Police pepper spray 8 year old
- Thread starter Saucycarpdog
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See...there american law system is a patch work, so it depends on the local government. And I am will to guess the first responder cops were just trying to end this the fastest most effective way without getting in shit later. So the opted for pepper spray. This one of those back against the wall situations that no matter what they did they would get in shit. If they jumped him, people would be like why did the cops need to do that to an 8 year old. If they waited, someone could have gotten hurt. If they tazed him, same mess. If they shot him, same mess...well probably worse. So they did what they thought was right at the time.EonEire said:
I've had pepper-spray in the eyes. It sucks and made me want to not resist. So yeah, if some kid was throwing chairs at me, I would totally pepper spray him. And if a kid threw a ball through my window, I would make him and his parents pay for it.Sanglyon said:
Seems like he was acting like a mad monkey threatening to kill people, i get it that hes an 8yo, but teachers had to hide in a closet to protect themselves from being injured, and what could they do to stop him? They obviously didn't want to hit a kid, they can't grab him because he might start biting or whatnot. So i say it was totally justified, it didn't have any permament effects and that mom can shut the hell up, we get it, you love your kid, but face it, your son has some serious issues.
If you've ever been pepper-sprayed, you understand that this is not a huge deal. It hurts, but it's a lot safer than if the officers had tried to manhandle the kid to the ground -- who the hell knows what might have happened. Sounds like they responded appropriately given their training and the circumstances.
I blame Spiderman.
But, really, I used to do volunteer work teaching kids who came from war camps in Africa. They get shipped as political refugees over to America and plopped down in the projects, where it's up to well-meaning college students to teach them English. The fights that break out on playgrounds between 10-year-old war refugees make this look like babysitting a toddler.
We had everything from attempted rape to a broken leg to an eye gouged out in that program. And even in that roughest of situations, an 8-year-old would NEVER have been able to intimidate multiple teachers and police officers. There are safe, efficient ways for even skinny geeks like me to gently restrain a violent child.
These were people wanting to avoid a lawsuit so bad that they let a terrible situation escalate to PEPPER-SPRAYING AN 8-Year-Old. If anyone with any sense were there, they would have approached the child, swatted his discoordinated stick swinging aside, picked his ass up, and carried him away from the situation.
But this was a middle class, white kid, so anyone physically touching him would have sent the country into an outrage.
*grumble*
But, really, I used to do volunteer work teaching kids who came from war camps in Africa. They get shipped as political refugees over to America and plopped down in the projects, where it's up to well-meaning college students to teach them English. The fights that break out on playgrounds between 10-year-old war refugees make this look like babysitting a toddler.
We had everything from attempted rape to a broken leg to an eye gouged out in that program. And even in that roughest of situations, an 8-year-old would NEVER have been able to intimidate multiple teachers and police officers. There are safe, efficient ways for even skinny geeks like me to gently restrain a violent child.
These were people wanting to avoid a lawsuit so bad that they let a terrible situation escalate to PEPPER-SPRAYING AN 8-Year-Old. If anyone with any sense were there, they would have approached the child, swatted his discoordinated stick swinging aside, picked his ass up, and carried him away from the situation.
But this was a middle class, white kid, so anyone physically touching him would have sent the country into an outrage.
*grumble*
Is pepper spray a pleasant experience? No, I think not.
But he brought the situation on himself. They could've done worse.
But he brought the situation on himself. They could've done worse.
And we get back to the real problem, how the hell do you restrain an angry 8 year old that has a history with rage issues flailing about all over the place with no real training for subduing kids while not hurting him? I don't doubt at all that the cop could have slapped the stick of the kid and put him on the floor, but the clincher comes in if he either applies too much strength (again, no real training for taking down kids that I know of) and hurts the kid for real (cry about pepper spray all you want, but a broken bone is a shit ton nastier) or even fall on the kid because of a fuck up. Basically, yes, I do not know how pepper spray feels, but I'd dare say it's "cleaner" in the sense that it cuts the bullshit and reduces the chances of a freak accident happening on both sides of the confrontation. Also, this may be causing a huge media outcry, but if that child had bruises and god forbid, a sprained ankle or even worse, a broken bone, he'd be in a shit storm of epic proportions. It's a whole other animal how we got to that point and if there was a clear try to use diplomacy.Sanglyon said:
that's ridiculous. I understand that teachers are not allowed to hit children but in a school for children with "issues" it seems ridiculous that they just run away as soon as the children act out.ace_of_something said:
grab the stick and drag the kid into the principals office/next to a phone so you can call the parents.
pepper-spray can be lethal (especially to a child) if the target is allergic and any injuries a child would get from struggling they could just as easily get from writhing in pain.Dense_Electric said:
also, if an officer of the law gets injured by an 8-year old with a stick it would probably be his/her own fault.
The kid is over it already, (in fact, he says "I deserved it") but the mom still has a problem. This is probably why the kid has such issues- his mom probably lets him wipe his ass on the carpet.
Seems like a perfectly reasonable response overall. Generally speaking, societal standards aren't geared for 8 year olds being that out of control and seeing response from the regular authorities, as opposed to say the staff of an asylum.
Anything they could have used from guns, to tasers, to simply going after him bare handed would have risked injury and be seen by some as being excessive.... yet the option of just letting the kid do whatever he wants really isn't an option either.
Looking at the tools the police probably had at their disposal, the pepper spray seems like a solid choice as while painful, the odds of it doing any real damage are minimal. I mean it CAN do serious damage, but it's very unlikely, and I think the odds are lower than anything else including going in to try and restrain him barehanded while he's fighting.
It's a bad situation overall, there is no good way something like this can turn out.
Anything they could have used from guns, to tasers, to simply going after him bare handed would have risked injury and be seen by some as being excessive.... yet the option of just letting the kid do whatever he wants really isn't an option either.
Looking at the tools the police probably had at their disposal, the pepper spray seems like a solid choice as while painful, the odds of it doing any real damage are minimal. I mean it CAN do serious damage, but it's very unlikely, and I think the odds are lower than anything else including going in to try and restrain him barehanded while he's fighting.
It's a bad situation overall, there is no good way something like this can turn out.
Kid even admitted he deserved it in the video. He seems fairly reasonable, apart from having serious anger issues.
And the fact that he has issues, rather than just being a kid who got angry, means he's likely more of a threat.
Whether they took the 'best' course of action is debateable. But they didn't take the wrong one.
And the fact that he has issues, rather than just being a kid who got angry, means he's likely more of a threat.
Whether they took the 'best' course of action is debateable. But they didn't take the wrong one.
Short answer, i'm the kinda nerd who stopped playing video games and went out and turned the world into one that was in my favor.HG131 said: