Cops pepper spray black teen inside his white foster family's home after assuming he was a burglar

a reply to: Daedalus

"swatting" is illegal....this is nearly the same thing.

It is easy to prove someone's intent when there is a "swatting" incident.

What facts do we have that would lead someone to believe the neighbor's intention was to harass the 18 year old?

a reply to: areyouserious2010

A reasonable person is not going to start arguing with the police, refusing commands and resisting detention.

Read the article and all available information. The child told the police he lived there and the police told him they didn't care and to shut up, then they asked him if he lived there why wasn't he in the family photo. (that displayed white children).

Sure, they have a job to do and it should have been done with professionalism and in a calm and rational manner since the child was obviously not a threat or did not possess weapons when they made initial contact with him, instead they disgraced themselves and the community they are supposed to be serving and protecting by treating him like a criminal in HIS OWN HOUSE before they had any idea about what was going on.

Spin it however you like, this is abuse.

a reply to: Helious

Read the article and all available information. The child told the police he lived there and the police told him they didn't care and to shut up, then they asked him if he lived there why wasn't he in the family photo. (that displayed white children).

First, 18 years old is an adult not a child.

Second, are the police just to take him at his word? So, every time the police investigate a crime, if the person says they did not not it, then they did not do it.

Of course not. He made a claim that it was his house. They started trying to verify that claim by looking at pictures in the house which, apparently, did not contain him.

Which brings up a good point. Others fault the neighbor for not recognizing him and calling the police after he had been living there for a year.

Do those same people fault the parents for not having something as simple as a PICTURE of the 18 year old after he had lived with them for a year?

Sure, they have a job to do and it should have been done with professionalism and in a calm and rational manner since the child was obviously not a threat or did not possess weapons when they made initial contact with him, instead they disgraced themselves and the community they are supposed to be serving and protecting by treating him like a criminal in HIS OWN HOUSE before they had any idea about what was going on.

The police conducting themselves in a calm, rational and professional manner only goes so far when they are dealing with someone who is not conducting themselves in a calm and rational manner. The article says the police pepper sprayed the 18 year old when he became belligerent and refused to follow commands.

Being belligerent and refusing to follow commands is not conducting one's self in a calm and rational manner.

Spin it however you like, this is abuse.

The spin comes from the "news outlet" who cheaply printed this article for cheap points. Using words like "child" to describe an 18 year old and writing the article with the assumption that everything that occurred was the fault of the neighbor and the police and obviously happened because of the 18 year old's race, and ignoring the very actions of said 18 year old, is the definition of cheap reporting.

Officers said the teen became belligerent and was sprayed after he refused to follow orders.

It was his place of residence. Who wouldn't get mad when being treat like that in their own place. The police need to get over the god complex.

Cops seem to always resort to violence. Lucky it was spray instead of bullets.

a reply to: areyouserious2010

Are you serious?
This kid, yes 18 may be a man in the eyes of the law, but at 18 your are still a kid.

He was in his own home, he doesn't have to calm and nice to the cops, they are the ones in the wrong at this point.
He has rights just like the rest of us, he is innocent until proven guilty and that burden is on the cops not on him.

There is no spin that this was all the police and neighbors fault, they peppered sprayed a kid in his own home for no reason what so ever.

originally posted by: areyouserious2010
It shows that there is a crime trend going on in the area. Meaning, there are criminals operating in the community and the police are looking to stop and identify them.

i know what it means. in the future, when replying to me, i would ask that you refrain from being so condescending.

To be honest, you would probably be hard pressed to find any urban or suburban community that has not experienced a burglary trend in the recent past.

my old neighborhood had at least a couple a year...nobody called the cops on me for going into my own house..

Yes, it is strange the neighbor did not know who lived next to him but how can you claim it is their "fault." Maybe the guy studied a lot and did not go outside much. Maybe the guy played video games all day and did not go outside much. Maybe the guy worked all day and came home and stayed inside. Who really knows?

nice try.

i play video games all day(when i'm not working), and i still know what all my neighbors look like....because i pay attention to my surroundings..

What I find concerning is the fact that you would excuse the way the 18 year old handled the situation and point "fault" at everyone else.

if cops came into my house, demanding that i prove i live there, i'd tell them to GTFO too...it's goddamn ridiculous. what's worse, is that in this case, the cops used pictures on the wall as "proof" that he didn't live there....i can understand they had no way of knowing if he actually lived there....MAYBE you show them ID, and then you tell the cops you want to press charges against the neighbor, and then they go arrest them....

i agree, it's a lousy spot to be in(for the cops, i mean), because there no real way to come out of it clean.....so yeah, it really is the neighbor's fault...if he's a jackass who doesn't like black people, then screw him. if he's too dumb to pay attention to his surroundings, then screw him..nature will take care of him eventually.

