Is this Legal/Ethical?

[bassdrum]

What the cop did was a bit of a dick move, and it's kind of obnoxious, but there's nothing illegal on unethical about it. Your neighbor broke curfew, even if only by a few minutes, and so the cop had every right to call him on it. I can't say that I agree with the cop that a three minute infraction is worth suspending a license over, but it's entirely his call (your neighbor did technically break the law, after all).

 

[-Samurai-]

It's the end of the year. Most Police Departments haven't met their ticket quota, so they start acting like pricks.

He should have let the kid go. Three minutes is nothing, and the officer certainly has better things to do with his time. I'm sure if the kid challenged it, he would win.

How is it that we can trust 16 year olds behind the wheel of a speeding metal death machine that weighs tons, but we can't trust them to be outside after midnight? The world is a fickle thing.

 

[zombie711]

the cop was right but really 3 minutes is kinda pushy

 

[willsham45]

You should have some lee way in that sort of situation not everyone's clock is right but curfew always sucks where has curfew.

 

[Baldry]

Cop was in the right.

Neighbor was in the wrong.

This. Still a bit of a dick move on behalf of the cop.

 

[Thedarkness77]

i do think this was uncalled for. 2 years is a serious long time for 3 mins, and this curfew i have never heard of before. Why was the cop following him home in the first place?

 

[Demgar]

"To Protect and Serve"

This accomplishes neither.

 

[ChaoticLegion]

I would refer you to the phrase "Dura lex sed lex" - The law is hard, but it is the law.

 

[Sodoff]

Curfew?

Where do you live? :O

 

[Unesh52]

To the people saying it's ethical because the cop's just following the letter of the law, haven't you ever been late to class? Yes, there's a punishment for that, but it's not freaking summer school. And even if you're a good student who does his best to get to class on time, you've probably lost track of time, or misjudged how long you'd be in the bathroom, or just goofed off too long and been late. How would you feel if that minor, anomalous slip up cost you your entire summer? Or if you had to go to correctional school over it? The issue of ethics here comes in the disproportion between the scale of the offense and that of the punishment. The guy was barely within the scope of the statute and ostensibly trying to respect it. Unless he's a repeat offender, I think he should've just gotten a warning, or a few weeks suspension at very worst.

I just can't see the justice in "making an example" out of an almost completely innocent person.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

WTF is this curfew?

Most states have laws that require anyone under the age of 18 to not drive after midnight.

 

[Unesh52]

The reason why our society is so bad right now is because we have completely removed the concept of common sense.

...The common sense that you should be in way before curfew, or the common sense that you shouldn't take someone's driver's license away when they're clearly not a danger, despite the letter of the law?

Or were you just saying?

 

[ParkourMcGhee]

I'm seriously disturbed by the amount of Lawfulness in this thread - considering half the people are marijuana users.

3 minutes past can't be deduced correctly! Every watch has a margin of error of 5 minutes! It's unfair to do this to someone.

 

[Beliyal]

Well, according to the law and the curfew, it is legal, but I personally think it's a bit extreme to do that to a young driver. Maybe he did head home in time, but with traffic, you never know what obstacle are you going to run into that will prolong your journey. Maybe he got held at traffic lights, or by stopping for pedestrians, or by not speeding, or by being careful... So, let's punish him for obeying all those, more important, laws and being late for 3 minutes. It would be different if he got home 2 hours late, but it's clear that he was trying to get home in time. I would personally rather be late even 15 minutes, but drive carefully (and my parents would agree). And two years is a bit harsh; he'll probably lose his driving skills and will need extra time later to get those skills back. Unless you live in a impossibly law-obeying town, I believe there are far more important things a police should be doing than severely punishing a kid for being late for 3 minutes. Though, yeah; it is legal nonetheless. But hey, it is also legal for police to shoot people, but they are not going to do it if they can avoid it :/

 

[Mortons4ck]

Legal? Yes.
Dick move? Oh yeah.

 

[TerribleAssassin]

Obivious law is law.

Just because it's 2-3 minuites doesn't mean you've escaped, you've still breached the curfew.