Police pepper spray 8 year old

[Therumancer]

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.

 

[standokan]

Totally justified though I feel for the kid, no way in hell that he'll become a marine.

 

[maffro]

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.

 

[Levitas1234]

The kid was trying to KILL two people. I think they would have been justified if they snapped his arms and legs.

really?

I find this funny, i could imagine all the teachers scared shitless of the little 8 year old, the teachers could of handled it themselves if they weren't so incompetent (lock themselves in a closet, what a joke) those teachers were probably good for nothing nerds anyways who thought they were king of the world.

I'm finding myself very confused. You insult nerds while on The Escapist, but you aren't any of the assholes who joined just for MM. It's a very confusing thing.

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.

 

[Levitas1234]

The kid was trying to KILL two people. I think they would have been justified if they snapped his arms and legs.

If i were a teacher, i'd just walk out of the room and lock him in

That is what they did...

he locked them in the room

 

[Udyrfrykte]

Man up sissies. Your skin is so fair a rough breeze would tear you apart. Kid will probably never do that again.

 

[bdcjacko]

That is what they did...

he locked them in the room

Look, lets not split hairs. A door was closed and locked and between him and them.

 

[Bullmatthews]

8 year olds should be dreaming of being Firefighters and superheroes, any child who wants to be a marine should be shown what marines actually deal with on a regular basis. Chances are this kid thinks that marines are like what he sees on TV or on video games, not true. The mother is the one to blame here i think, a psychologist is never a good thing for a child. If the police feel threatened they are authorized to use their pepper spray and there was no permanent harm. So the kid learned a lesson and no one was hurt, thats it.

 

[Zanderinfal]

Fuck, I'am I the only person thinking that this WAS bad, but that they didn't have to use pepper spray? AND TO DO IT TWICE!
But the fact that people HAVE NOT said that this kid's problems may have been the schools fault is enraging!
Also, I would like to note, if the kids over there, away from the police, what were they thinking, going to close range and pepper spraying a kid TWICE!
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!
The kid obviously has problems, and this can't have been the first rage related incident he has had in his life? Obviously he has bottled up his anger in a while, OR he HAS had these sort of incidents (though much less violent) before? Is there any hard evidence to say that his Mum hasn't lied about this being the first rage related incident(if she actually said that, I didn't watch the whole video OR read the article, but I know enough to know this wasn't the kids first time)?

 

[fix-the-spade]

What do you guys think? Was this justified or totally not needed?

Men after my own heart!

Admit it, there's been a time in your life where you desperately wanted to cause a grade schooler harm. Those two coppers weren't going to miss their opportunity...

More seriously, that whole incident is plain bizarre. He's eight years old yet two adult teachers apparently couldn't restrain him? Who's his dad, Bruce Banner?

 

[Sanglyon]

I believe that every proponent of pepper spray as "an harmless way to restrain an 8 year old" should be pepper-sprayed himself to experience what it feels like, because from experience, people like that have no clue of what real pain is. And if they keep on saying it's still "harmless", give them psychiatric counseling. Because anyone thinking it's ok to use this kind of treatment on a kid half their size "because he has a stick and was threatening to kill" has serious moral and mental issue. What would they do if a 5 years old throw a ball through their window? Set a rotweiller on him?

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.

The article say there was two other accidents before, and that it didn't end that way. Because they called in police officers that were trained to deal with this kind of thing.
So there is a proven effective way to deal with this kid.

I don't blame as much the untrained cops who dealt with it in the best way they could come up, as the school teachers that called the regular police instead of the usual one. If problem kids are put in special institutions instead of normal school, it's because people there are supposed to know how to deal with them.

What made me write my previous post was the reaction from some people on this thread who consider normal using stuff meant to subdue violent adults on a preteen kid. It is not normal. These cops may have had no other choice, this I understand, but that doesn't make it ok. "It could have been worse" isn't enough to make it "the right thing to deal with it". The right thing was to call the right person, as was expected and usual for this specialized institution. When a elderly person with alzeimher starts to spit profanities and throw things around, the retirement home staff isn't supposed to call the traffic cops to help them.

 

[sergnb]

2 good delibered slaps in the face. They would have solved this kid's behaviour.

Instead, we are watching news of police spraying pepper on his fucking face.

This is what happens when teachers slap children: http://www.curtisgotslappedbyawhiteteacher.com/

I was implying the parents would be the ones slapping the children, but yeah, if a kid wants to be retarded, he will be retarded

 

[0_Insomnis_0]

I entirely understand why they sprayed him. Those kids with repetitive violence issues can be dangerous.

 

[Littlee300]

definitely justified. i woulda shot him. damn kids not listening to directions.

That is extreme.
I remember I used to wave stuff when my brother was moving in on me. Too bad I am too much of a pussy and he knows it so he just charges me and I drop whatever I am holding and run. I wish I was less nice sometimes.

yeah... probably. this is probably why im not a police officer.

MY LITTLE BROTHER DOES THE SAME THING! he is slow too so its easy to get to him.

edit: fyi, it would have been in the knee. i'd much rather cripple the little bugger then kill him.

Don't forget about sterilizing him to make the gene pool better.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

2 good delibered slaps in the face. They would have solved this kid's behaviour.

Instead, we are watching news of police spraying pepper on his fucking face.

This is what happens when teachers slap children: http://www.curtisgotslappedbyawhiteteacher.com/

I was implying the parents would be the ones slapping the children, but yeah, if a kid wants to be retarded, he will be retarded

Damn, I know it's not the original topic, but fuck me that woman needs a slap, that 40 page diatribe is everything that's wrong about the sue-happy culture we have, along with a ridiculous level of racism. From what I read, there was no racist intent, and it was an all black school, so the constant obsession with a white teacher slapping a black kid is irrelevant, and the page after page of demands, is just hilarious.

Now, slapping a kid is bad and wrong, I agree, but it doesn't mean you get a free everything forever, and get to charge $6000 for a one minute meeting. Honestly, take a look at that link, it's crazy compressed down into 50 pages of batshit on paper.

Oh it just gets better, she is now demanding that they do not attempt:

Any Government mind control tactics.
to have any 'accidents' kill her and her family.
to put 'stuff' in the water and food supply.
etc,etc.

Honestly, can they not just give that letter to a psychiatrist and have put her away for her own safety?

 

[SenseOfTumour]

EDIT: double post again, strange I've not had this happen in years, and now twice in 2 days!

 

[CrazyMedic]

I think that falls under excessive force. It's an 8 year old, he may not be fully aware of his actions and what he could do... but he's 8! He's probably not even strong enough to hurt someone with that stick he had.

I think a baby could hurt someone with a sharpened stick(Atleast it was my understanding he sharpened it) I mean if a caveman could take down a buffalo with one I think getting one inbewteen the ribs could be pretty bad, and since the kid seems no worse for ware I see no problem.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Yeah, anyone who's taken an unlucky flailing baby's foot to the happy sack can say for sure that you don't need to be a muscle man or a ninja to hurt someone Doesn't take strength just a quick motion to the right place and a bit of luck. (good or bad)