So, because the neighbor found something a black guy was doing suspicious, the neighbor is automatically in the wrong?

actually, yeah....not all black people are criminals, or up to no good..

It sounds like you are saying no one may find something, someone from another race is doing, suspicious lest they be a racist. That sounds ridiculous.

actually, i'd not have a problem with someone finding something an alien was doing suspicious......

a reply to: areyouserious2010

and, you completely missed the point...congratulations.

a reply to: areyouserious2010

none, yet, and we probably never will....

but the fact remains that he called the cops on someone he shouldn't have...which is almost as bad as swatting..

there's no way to tell if it was malicious, or not, because now that it's a thing, the neighbor will stick to whatever story they're using at the moment....doesn't make them any less of a dumbass for not noticing their neighbor for nearly an entire year..

a reply to: roadgravel

It was his place of residence. Who wouldn't get mad when being treat like that in their own place. The police need to get over the god complex.

It was 1 in 100,000 that the neighbor would not recognize the person that lived there and call the police to report a burglary.

Based on that probability, the police were acting accordingly and had every right to investigate.

I still can't see how you can excuse the reaction of the 18 year old. If you find yourself confronted by uniformed police officers inside of your home, wouldn't it be prudent to assume there has been some kind of mistake but cooperate anyway? Even just out of self preservation or respect for the safety of the police officers?

Cops seem to always resort to violence.

You just quoted this from the article:

Officers said the teen became belligerent and was sprayed after he refused to follow orders.

The guy became belligerent first and then he was pepper sprayed.

So, the police are just supposed to leave a, now, belligerent person in someone's home who may or may not be a burglar?

You are judging this situation based on facts that were discovered after the incident escalated and then was concluded. This is called hind-sight. The police officers did not have this luxury when dealing with the situation in real time.

a reply to: Sremmos80

This kid, yes 18 may be a man in the eyes of the law, but at 18 your are still a kid.

An 18 year old is a man. An 18 year old has reached the age of majority. An 18 year old can make very important decisions on his or her own and is his or her own responsibility.

He was in his own home, he doesn't have to calm and nice to the cops, they are the ones in the wrong at this point.

You are correct that he does not have to be calm and nice to cops in his own home. In fact, no one has to be calm or nice to cops anywhere. But you have to expect the police to react to your demeanor. And in this case, the police were correct in how they were handling the situation and reacted to his demeanor.

He has rights just like the rest of us, he is innocent until proven guilty and that burden is on the cops not on him.

No one said he did not have rights. You keep on invoking his rights. None of his rights were violated.

It is innocent until proven guilty IN A COURT OF LAW. The courts have to maintain the presumption of innocence not the police. The police are allowed to pass judgement, based on facts and evidence they have uncovered, as to the guilt of a person. If the police never though someone was guilty, no one would ever be arrested and charged with a crime.

a reply to: Daedalus

i know what it means. in the future, when replying to me, i would ask that you refrain from being so condescending.

I apologize if I was coming off as condescending. It was not my intention. I understand why people are questioning what happened. But, like many cases, there is a reason why these things happen and it should not automatically be attributed to racism.

my old neighborhood had at least a couple a year...nobody called the cops on me for going into my own house..

Again, maybe they didn't see you. Or, again, maybe they knew you lived there.

nice try.

i play video games all day(when i'm not working), and i still know what all my neighbors look like....because i pay attention to my surroundings..

So, you fault the neighbor for not recognizing the guy after living there for a year.

The article says none of the pictures in the residence contained the 18 year old. Do you fault the parents for not having something as simple as a picture of the 18 year old on the wall?

if cops came into my house, demanding that i prove i live there, i'd tell them to GTFO too...it's goddamn ridiculous. what's worse, is that in this case, the cops used pictures on the wall as "proof" that he didn't live there....i can understand they had no way of knowing if he actually lived there....MAYBE you show them ID, and then you tell the cops you want to press charges against the neighbor, and then they go arrest them....

Again, the article says none of the pictures in the residence contained the 18 year old. Do you fault the parents for not having something as simple as a picture of the 18 year old on the wall?

And the police did not use it as "proof." They used it as an indicator.

i agree, it's a lousy spot to be in(for the cops, i mean), because there no real way to come out of it clean.....so yeah, it really is the neighbor's fault...if he's a jackass who doesn't like black people, then screw him. if he's too dumb to pay attention to his surroundings, then screw him..nature will take care of him eventually.

