hurt people or damage property, no matter how you do it. Should the officer have chased them off the downtown sidewalks per "ordinance"? Sure. Should the kid have stopped when told to by the officer? Sure. Should it have ended up as it did? Absolutely not.

In fact, the other kids acted like responsible citizens, and responded appropriately to the perceived injustice. Nice video work. Good presence of mind.

When Ryan was living here (199?) we ended up at Nightfall (Friday night public concerts) where he was hanging with the other "skateboard punks" and I had my "short" board with as well. The local cops were being decent about it, but were chiding them on riding in the crowds and 'grinding'. I rode up on my board. The cop was (decently) threatening to arrest them for what was essentially just riding around the park and streets...(there were girl watching, not grinding). I asked him to arrest me too, and asked if we'd be seeing Judge Williams over this. He smiled a little, said "You are serious aren't you?" I smiled and said "Yes Sir". He told the small circle of young men to stay away from the crowd and not "grind".. and left. The kids headed elsewhere, I watched the band and the crowd.

#Comment Re: Security cameras made: 2007-06-28 14:43:29.30077+00 by: m

Inconvenient surveillance tapes, like inopportune 911 tapes and other difficult evidence, have a tendency to disappear or be incomprehensible.

Dan, I'm not sure your comment re: Mayor Bush is warranted...at least, not yet. Without context, it could mean one of two things:

"The officer was doing a great job, but it's unfortunate that this video exists to show it"

"It's unfortunate that the officer acted that way, and the video show very well what happened"

But things like this make me wonder if "Unintended Consequences" is such a bad idea....

Good video, but I'm wishing they had added the music at a much lower volume - it drowns out what's being said, which can make a big difference in situations like this.