Good Grief! Police sprayed 8 yr old with pepperspray in the classroom!

Star*

call 911........call 911
This was an interesting conversation in our home as well - and I was surprised to find two VERY opposing schools of thought.

I still maintain my position that I did on my original post.

While I feel it wasn't the best thing in the world to pepper spray an 8 year old, I feel that police did the best -worst thing they could do because - while I was not there, and do not know how much time lapsed for the entire scenario - my arguments to DF were these in order - It was an interesting debate.

1.) - if police had taken time to sit and talk to this child how long is long enough? What message would that have sent to him for future confrontations? You can do this again, and next time we'll just take all day? Not knowing (again) the situation even though it was a child - had there been an emergency somewhere else? How long DO you as a law enforcement official then spend trying to talk a child out of a situation at hand so you can take care of an emergency situation (for instance - you spent 30 minutes talking to this child - and a woman has a gun pointed at her head in a bank - do you still stand there and talk to this child, or do you take action and leave for the emergency?) Not pointing fingers again - just asking out loud.

2.) While I also believe pepper spray was not a great choice at all - if police had not done something and this child had come out of the class room and run down the hall, out the door - and into traffic near the school with no on subduing him - then he could have been fatally injured, or non-fatally injured and be hurt for life if there was a no-hands-on police in place. Had he been slick enough to run past everyone and just been clipped by an auto, and gotten a concussion and in a coma - then what? Would pepper spray then be better?

3.) Basket holds? Okay we were trained for this for Dude. I got a broken nose while trying to subdue him during a rage. Lets say an officer did this to calm the child and sustained a broken nose. Then this eight year old boy is charged with aggravated assault on an LEO - and it goes on his permanent record. This is not good, being pepper sprayed and taken like he was? MUCH less of a charge, on his record I think - not sure - but battery on an officer is very serious.

4.) Police get into the room and talk to him - this would have been good. Then they don't know what to say in the classroom any more than they did outside the door. The conversation goes South and they grab him and do what? Most times that I'm aware of police even with children - because my experience even when Dude was FIVE years old - they shoved his arm behind his back - and Dude was screaming - I kept thinking OMG it's going to break off - Dude was struggling, screaming - crying, scared out of his mind - but then what? The child is not only freaked out worse - but there is a chance for struggle, broken wrists, ribs, arms, I can see head injuries, biting and officer - what defense does a kid have? Kicking...and again we're back to assault on a LEO on an eight year olds record.

I am not NOT saying pepperspray was the best thing, or right. All I'm saying is that given the knowledge or lack of knowledge these particular officers had, and not being there....it could have been that they made the best 'wrong' choice for the safety of the child based on what they felt he would do. It could have been that they felt if he did put down his home made weapon? He was going to bolt - we don't know what he said prior to putting that down. He may have said nothing, and done everything just right, and the officers were totally and utterly just wanting to use pepper-spray to see how it went, I rather doubt it. Although at our house - it did happen, and the guy was a jerk - I got it, the dog got it - it was uncalled for and he only did it to see what would happen. He was scared of our dog. In this case - I doubt officers were scared OF an 8 year old, but perhaps more of WHAT the 8 year old would do if he got out of that room and how to control him once he GOT OUT? I don't know. I wasn't there, none of us were.

If WE were? I am sure - it would have gone a LOT differently, without incident, without pepper-spray, without the news, without law enforcement, and without this discussion - but then again - how much experience is there between all of us? And even then? In my own house? We disagree that what was done for the child wasn't done to help him.

I just found it interesting. DF said he would be suing to high hell - but 3 concussions, 2 chokings, a broken jaw, twice hit by a car, and a Residential Treatment Center (RTC) owner that sold crack and starved his son, denied him of basic necessities? And we never sued. I found that interesting too, in hind sight - so did he.

Just a thought ----and I'm open for yours

So my question to DF was - WHAT would you have done? His answer was. I don't know - but NOT pepper sprayed that child for sure. Maybe just walked away from the door and left him alone, not given him an audience, and no attention. Seemed to me, he was getting A LOT of attention and that always got Dude rialed. Then left him alone, let one person come back - like his Mom or a teacher he trusted to talk to him through that door - I dunno.
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
I agree with DF as well. The Mom was 10 minutes from the school when the kid was sprayed and not posing a direct threat by that time.
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
Well he has been known to be the voice of reason - several times. Then again this was the same man that went after a mother raccoon with a cane while on pain pills, so he is funny too. It just never ends at the ranch. I guess I was just more surprised to see him take a pro-active stand now, with someone elses child - after all we've been through. I missed the part that the Mom was only 10 minutes away. I think in that instance? I would have called her first and at least given her a chance to talk to him. I still see someone's butt over the fire on this, and a law suit. Whatever happens I hope at the very least someone is offering to pay for some PTSD counseling for that eight year old.

It will be interesting to follow up with the Mom and see how this progresses. I hope to see a follow up story on this since it has stirred so many emotions in such a large crowd of people. I also liked the idea someone had of offering to bring the Mom to our board. I think she could use all the support she can get.
 
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