Thread: At what point, if any, does police violence against minors become okay?

Hmm, well my interpretation of the video is that it lacks too much information to discern the appropriateness of the actions taken by the police officer. People who state that 'force' is never okay are being unrealistic, and while I don't condone assault that's intended to harm, physical force does have it's uses, and always will. I'm personally just as appalled with those condemning the police as I am with the defenders, and all things considered.... neither amounts to very much. Firstly the officer was called there by someone. It wasn't some random act of violence, and it wasn't a case of biased suspicion. She was clearly infringing and her personal circumstances and age aren't a factor. I don't really see what else the officer could have done. He'd been called in to remove the girl and she clearly wasn't moving. It's not like he could have just shrugged his shoulders and walked off, and talking to her was in my view not going to work either. Compare it to a shopping mall. Shopping hours are over, and there's this young teenage girl who's planted herself down in the mall, refusing to leave. Talking to her yields no result, and as far as anyone can tell she's got no intentions of moving any time soon. Empathy is one thing, but if you want to play the empathy card, spare a thought for the workers at the mall who have to stick around without pay just cause some brat wants to be difficult? It's the same situation in the video. Classrooms are hard enough to manage as it is, the girl was a nuisance to the teacher by not following instructions, and a distraction to the other students. If you genuinely think 'leaving her alone' was a possible alternative... you've got no idea how classrooms work. xD Might as well ask all the other students and teacher to leave and find another classroom with that logic. I don't really buy the empathy for her deceased mother argument either as I view it as a tack-on excuse. People who are in mourning don't sit in public places and try to be a public nuisance. In most cases they'll seek to be left alone, and draw as little attention to themselves as possible. I'm going to sit here and be a nuisance to me indicates a greater intent to be troublesome, and frankly I hate it when people play the race, gender, age, sexuality, etcetc card to derail an issue. The officer might have been in the wrong, but the girl however was definitely doing something she shouldn't have been doing. The only reason I can imagine her wanting to stay there would be if the classroom held some sort of sentimental connection to the girl's mother... but I doubt that's the case. Too much speculation also distorts the story. Just reading the article it says she was unharmed, rug-burned, and that she also need a cast for her injuries. In regards to social attitudes there's not really much anyone can do without being accused of being wrong. For example can you imagine the backlash the teacher would get if he said he thought it was appropriate? The officer got fired, but considering the whole 'minors' argument and attention it's gotten it'd be too hard not to fire the man. I mean hell, there's a high possibility that someone dug up the deceased mother story and tacked it on to promote a certain view. I watched something awhile back regarding gay marriage in Canada where overcorrection had led to reversed discrimination where people who get discriminated against for not supporting gay marriage. It's the same case here I think, and the entire argument is morally hateful, and there's no way it can become a productive discussion. You're either a child-beating monster, or a screechy coddle-y mama. Furthermore I dispute the appropriateness of the term 'minor' Legally it's perfectly acceptable, but there's a huge difference between an infant, child, and adolescent. Even those who are pro-belt-belting wouldn't endorse a six-month old infant getting beaten with a belt I'd hope. I see the condemning argument as inappropriate as it's selectively picking. If you want to go with a legal perspective, she's a minor... but she also refused to follow lawful instructions and hence deserved to be removed from the premises. The amount of force used is debatable, but regardless she needed to be removed. If you want to go with a moral perspective then I contest whether she could be considered a minor since she knew full-well she was acting inappropriately, and the protection exists for those who can't make proper decisions. Overall I know I seem pretty pro-police in this case, but truth be told I'm not really on either side. Just arguing against the girl because the topic condemns it. The biggest issue with arguing cases like this is an unwillingness to admit any significant wrong-doing on either side. I'm not going to blindly jump to the girl's defense just because she's a minor if she was doing something wrong. If it was unprovoked, and unreasonable to assume then sure. Condemn the police all you want. But the girl was misbehaving, and I'd like to hear a practical solution to what could have been done before we start burning witches.