If you want help with your teenager, call an ambulance, or call the fire dept, but don't call the police

Keith Vidal

My father used to say, "If you want help, call an ambulance, call the fire dept, call the dog catcher, call anyone, but don't call the police."

He was right. Why are so few people familiar with this simple bit of common wisdom?

Cop Allegedly Said ‘We Don’t Have Time For This’ Before Shooting Schizophrenic Teen To Death
By Annie-Rose Strasser
Think Progress
January 7, 2014

Schizophrenic 18-year-old Keith Vidal was having an episode on Sunday when his parents called the police for assistance. Instead, an officer shot and killed their son right in front of them.

During Sunday’s incident, Vidal had apparently picked up a small screwdriver — small enough that it couldn’t have caused serious harm, his family says, but enough that they sought law enforcement assistance. Three different police departments’ officers arrived at the scene. The first two were able to restrain Vidal and calm him down, according to Vidal’s father. But then a third entered, and that’s when he says things went sour.

He says the third officer tased Vidal, knocking the 90-pound teenager to the ground. The officer then allegedly stepped forward with a firearm and said, “we don’t have time for this,” before shooting the teen dead.

Southport Police Department, one of the three North Carolina agencies that responded to the call, has put one of its detectives on administrative leave in relation to the case, reports WECT. The department did not say whether the officer was the one who had fired the weapon. The other departments, Boiling Spring Lakes PD and the Brunswick County Sheriff’s office, said that they have not put their responding officers on leave. The State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident.

Sadly, families often treat police officers as assistants in home disputes or conflicts. But law enforcement officials have a long history of turning heated situations deadly. Protocol for police who take out their guns is to aim for the head or chest, and that’s exactly what the officer did in this case...

Dad calls cops to teach son a lesson; cops shoot son dead

Don't call the cops to teach a kid a lesson. Find a better way. This kid took the family vehicle--is that a capital offense? Dad used power to control the kid, and pretty much guaranteed a criminal record for the young man at the very least. The kid tried to escape that fate. This is not a good way to teach kids how to deal with problems.

Dad calls cops to teach son a lesson; cops shoot son dead
Natasha Lennard
Salon
2013-11-08

Police car dashboard footage of the truck stolen by Iowa man's son: VIDEO

Take this tragedy as a cautionary tale: Do not call the police on your kids, or anyone's kids, or anyone, ever, in order to teach them a lesson.

Cops in Ames, Iowa, shot dead 19-year-old Tyler Comstock after his father, James, reported his van stolen. The teen had driven off with the van following a family dispute.

As Raw Story reported:

Police chased Tyler Comstock onto the Iowa State University campus and set up a blockade that resulted in Comstock ramming Officer McPherson’s vehicle. McPherson ordered Comstock to shut off his truck, and when he refused to comply, McPherson shot at him six times.

The Iowa medical examiner’s office says he was killed by two gunshot wounds to the chest.

Comstock's father reacted in horror to the tragic turn of events; yet another addition to the pantheon of trigger-happy cop killings. "He took off with my truck. I call the police, and they kill him,” he said.

The footage below was recorded from the car dashboard of the officer who shot Tyler Comstock:

Police officer punches jaywalking teenage girl: sometimes police (and teachers!) allow issues of control to distort their perspective

The teenage girl detained in this story clearly broke the law by jaywalking and then ignoring a police officer. My question: what is the best way to deal with teenage girls who violate the law by jaywalking and then ignoring a police officer?

How do police and teachers maintain respect and authority? I'm not an expert on police, but I would like to suggest that as teachers we do so by sometimes letting things go, by recognizing when a confrontation will actually damage our authority.

In the grand scheme of things, there are important problems that require the use of physical force. A teenager jaywalking is not one of these things. The officer allowed several jaywalkers to leave; why not one more? Why get physical with a teenage girl? If I'd been in this officer's situation, I might have called after the departing girl, "We're worried about the possibility of an accident at this intersection. Please cross in a safer place next time."

