Looks like even the superior of this deputy was not comfortable on how the way things went down - Possible Civil rights case
Hard not to interpret it as that when she strikes the officer, sticks her leg out, and wraps her other leg around the desk in an attempt to anchor herself. Not even remotely so. He is pulling her UP and OUT. She voluntarily extends her hips upwards and leans backwards. Total nonsense. You can pull someone sideways out of a desk. Police do it with people in car seats all the time. If she did not resist, the desk would not have fallen over. Period. Um, that's because that is the only way you can physically pick someone up in that situation. Do we need a physics lesson here? Nope. His hand was under his thigh to begin with and naturally followed the motion of the desk as it tipped (not that he could have influenced the direction of the desk at that point with one hand, because, you know, physics). Video does not bear that out, and it fails the 'simplest explanation' test spectacularly. Really? She strikes the officer, and immediately convulses and contorts her body in every single possible way, and you don't see any of that as "active resistance"? The simple truth is that, had she not resisted, the officer would have been able to extract her from the desk without incident. The other simple truth is that the officer should never have been involved in the first place, in what basically amounts to a disciplinary matter.
I have a raging clue that if that 90 pound teenage girl was white and the officer was black this thread would have been the exact opposite.
Nah i think it would be the same this cop don't handle this issue well at all it wouldn't matter what color the girl or officer was this it wasn't done the best it could have been.
That post was in reference to the passionate defense of the officer in this case. Let me update: I know 100% that if that 90 pound teenage girl was white and the officer was black this thread would have been the exact opposite.
Do you really think that the people that have an issue with the cop going berserker on a teenage girl would be ok with it as long as she was white?
Based on the fact that it happened and that the student would not peacefully leave the classroom of her own will. The officer did not intentionally flip the desk nor was that his first move. The actions of the girl contributed to the flip. She was not seriously hurt, and in a move like this, what are the chances that she is injured? We see more violent falls in football that have more risk of neck injury. If limiting physical harm prevents him from enforcing the rules, what is the officer supposed to do after he grabs her arm and she pulls away? Ask again nicely for the student to leave because you can't forcibly remove her or she might be hurt? I understand his background in judo. But he didn't comment on the student clearly anchoring herself to the floor, or her swinging a closed fist at the officer's head. Whether the omissions are intentional to highlight the officer's wrong moves, which I agreed with going for the neck wasn't good, the moves the student made contributed greatly to the escalation of force. Long term, yes. Short term, how do you remove the disruption so class can continue? I'm not comfortable with how it went down, but I agree with the teacher and principal that it was appropriate to remove the student from class when she became a disruption. I would've defended the cop if the races were reversed. All I see is an officer trying to remove a bratty student. And I see that everyone has avoided answering a similar scenario I posted: if you were interrupting a workplace meeting, should security be allowed to forcibly remove you?
A. This was not a criminal situation - it should not have been treated as such. A student should not become a criminal for behavior that warrants detention, not arrest. B. I don't agree that he did not intentionally flip the desk. And it appeared to be a continuation of first move. C. Her actions did not contribute to the flip any more than the contribution of gravity D. She could have been seriously hurt. The chances may be slim but definitely higher than taking a tackle in a football game - she had no helmet on and no padding, and was trapped in a desk which would prevent her from breaking her fall - it was very dangerous. The fact that you minimize this part is very disturbing to me. To me it sounds like you will defend the cop no matter what, and you know what, the fact that you talk about a black student as a criminal is disturbing as well and is suggestive of bias.
This is absurd. The two posters that are primarily defending the officer do not have a history on issues of race. You can believe what you want, but it has been my experience that the uniform trumps the color of the officer or the other person involved. If you want to argue that a black person or minority is more likely to be a victim of police brutality, that is a different thread and we can have that discussion.
Not surprising. That'll pacify things. He'll file a grievance and/or suit, win (or more likely receive a settlement), and never be heard from again.
The girl is going to sue as well and also receive a settlement. I saw an article that had some interesting info on this cop as well. For instance, he has been taken to court twice by people accusing him of violating their civil liberties. Also, according to kids in the classroom, he prepared the area for what he was about to do -- so it seems he went into the situation planning on responding to the girl like this. And he also arrested and charged another girl in the classroom for standing up and saying that what was happening was wrong. So, while I am sure you are right that the corrupt and cop protecting criminal justice system is eager to pay this thug -- that is in itself part of the problem in this country. This cop, like some people in this thread, seems obsessed with people respecting police authority. But the mindless devotion to authority is not healthy and is not what this country is supposed to be about.
We already covered what laws she could have violated. I'm no lawyer, but maybe someone who is can chime in if a student is legally allowed to be removed from school. The first move was grabbing her arm to pull her sideways out of the desk. She pulled back. The second move was lifting her out of the desk, at which point there was a struggle and momentum carried her backwards. She is responsible for her actions that led to the incident. I'm minimizing her risk because I do see it as minimal. I've had nastier falls playing contact sports unpadded. I wrestled with siblings or friends when I was younger. I've been to trampoline parks where I've had more risk of serious injury. To put that in perspective, I think her risk of serious injury were low. Now when I said she wasn't injured, that was from reading an earlier article where the sheriff stated all she had was a minor rug burn. Now her lawyer is saying she broke some bones and is in a cast. I'm very interested to see what medical attention she required directly after the incident. I'm defending the cop because I understand his actions and see it as an unfortunate necessity. I think most of you that see a cop use force automatically assume that it's excessive and unlawful before considering all the factors.
Yep, part of why it was really stupid to bring the officer into the situation in the first place. Not much to be gained there at all. Taken to court, and successfully exonerated. Another girl also said he's "really nice" and he has been dating a black woman for a very long time, apparently. Not that I put much stock in or care about what either of them have to say. According to the kids and the video, after repeatedly asking the girl to move, he asked the kid in front of her to move his desk in preparation for having to physically remove the girl as a safety precaution for all involved. Not enough details about that one to make any judgment call. They're not eager to pay him. They're eager for this to go away, and from a legality standpoint, he will have leverage on the Police Dept, so he will receive compensation for wrongful termination. That money will be well spent, however, to end a PR nightmare. I objectively view each situation and evaluate it based on the facts. There have been multiple threads where I've lambasted police for misconduct, and stood up for abused minorities, so getting called a police-state loving racist in here is pretty high comedy.
I just want to point out that I have not called you or even the cop in the video a racist. Police state lover on the other hand -- I think you may indeed be deserving of that label based solely on how you've conducted yourself in this thread.
Struggle??? She was caught off guard by his move and reacted like any person would when grabbed. There wasn't a struggle, it was a grab and flip. I've seen people get injured with less nastier falls. He came very close to landing on her head. Immediately you are suspicious. Your bias is showing, do you see that? How was it a necessity to flip her instead of emptying the room and talking to her. Was he in a rush to get lunch? Maybe those donuts were getting stale! Where did he have to be that he could not take the time to resolve the situation without resorting to violence. What is the justification for taking violent against against an unarmed teenager sitting in their desk? Noncooperation is not a reason to conduct violence against someone who has broken any law. You are defending the cop and saying violence was justified because she did not comply with his initial order. I am saying that in a situation like this, violence is not justified. It will be up to the courts and the law to decide.
