re: Get Off My Lawn- Cop Assaults, Chokes And Threatens To Kill Teen Edition

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I posted a video of a cop assaulting a teenager and a white and black teenager were involved.

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Actually, you posted a video of a homeowner detaining a trespasser on his property. Cops are allowed to be homeowners. you know? Whether or not you were allowed to "freely" roam your neighborhood as a teen doesn't change the laws regarding trespassing on private property. A non-cop, homeowner may have very well have shot them instead of detaining them.

I, too, freely roamed my neighborhood (Old Goodwood) as a teen....cutting through yards, etc. However, I once freely roamed through the wrong property one too many times and had the owner shooting at us with rock salt. If you decide to trespass (which is unlawful), whether it was an innocent mistake or not, you may not enjoy the outcome.

Quick question...are you a homeowner? Suppose this happened at night? The same trespassing laws apply day or night. With a trigger happy public out there, these kids may have actually been lucky they were trespassing on a cop's property.

All other things aside, this is another case of hyperbolic journalism. At no point in the video do you see the guy "choking" the kid. He's holding him to the ground. His hands are near the neck, but the kid is talking to him the whole time. Last time I checked, it's not easy to get many words out while being "choked." The article's title tries to sensationalize what happened, when it's not nearly as bad as you'd think. if you watch the video, he was only detaining the kid. Was it really for trespassing, like he said? Who knows. Did the backpack (with weapons in it) that he found play into his decision to detain? Probably. I'd be on alert if I found something like that tossed into my backyard and then find a couple juveniles, one bleeding, in my yard. He most likely suspected they were involved in some crime and were trying to ditch evidence, thus detaining the kid.