And if it can be proven the neighbor did it to intentionally harass the 18 year old or the family then the neighbor should absolutely be charged with a crime.

actually, yeah....not all black people are criminals, or up to no good..

100% true statement.

But not knowing a person who is going into your neighbor's house is reason to be suspicious of that person. No matter the race.

actually, i'd not have a problem with someone finding something an alien was doing suspicious......

Like an extraterrestrial alien? Me either, those things are creepy.

a reply to: Daedalus

and, you completely missed the point...congratulations.

Please, explain what the point was then. I am not just trying to argue with you for entertainment. I am trying to have an educated debate/discussion that either I or someone else may learn from.

a reply to: Daedalus

but the fact remains that he called the cops on someone he shouldn't have...which is almost as bad as swatting..

But it's not. This is how criminals are caught. A neighbor sees someone or something suspicious and calls. The police investigate and many times it turns out to be nothing. Sometimes, it turns out to be a crime that is being committed and the criminal is caught in the act.

In this instance, it turned out to be nothing. In this instance, it escalated further than it should have because the 18 year old was not cooperative when confronted by the police.

originally posted by: areyouserious2010
I apologize if I was coming off as condescending. It was not my intention. I understand why people are questioning what happened. But, like many cases, there is a reason why these things happen and it should not automatically be attributed to racism.

ethnic bigotry. we're all human.

granted, it can't immediately, and automatically attributed to that kind of bigotry. conversely, it also cannot be immediately dismissed, or ruled out either..

whether you, or anyone else cares to admit it, a lot of people have an instinctual negative reaction to the sight of black people...not sure why, but it exists. i'll cop to catching myself being guilty of it a few times.....however, i've gone to great lengths to fight it, because the rational part of my brain understands that they're just people like us, and not every black person is a criminal, or up to no good..

Again, maybe they didn't see you. Or, again, maybe they knew you lived there.

or, they didn't give a s**t, because the whole neighborhood was a hellhole -shrug- ....would still mean they were paying attention..

So, you fault the neighbor for not recognizing the guy after living there for a year.

indeed, sir.

The article says none of the pictures in the residence contained the 18 year old. Do you fault the parents for not having something as simple as a picture of the 18 year old on the wall?

not at all....my family doesn't display ANY family pictures around the house, so i don't see an issue with it.

And the police did not use it as "proof." They used it as an indicator.

i dunno about all that..

“I had moved into my room, and I’m feeling like I’m loved,” Mr. Currie said. “And then [the police] come in and they just profile me and say that I’m not who I am. And that I do not stay here because there was white kids on the wall, that really made me mad.”

yes, his english is lousy, but by his own words, the cops asserted that he didn't live there, because he wasn't in the pictures...sounds to me like they used the pictures as "proof" that he didn't live there.

And if it can be proven the neighbor did it to intentionally harass the 18 year old or the family then the neighbor should absolutely be charged with a crime.

i'm glad we agree.

100% true statement.

again; i'm glad we agree.

But not knowing a person who is going into your neighbor's house is reason to be suspicious of that person. No matter the race.

true, but it's funny....this guy is supposedly so unobservant that he doesn't notice the black guy who lives next door for nearly a whole year, but he's observant enough to notice said black guy walking into the house.....doesn't entirely add up...

Like an extraterrestrial alien? Me either, those things are creepy.

Word.

originally posted by: areyouserious2010
Please, explain what the point was then. I am not just trying to argue with you for entertainment. I am trying to have an educated debate/discussion that either I or someone else may learn from.

it's a fine goal, to be sure...

the point was, i did something that was FAR more suspicious than what this guy did, and i did it on a regular basis, in a neighborhood with a crime problem. ....nobody ever called the cops on me...

my neighbors didn't know me...and i didn't want to know them, as the majority of them were either criminals, or illegals who didn't speak english. i knew enough about my neighbors, to stay well clear of them.

now, drug dealers, gang members, and illegals aren't going to call the cops, and they're not gonna give a fig if their neighbor's house is getting broken into...

i'm just saying....the whole "but there was crime" thing reeks of CYA..

The cops were wrong, period. Pepper sprayed over words.

Lack of presence in a picture as evidence for the law. Pretty sad work.

Why didn't the cop just ask for a number to call and verify with a parent? Why? Because they don't get to be violent and it make actual sense.

a reply to: Daedalus

It is entire cya, it's a blake not statement used the justify their actions.
It gives them grounds to be suspicious of who ever they want cause "it's a high crime area".