This is ridiculous. Police arrests about 500 kids in Kmart parking lot on Westheimer.

Juan and Khan:

Re-read today's article and the accompanying editorial. No one was trespassing. Neither K-Mart nor Sonic called the cops. They came of their own volition and arrested people because they were disappointed people WEREN'T committing a crime. You're arguing yesterday's issues and ignoring the facts that have come to light, which damn your arguments. The chief of police does not even agree with you.

Juan: I agree that prison conditions are inhumane for all people. A lot of people think though that nothing is too awful for a pusher, rapist, mugger, etc. These kids did nothing but be in the wrong place at the wrong time and they had to experience inhumane conditions, too. And you said it was no big deal. You're wrong. You're just wrong. Why don't you try wearing those cuffs, tied too tight by ******* cops? Why don't you spend the night on a concrete bench next to a vomiting transvestite, all the while being told by jerkoff cops not to whine about it? No big deal, right? Wrong. And watch out for both your fasictic and anarchistic leanings. They're unattractive and they make you look like a jerk.

 

You're darn right I didn't. I learned my lesson on Tom Cruise movies after sitting through Vanilla Sky

 

Hey, hey, hey now.

 

"*******" is the term MovieManiac used. And, I'm well aware of it. I want to be sure that people get a dynamic understanding of things. I try to be sure that a passion in one direction is balanced by an opposite passion. I know this annoys people sometimes, but I want to be sure the mob doesn't get carried away here. I'm a good guy, really.

As for the trespassing, I understand they were not in any legal sense. However, though Kmart condones it, these kids are a public nuisance, which is the trespassing I was referring to in my last post (though not the first, since I wasn't aware then) however murkily. I know you'll object to that as well. But, honestly, I don't think these kids should be allowed to congregate there and it is a shame and a blight that they do. If this rogue cop had been able, in some way, to parse the patrons from the kids hanging out, there would have been little hoopla about it, even if he couldn't make the arrests stick.

If you agree that inhuman conditions are wrong for all people and not just the innocent, then you agree with the only point on the subject I was tring to make. Their treatment is irrelevant to the validity of their arrests. I never said inhuman conditions were no big deal; I said the things they were quoted complaining about were no big deal. I have not yet had the privelege of being arrested, but I might try it next time I'm at Kmart. I know folks who have been arrested and they were not subjected to the conditions you've described from your own experience -- or at least never saw fit to complain about them. Maybe you're right -- I don't doubt it -- but it was never what I was talking about in the first place.

 

Is that a legal opinion? I see it says the cops arrested most of the kids for trespass.

They were ORDERED to go to the KMart after 'complaints from local business and community leaders...' Which also means they were ASKED to intervene.

The Chief of Police has called for an investigation in light of the public furor. No big suprise there.

Cuffs have to be tight for cops safety. Surely you aren't suggesting they tie up someone they arrest like Terry Bauer in 24??? Personally I don't know what everyone's so upset about. A MOB of 500 kids gets broken up and you act like its Kent State. Boo-hoo. If someone really got the shaft they'll certainly get their day in court. If one night in jail is so psychologically shattering to them, they are far too fragile to be out alone at midnight.

Substitute jerkoff 'bartenders' for jerkoff 'cops' and I've been in BARS (no pun intended) worse than that!

 

Who cares about community leaders? The only entity that has the right to make a complaint is K-Mart and they said they did not make one.

 

I used to shop at that K-Mart. Not anymore now though.

 

Well, when Batman says 'they went there on their OWN,' he is wrong. People in the community complained.

 

Hayes, please read today's article again. It clearly states that this was the drag racing task force, intent on raiding a drag race. They weren't supposed to arrest anyone at K-Mart and they weren't supposed to arrest anyone for trespassing or loitering. They chose to do so, because their plan of following the kids to a drag race dried up, since there was no drag race. Past complaints not withstanding, this is not why they were there that night. They were not responding to a complaint that night. They DID go there on their own. When they didn't find any crime, they invented one. No different than pulling you over for no reason, finding there was no reason to arrest you, and dropping a dime bag in your back seat to invent one.

