I care about what my son cares about. Noah sent me this YouTube clip. All he said in his email was ...wow. Noah's Dad is a cop and we are all appalled by this behavior.
I am female, but not what I would call overly emotional. I avoid female drama and do not tear-up at Chicken Soup for the Soul kinds of stories. In other words, not many blog posts make me cry- but this one did. I do cry when I am mad, especially when I feel helpless. I must admit, if I had been with these kids I would have gone to jail; no wonder so many kids aren't graduating. This guy crossed the line and should be kicked off the force.
The entire blog post is copied here:
June 26th, 2007
“SHE’S JUST RIDING A SKATEBOARD!”
Skateboarders know that the annual Go Skateboarding Day is pretty much NO Skateboarding Day in the eyes of law enforcement. We’ve all had our fair share of testosterone-fueled police power trips, but sometimes luck’s on our side, and we have the video camera rolling while their dirty hooves are pushed against our backs.
Last week, a few kids in Arkansas were out skating for Go Skating Day and had a run-in with an officer. Unfortunately, the kids fought the law, and the law won. But thanks to a really smart videographer and Youtube, the skateboarders are about to really raise disorderly conduct. If this angers you, then you’re a normal, red-blooded human being.
Oh and just in case you were interested, the officer’s name is Joey Williams, and he works for the: Hot Springs Arkansas Police Department Phone: (501) 321-6789 Fax: (501) 321-6708 Chief of Police, Bobby Southard Email: bsouthard@cityhs.net 641 Malvern Avenue, Hot Springs, Arkansas 71901 You know, just in case you were wondering. by bobbyhundreds
My jaw is still on the ground....that cop is power hungry. My best friend's kids dad is a cop and my brother-in-law is a cop. I really hope they are not like that! First Amendment rights, people! Who polices the police?
Posted by: mrsdurff | June 27, 2007 at 11:05 PM
I sent an email to the police chief because this just sickens me! These were just kids, not murderers or drug dealers or bank robbers. I'm thankful for citizen journalists who take video like this to show us what sometimes happens on our streets that doesn't make the newspapers or 6 o'clock news.
Posted by: Jim | June 27, 2007 at 11:41 PM
Here's a Google News RSS feed about this: http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=joey+williams&ie=UTF-8&output=rss The officer has been placed on "administrative leave."
Posted by: Jim | June 27, 2007 at 11:46 PM
I saw this yesterday on videosift and I to was appalled. It left me hoping that this video would be posted in as many places as possible and commented on by as many people as possible so the police department in town and police departments in general get the message that this sort of power trip action is totally wrong and that If you act this way someone might have a camera rolling somewhere that could end your career.
Posted by: John Cavanagh | June 28, 2007 at 07:49 AM
Yeah. Real civil rights heroes there. What a bunch of snot-nosed snobs. Why bother egging on police officers? It looked like one kid assaulted a police officer. Were the cops acting like jerks? You bet. However, you can find thousands of videos of cops making rough style looking arrests at any number of political protest.
Would you still be upset if they were Hitler youth kids at a peaceful neo- nazi rally? Would you still cry if the kids being arrested were chanting "white power" instead of "skate-or-die dude!!!"???
Posted by: Mike Browning | June 29, 2007 at 03:33 PM
As Mr. Browning invokes Godwin's Law.
And while Mike Godwin would chastise me for continuing the comment after Mr. Browning invoked the Nazis, all I'll say is this:
They weren't Hitler youth. They were not advocating violence. They were involved in peaceful protest.
These differences matter.
Posted by: Chris Lehmann | June 29, 2007 at 04:29 PM
Skateboarding isn't a crime, but making gross over generalizations in an attempt to construct an argument should be.
Posted by: Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach | June 29, 2007 at 05:22 PM
The video is a good example of a way that youtube etc can help keep people honest... no longer are you just about guaranteed to get away with things... you never know when someone might whip out a video or digital camera... and as a result where that video or images might be hung on the net. Hmmmm times are/have changed!
PS - and WAY too rough for such young kids no matter who you believe is at fault.
Posted by: Rachel Boyd | July 03, 2007 at 01:42 AM
Just a question... may inflame (not my aim) what is the difference between kids videoing this behaviour and posting it on youtube and kids videoing 'bad' teachers?
Don't get me wrong I think this is appalling. And I applaud the kids' steps in fighting against injustice. I have a 13 year old son and if I was there I would have belted that cop! (and I am totally a non violent person!!) How dare he treat children in that way. I had a friend taking her 13 year old son through customs flying out of NZ and the security screen beeped, the kid reached down to take something out of his pocket and the guard jumped on him and pinned him to the ground, hands roughly pulled behind his back. All in the clear sight of his mother who was in shock. When are we going to figure out that teenagers are not our enemy. If they hang out in packs its because they want to be with their friends, not destroy human life and morality as we know it. I wonder if there were police in SL and they found us all milling about in the same area, would we be seen as a threat and made to disperse? mmm.
Posted by: Jane Nicholls | July 04, 2007 at 04:39 PM
I do not have a problem with kids videoing bad teachers. I am in favor of schools having more windows and less walls. I think the reason Web 2.0 is resisted in so many schools is because the tools do support a layer of transparency.
Thanks for your post.
Posted by: Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach | July 04, 2007 at 10:28 PM
seems to me that most don't know the ENTIRE story.
the skaters purposely ignored an officer's warning and were then arrested. but not before nearly each of them resisted arrest.
at no time were any of the skaters abused unlawfully. contrary to popular liberal belief, choking never took place. i think people need to pick up a dictionary and look up the word "choking". another liberal myth is the age of the skaters. most imply that they are all 13. when in fact two were over 18 and another was 16. all of the skaters were capable of injuring the officer at anytime. people seem to ignore that fact. a simple skateboard to the back of the cops head would have done him in. but the officer remained calm and showed trust in the defiant skaters.
the investigation found the officer used the proper amount of force.
the kids escalated the entire situation by resisting arrest and purposely breaking an ordinance.
next time these skaters should abide by laws, obey police commands and not resist arrest.
Posted by: Roadrage | September 01, 2007 at 05:25 PM