Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The bottom line with respect to punching teenage girls

  1. You must obey a lawful order by a police officer, and you can't shove a cop without risking getting punched.
  2. If you think your age or sex give you an exception, see above.



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5 comments:

Elias said...

I just find this absolutely hilarious.

Short, sweet and to the point =D

John W. Zimmer said...

I agree with number 1 except in California I seem to recall the penal code forbids cops to punch. I may have that wrong but that is what my uncle told me when he was going though the academy.

That being said I think the cop could have handled it better... what is to the letter of the law and what is the best way the deal with the situation is probably different here.

Bob Patterson said...

I still want to see that department's use of force policy!

Past that, well, don't poke a tiger with a stick!

(esp. if that tiger has to worry about weapon retention and being shot with his own weapon)

Steve said...

I talked to one of the guys I train with, a Seattle PD, and he said that the officer did exactly what he's trained to do and it ended as well as it could have.

He also said something that makes total sense. Cops are trained to keep going. The easiest way to keep things from escalating with a cop, he said, is to just stop.

Unknown said...

Elias - I agree. It opened up such a can of worms, and didn't look good, either.

John - I'd have trouble believing that a punch isn't somewhere in the continuum, but agree that it should be higher than a less dangerous technique.

Bob - his chief came out the same day the video broke and defended the officer's actions, which tells me that he was within use of force policy. We usually hear a non-committal "under internal review" disclaimer, then a press conference or release. Later, we got apologies from the girl that got punched, which tells me that her lawyer advised her that she's facing criminal charges. Or that she's got good parents!

Steve, I'm inclined to agree with you.