Take a look at this video and decide if the officer was out of line, too rough or fair...?

Question

The officer involved in this video was cleared of all charges...

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/officer-cleared-of-choking-skateboarder/20070703091809990002?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Answer 1

He was more than fair.

Answer 2

Hi....I watched that video several times and I just don't see any misbehavior on the officers stand point. he used minimal force to catch this individual that had violated the rules for skateboarding. This individual escaped and ran from the officer/officers which is not the smartest thing to do by resisting arrest. I have to say that I have seen a lot worse when an officer/officers arrest a person on a violation or a crime that they have presumably committed and some of the crime unjustifiable. So I have to say that this officer was in the right...he didn't choke this individual to where he couldn't breath or had passed out, the officer was just reinforcing him so he couldn't resist arrest for the second time. I'm sorry if you think differently. Have a wonderful day!

Answer 3

I have looked at the video, wow, it is like watching a carnival you could hardly see anything with this back of some guy standing in front of the camera.

Nope he is not definitely OUT OF LINE, he is clearly just subduing some two people who would, if given a chance, would escape. It is the natural stance of an officer to grab the neck of the person or put his arms around the shoulder blades to put a mark or something that he is being controlled by the officer. Knowing how dangerous AMERICANS are just watching movies should already give you a HINT on what capability they could render or give to you. Just watch another American home viewer the WWF would give me the impression that they like violence a lot, so if I would be that officer I would definitely protect myself from them.

The officer is just doing his job. I think the officer should be commended for doing a job well done, even if he is being video by an amateur.

Answer 4

Of course the a*%hole was out of line!
If that was my kid I guarantee that cop and all his side kicks would be answering for their actions!
I am not surprised however that I did not hear the cop using foul language or threatening to hurt the kids.
He was on film and knew it.
If that kid did not have a camera I GAURANTEE those kids would have felt the wrath of the jerk off with a badge.
It is proven over and over again, the police are not capable of showing self restraint and/or good judgement under stress.
Heck the cops and the cop wannabe's can not even stop themselves from saying things like...
they are little bimbos, I would have beat the crap out of him with the butt of my gun and a few other twisted comments by a few other twisted individuals. I mean OH MY GOSH! they are kids, riding skate boards not rapists or wife beaters.
Just goes to show the mentality of the police and their support.
Just because an internal investigation found this cop was justified does not mean that the parents do not have a very good chance at winning a law suit.
I hope they bring the tape and the abusive bully to court.
What kind of person... no, what kind MAN chokes a little girl? How much does she weigh? 90 pounds?
What kind of 'people' call children names and fantasize about hurting them with guns?

Answer 5

Seeing part of a tape will not provide the whole story. If we make judgements based on this, we are limiting ourselves and our views. What I viewed on that video were two police officers trying to control a potentially volatile situation. There were several young people interferring with the police and many times, the video was not getting the full picture.

Do not judge lest ye be judged.

Answer 6

Don't blame the cop, blame the politicians, lawyers all. They're the ones that passed some dumbass law stating riding a skateboard on the sidewalk is justification for arrest instead of maybe a ticket and confiscation of the skateboard. Did the kid even know it was against the law, or had he received countless warnings about it in the past? Who knows. The video doesn't tell us that, but if a cop chooses to enforce the law, no matter how stupid that law, that's his right, and under no circumstances, no matter how ridiculous, is a person allowed to resist arrest. Everyone knows that.

Answer 7

Good he should be cleared. What a bunch of idiots. Then you have these little bimbos getting involved. Thank God I am not a cop. I would have beat the crap out of him with the butt of my gun. The stuff cops have to deal with when people act like fools is insane. Just like the Rodney King video. All they show are the police beating the crap out of him like he was an innocent victim. The t ruth was, he was high on something and fighting like a mad dog. Of course the media didn't show that part!!! Here is an idea, if you are getting arrested, don't fight. Even if you think its wrong. Just act like a human being with respect. Hire a lawyer. You will be treated far far better and get a much lighter sentence.

Answer 8

An officer has the right to apprehend someone in violation of the law and yes when an officer tells someone to stop and they continue to go they are considered to be fleeing. However, each officer has the responsibility to exercise personal judgment in terms of the use of force and where it should and shouldn't be used as well as to what extend it should if it is to be used in the first place.

While the officer may have technically been acting within the parameters of the law, in my personal opinion the crime that was committed (a minor violation of a little city ordinance) did not require the officer to become physically violent. In that situation I would have tried to talk to the kids and make nice with them in order to convince them to listen to me rather than be abrasive.

I used to ride along with the police in my city and the first thing an officer told me was "rule number one: treat people the way you would want to be treated, and there are two things that can help you end a situation peacefully that your baton can't: tact and diplomacy".

Sometimes you can't afford to be nice and the use of force is necessary, but its hard to make that case when your "suspects" were a couple of skateboarding teenagers and the crime was violating a simple city ordinance.

Answer 9

The cop tells the one to stop so he can write a citation, and the boarder takes off. He gets arrested. The girl gets in the cop's face, he tells her to back off and she gets on her skateboard. The kid in the white t-shirt assaults the cop which permits the girl to escape and then, after the other arrests, the kid with the camera, if you look and listen, gets on a skateboard. The cop didn't choke anyone in the video.

Answer 10

I agree with You Asked (for once ;-) ). If they're skating where they're not supposed to, write a ticket. Why would they get arrested for that? I guess we miss a lot of the story, but that seems excessive. The whole situation seems to get out of line ~ the cop's supposed to be the adult, instead he seems to get aggravated, which in turn aggravates the kids, etc. I don't think the cop should be brought up on charges, but perhaps an internal repremanded for using poor judgement (if my assumptions on the story are true).

Answer 11

I think the officer helped escalate the situation some but at the same time he was using obvious restraint. He could of squashed that girl if wanted to and she did run away. He should of picked his battles more carefully. One officer can't arrest two suspects at once. He was putting himself at risk of getting seriously hurt.