Frankly, I'm getting tired of stories like this..................

[PtownVAMike]

................not because of the police actions, but because of the anti-police folks:

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/10-year-old-boy-autism-treated-police-state/

All you need to do to stir people up is to say that a boy with autism was mistreated by the police. Whether the cops and/or school were wrong is not the point. That is a discussion for another day. The point is that these anti-police stories just never seem to let up. If the police were in fact doing what they were (properly) trained to do to protect themselves, then I say more power to 'em.

[Aerohead]

The Free Thought Project mine as well be renamed CopBlockNews - that's pretty much all they post anyway...

[TheSlammer]

Exactly. CopBlock on fb is filled with, what I would assume, is criminals promoting death upon law enforcement for doing their job. If you check out the supporters on that pages, you'll most likely see "thugs" and drug users. Says it all.

[btfp]

They should learn to spell. It's principal not principle.

[Max K]

................not because of the police actions, but because of the anti-police folks:

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/10-year-old-boy-autism-treated-police-state/

The point is that these anti-police stories just never seem to let up.

I predict that those stories will never let up. And I think I know why: people do not want to grow up, unless they are forced to grow up. At least half the population somehow makes it to adulthood, but still has childish notions about how the world works, especially regarding the true cost of things: they would rather continue with their beliefs that water comes from the faucet and food comes from the refrigerator: they don't want to dwell on what it takes to get that food into the refrigerator: that might cramp their style. Of course, they would never be able to manage a grocery store. With this same childish view of the world, they look at the criminal justice system: they barely tolerate it when something is easy and goes well (an arrest, a trial, a conviction). But if there are difficulties, if there are hidden costs: such things are UNACCEPTABLE: it must be racism, or corruption, or the patriarchy, or white privelege, or something similar. They believe that cops should shoot people in the leg, or that if attacked with a knife, cops should use a taser. They believe that if a suspect is unarmed, cops cannot have any justifiable reason to shoot, because if the suspect is unarmed, the cops can tell that with their training, and there is always time to opt for a less-than-lethal level of force. They think this is common sense. This is what they believe.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

1. I know folks who sincerely don't give a damn if LE doesn't catch the bad guys ... unless the bad guy happens to have messed with their stuff, then they want the FBI, the CIA and Interpol called out. Or unless a perv has molested a kid, or better yet someone has been cruel to an animal (sometimes from the reaction to those stories, I think people care more about animal life than human life). Then it's time to erect the guillotine. Otherwise, it ain't their problem. Which shows the sad state of our society.

2. I hate that a 10-year-old had to be treated like this, but was LE and the school supposed to let him carve himself or someone else up with scissors. I may be treading dangerously here, and I might have a different perspective if I had a kid with such issues. But you're going to run the risk of this happening when you insist on mainstreaming kids with problems to that extent. And parents of those kids seem to be oblivious to the rights and safety of everyone else.

[Tom S]

My wife (retired) was a special education teacher and District Autism Consultant for 31 years. When I started recounting this story and got to the part about the kid being taken out in handcuffs, she said "That's how it's done!" She had a few taken out in cuffs through the years, and a couple "kickers" crow hopped out of the building. Being Autistic does not give a free pass on behavior and
damned sure does not require she go hand to hand with an armed student, regardless of age or disability. Being a parent of a disabled child is hard, but behavior modification starts at home.

[codemanski]

While I can agree with restraining the child so he won't hurt himself or others, and that a police presence may have been called for, I DON"T agree with is not allowing the child's father to intervene on the child's behalf. No, "autism" doesn't give a child the right to misbehave or act out, and steps certainly must be taken to prevent any harm to himself or others, but any time a situation can be de-escalated by allowing the parent contact with the child, or any other means available, I think it should be. Unfortunately, too many administrators and teachers want to take the time to fully understand or cope with a child with disabilities. Instead, most have a tendency to prescribe the maximum amount of action available to them so as not have to deal with the problem. Where does "discretion" figure in?
Ski

[codemanski]

That's the point Steve...teachers are calling for Law enforcement to solve the problem when it should be handled at the lowest level possible. I don't mean to slam teachers or administration...it just seems that nowadays, they are too quick to call in reinforcements. MYO
Ski

[codemanski]

I think that this is unfortunately a no win situation for the officers. If the police do cuff or otherwise restrain the kid, they’ll look bad in the eyes of the parents. If the police tells the school to handle it themselves, they’ll be criticized by the school for not helping the school.

I don't see it that way. Situations dictate tactics, and there is always room for discretion. If a problem can be resolved at a lower level, then it should be. It's not about "looking bad", it's about doing what's right for the welfare of the school, the parents but most of all, the child who may or may not have control over their emotions. Nothing is ever that cut and dried, nor should it be. Be Safe!
Ski

[Tom S]

That's the point Steve...teachers are calling for Law enforcement to solve the problem when it should be handled at the lowest level possible. I don't mean to slam teachers or administration...it just seems that nowadays, they are too quick to call in reinforcements. MYO
Ski

I disagree. Once the kid picked up the scissors, it became a police matter. My wife had all the Mandt training, including the self defense part of it, but I would still not want her going hand to hand with an armed student. Heck, the cops didn't want to go hand to hand with him either! That's why they tazed him.

[codemanski]

I disagree. Once the kid picked up the scissors, it became a police matter. My wife had all the Mandt training, including the self defense part of it, but I would still not want her going hand to hand with an armed student. Heck, the cops didn't want to go hand to hand with him either! That's why they tazed him.

Tom,
I'm not trying to MMQ this specific incident. I wouldn't want my wife to intervene under the circumstances and I'm sure the actions taken can be justified. My point is as a father/grandfather of a child with disabilities, I can see where a parent or care giver could get through to, and diffuse a situation before it becomes extreme and necessitates the need for outside assistance. Stay Safe!
Ski

[PtownVAMike]

Ski, I agree with what you've said so far. It was my thought process when I first started the thread.

I kinda lean toward blaming (if you want to call it that) the school for calling the police in the first place. I certainly agree that once LE came into the picture, they did what they had (and were required) to do. But the point is that perhaps the situation could've been handled without involving the police. Yes, I feel the officers can easily articulate why they did what they did. However, I also feel that had the situation been dealt with differently, then maybe they wouldn't have been called to begin with.