Cops Take Down 70lb High School Girl because she had Cell Phone

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

HumblePie

Lifer
Oct 30, 2000
14,665
440
126
I have trouble having too much sympathy for the girl. The reaction of police was overboard. She was not breaking laws that required her to be arrested. She was breaking school rules though and is stupid for doing so. It's one thing for police to be involved if she had drugs, or a weapon on her. Another thing for a cell phone. At most a school security guard should have escorted her to the principles office where her parents could be called to pick her and the cell phone up. At which point the girl can be suspended from school for her actions or face other school reprisals for those actions.

But the fucking cops?? ugh.
 

werepossum

Elite Member
Jul 10, 2006
29,873
463
126
There will be an excessive force lawsuit, and she will likely win. The school will then implement a different verity of stupidity to deal with the problem.
:D No doubt.

Anyone approached by cops whilst holding anything is best advised to throw themselves to the ground and commence beating themselves about the head. Well, that's the impression I get from ATPN threads anyway.
 

werepossum

Elite Member
Jul 10, 2006
29,873
463
126
I have trouble having too much sympathy for the girl. The reaction of police was overboard. She was not breaking laws that required her to be arrested. She was breaking school rules though and is stupid for doing so. It's one thing for police to be involved if she had drugs, or a weapon on her. Another thing for a cell phone. At most a school security guard should have escorted her to the principles office where her parents could be called to pick her and the cell phone up. At which point the girl can be suspended from school for her actions or face other school reprisals for those actions.

But the fucking cops?? ugh.
It is somewhat ironic that American public school systems now almost universally ban paddling, but employ cops who will Tase you or body slam you to the ground for the things that were once penalized via paddling.
 

Leymenaide

Senior member
Feb 16, 2010
752
368
136
At great schools we encourage the students to bring their tech to class. I do not care if they listen to music if they are working quietly on something (does not happen often) Is there abuse? Hell yes. Can I survive it? Sure. Last year a boy complained that a girl hit him (10th -11th grade) . When he wanted to go talk to guidance. I asked if he had a phone then told him to call his mother. He wanted to know what to tell her . I said tell her a girl hit you. End of issue.
 

Sonikku

Lifer
Jun 23, 2005
15,914
4,956
136
She could have been phoning intel to ISIS.




You don't know that she wasn't.
 

NoStateofMind

Diamond Member
Oct 14, 2005
9,711
6
76
At great schools we encourage the students to bring their tech to class. I do not care if they listen to music if they are working quietly on something (does not happen often) Is there abuse? Hell yes. Can I survive it? Sure. Last year a boy complained that a girl hit him (10th -11th grade) . When he wanted to go talk to guidance. I asked if he had a phone then told him to call his mother. He wanted to know what to tell her . I said tell her a girl hit you. End of issue.

Wow! Just wow! Hats off to you!

Teachers interact with students in a rationalized and reasoned manner? Impressive.
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,082
136
Hey guys, the news and DMCOWAN only care because this girl is brown.

If she were white there would be no outrage.
 

MovingTarget

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2003
9,002
115
106
I have absolutely no sympathy for this girl up until the point that the police were involved. There are many legitimate reasons to ban cell phones in a classroom environment...but none of those reasons justify involving the police. Give this girl a detention and take her phone for the day...sure. Suspend her from the classroom if she does not comply with officials to give up the phone...sure. But police involvement? Thats insane. In all honesty, if this girl had a real issue with a sick relative that necessitated having a phone on hand, then she could have gotten prior approval at the school's office before deciding to break the rules. Every problem like this has a solution, and its clear to me that there are failures on both sides....the girl for disobeying legitimate rules, and an overreaching administration that involved the police over what is likely a "zero-tolerence" (read: zero intelligence) policy.
 

werepossum

Elite Member
Jul 10, 2006
29,873
463
126
At great schools we encourage the students to bring their tech to class. I do not care if they listen to music if they are working quietly on something (does not happen often) Is there abuse? Hell yes. Can I survive it? Sure. Last year a boy complained that a girl hit him (10th -11th grade) . When he wanted to go talk to guidance. I asked if he had a phone then told him to call his mother. He wanted to know what to tell her . I said tell her a girl hit you. End of issue.
lol I salute you for that.

Hey guys, the news and DMCOWAN only care because this girl is brown.

If she were white there would be no outrage.
Do we know she's brown? I've seen some pretty white people named Perez. For example, Perez Hilton.
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,082
136
In college theres a girl who sits behind me that cant be any taller than 4'6" and I bet she weighs around 75 pounds.
 

Wreckem

Diamond Member
Sep 23, 2006
9,564
1,150
126
I have absolutely no sympathy for this girl up until the point that the police were involved. There are many legitimate reasons to ban cell phones in a classroom environment...but none of those reasons justify involving the police. Give this girl a detention and take her phone for the day...sure. Suspend her from the classroom if she does not comply with officials to give up the phone...sure. But police involvement? Thats insane. In all honesty, if this girl had a real issue with a sick relative that necessitated having a phone on hand, then she could have gotten prior approval at the school's office before deciding to break the rules. Every problem like this has a solution, and its clear to me that there are failures on both sides....the girl for disobeying legitimate rules, and an overreaching administration that involved the police over what is likely a "zero-tolerence" (read: zero intelligence) policy.

1. Any child can be IMMEDIATELY contacted through the school office. They do not need a cellphone during the day for communication purposes.

2. Almost all urban schools have their own police departments. The officers made poor judgement. I doubt the AP told them to do what they did. What likely happened was the AP called the police because the child would not go to to office as ordered. She then did not comply with HISD police to go to the office. Thus physical force to get her to comply. Disobeying a LAWFUL command from an officer will almost always result in the use of force.
 

alcoholbob

Diamond Member
May 24, 2005
6,390
469
126
Overboard on both the assistant principal's part to call police and them to physically restrain her, but I have no sympathy for her - if a police officer gives you a lawful order you comply, period. If it takes some people getting repeated blows to the head to get that message through then so be it.

So if some 70lb school girl doesn't don't obey, and the cops abuse her, she doesn't get your sympathy. If the girl obeys and still gets abused, then she gets your sympathy? Is your sympathy made of heaven's tears? Who gives a crap about your sympathy?
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
6,340
136
And the preceding part of the video shows her hitting the cop.


Yeah, I made that up but I could have happened.