 

Yes, it is. I'm pretty sure the owner of the property has to complain for it to hold up as trespass.

Not true, absolutely not true and patently false. Please read the article in this very thread before making baseless accusations.

Various supervisors and some of the cops who were "just following orders" found this whole deal appalling. Don't blame this on public furor. In fact, thank goodness for public furor. Cops get away with immoral, illegal, unethical behavior all the time. You should be grateful when they get busted for it -- not indignant.

Kent State was worse. So was the Holocaust. What's your point? It's okay as long as they didn't beat anybody? Cuffs don't have to be tight for the the "cops safety" when they're arresting kids for eating at Sonic. Don't be daft. And maybe kids just deserve whatever they get if they dare to be out past midnight. Whatever, jerk.

Oh, hahahahahahaha... So funny I forgot to flip you off...

 

Well, at least according to the article at least some of the kids were busted for breaking curfew. That is not a made up charge.

 

OK, your answer means you're either a terrible lawyer or not qualified to give a legal opinion.

Uh, no. Fact #1 the police were ordered to go to the location. Fact #2 the business and community leaders in the area had complained about the large crowds in the past. Fact #3 at least some (more than FORTY) kids were there illegally, even aside from trespass, because of the curfew.

True other cops did not agree with the decision, and that goes against this Aguirre guy. But the PC has issued a statement to allay a public backlash directed at him, as all authority figures do when they might get blamed.

What was 'immoral' or 'unethical' or 'illegal?' Bad crowd control, maybe...

Its not worthy of crucifixion is my point. They didn't beat anyone. They didn't bust down anyone's door. The system will compensate those that were truly wronged in some way.

Ah, of course. You can always tell when someone is DANGEROUS or DESPERATE by the WAY THEY LOOK or the fact that they're EATING AT SONIC. Who's being daft here?

Hey, maybe they do deserve to be arrested for trespassing? KMart has complained in the past. Other businesses have complained in the past. Police have come to disperse them in the past. Maybe they shouldn't have been there? And yeah, maybe kids SHOULDN'T be out after midnight on a weeknight.

Not sure what the details of your bad experience with handcuffs are, but people who disagree with you are neither automatically wrong, nor somehow disfunctional. This really must have hit a personal chord since normally your posts are pretty well thought out.

 

I'm sorry Hayes, I can't believe 400+ people were breaking curfew and causing trouble. If arresting innocent people to get to a few bad kids is ok, then we have a problem. That's like arresting 100 people because a few of them might be criminals. This was a HUGE overreaction. Arresting 10 year old kids? Going to restaurants to arrest kids?

<b>What was 'immoral' or 'unethical' or 'illegal?' Bad crowd control, maybe...
</b>

I don't know, arresting a 10 year old girl for one. . .

 

LMAO!

 

Ah, of course. You can always tell when someone is DANGEROUS or DESPERATE by the WAY THEY LOOK or the fact that they're EATING AT SONIC. Who's being daft here?


And of course, if you don't know if people are dangerous, and you have no real reason to assume people at Sonic are, you might as well arrest them, right? No need for probable cause or anything. Or is eating at a restaurant now probable cause?

And yeah, maybe kids SHOULDN'T be out after midnight on a weeknight.

Since when is Saturday night a weeknight?

 

I've seen posts about this at other boards (such as UH boards), and have read that people familiar with the area see it as a place where the kids with their souped up cars bring them to show them off. Supposedly that happens often there, so I can see how perhaps a relation to drag racing could be made.

Anyhow, just thought I'd throw that in. Back to the bickering.

 

I think people just want to save money.

 

I agree it was an overreaction. But I think you are also overreacting.

I think it would have been unthinkable for police to let a 10 year old, accompanied by NO adult, go in a parking lot at midnight. DO YOU think they should have let her go or taken her into custody?

 

ROXRAN's gonna sue.

 

That would irrelevant to the discussion of whether or not those ties need to be tight.

I guess you don't work 7 days a week? No, j/k. I must have misread it. My bad.