I'm afraid we give young people the wrong message about the proper use of power when police (and teachers) overreact to young people who don't comply with our directives. The goal is to mold young people into responsible citizens, right? The specific goal in this case is to prevent a traffic accident.

Somehow I don't think this is the way to do it. It just makes kids think that the adults are abusive and can't control themselves when they get angry. Some adults can't identify a situation in which a confrontation will damage their own authority. This officer did not enhance his own authority by using physical force in this situation.


Police: Officer reassigned after punching incident caught on camera
(Includes video)
By Gabriel Falcon, CNN
June 16, 2010

A Seattle police officer who was recorded on a cell phone camera punching an alleged jaywalker in the face has been temporarily reassigned, a department spokesman said Wednesday.

Ian Walsh has been taken off patrol duty and placed in a training unit to review police tactics, Detective Mark Jamieson said.

Walsh, who joined the force in November 2007, has not been disciplined in the Monday incident, which remains under investigation, Jamieson said. The event has been referred to the police's Office of Professional Accountability for review, he said.

According to a police statement, Walsh was on patrol and in uniform Monday afternoon when he stopped a young man for jaywalking.

While interacting with the man, Walsh observed four women jaywalking at the same location and ordered them to step over to his cruiser, police said. The department described the women as being "verbally antagonistic toward the officer."...

The similarities between teacher culture and police culture

I was a teacher all my working life, so I'm not terribly knowledgeable about the workplace culture of other occupations.

People have compared teacher culture to high school "mean girls" culture.

But I've been amazed at how similar teacher culture is to police culture. Here is a story that made me think I'd feel at home in a station house:

The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct

I've known two main types of teachers, the nurturing type, and the policing type. But all types are asked to present a superficial appearance that is often not compatible with the truth, and to engage in actions that are not compatible with teaching children.

Police Beating of Maryland Student Caught on Video

"In a sworn statement, county police officer Sean McAleavey said McKenna and Donat "struck" other officers and their horses, "causing minor injuries.""

I think that police officers who file false reports should be reprimanded. I believe that the same is true for school officials and employees who file false reports. The Maryland police officers' stories are even more outrageous than stories made up by Richard Werlin and Castle Park Elementary teachers.



Police Beating of Maryland Student Caught on Video
Mara Gay
AOL News
(April 13, 2010

Without the video, this might have been a classic case of "he said, she said."

But there is a video. And so the case against two University of Maryland students accused of attacking police after a basketball game last month was dropped after the footage showed county police beating one of those students repeatedly with a baton. Now a new kind of accusation is being leveled, this one against the officers: police brutality...

WHEN A POLICE OFFICER WAS RETALIATED AGAINST FOR SPEAKING OUT, HE ENDED UP WINNING A $60,000 SETTLEMENT FROM THE CITY OF MURRIETA

This case makes me think of the Sally Smith case. Taxpayers will foot the bill through a public insurer. When will officials learn that the Bill of Rights is still in effect in America?


MURRIETA: Sergeant, city settle lawsuit for $60,000
By NELSY RODRIGUEZ
January 20, 2010

MURRIETA ---- A Murrieta police sergeant has settled a long-standing civil rights lawsuit he filed against the city.

Sgt. Robert Landwehr, a current member of the city's police force, will receive $60,000, which includes $40,000 for attorney fees, Murrieta City Attorney Leslie Devaney said Wednesday.

Devaney announced the settlement after the end of the City Council's closed meeting Tuesday.

She said the city will not pay the settlement, rather a public insurer will.

Landwehr also had been seeking a promotion to sergeant through the 2006 lawsuit, but Devaney said she did not know the outcome of that situation.

Michael McGill, Landwehr's attorney, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Landwehr claimed he was denied a promotion to lieutenant and overlooked for special task force assignments because he publicly voiced his opinion about staffing at the department. He wrote several letters that were published by various newspapers regarding the need for more officers to serve the city's growing population.