sk8s and cops - a quick follow-up

I just wanted to post a quick follow-up to the blog I had posted last week about the skateboarders and cops in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Since the story broke on YouTube, there has been a an incredible wave of antagonism on the part of anti-skateboarding fascists and anti-youth members of the community. Reports are coming in that the video doesn't show the whole story, and that parts were edited out. One newspaper had interviews with local business owners indicating that the skateboarders were out of control and that the police officer should be praised for his actions. Guess who those business owners were? The very same shopkeepers that probably requested the "no skateboarding" ban in the first place. No surprise there.

Here's what I think. I don't care how "out of control" or "antagonizing" the kids were off camera. They weren't acting out of control when I saw the police officer decide to choke them and put the girl in a headlock. They were walking with him, and asking him questions. Even if the questions were disrespectful or repetitive he had no right to treat them like that. If someone can't control their aggression and their anger, then they have no place in law enforcement.

We treat our policemen and firemen like heroes because they perform their duties under high levels of stress and danger and they serve justice, not because they are "tough". A good cop knows when physical assertion is absolutely necessary, and only uses it at those times. He doesn't use physical restraining force as a substitute for the fact that he has no backup, has run out of handcuffs, or is physically out of shape to chase someone who *might* try and run.

Maybe we need to start a new COPS campaign here in the United States:
Handcuffs not Headlocks