I'm not sure. We don't see what precipitated the incident.
Mostly playing devil's advocate here (I personally think the cop's being a dick and seriously needs some cautionary warnings about his use of force, even if this incident doesn't quite cross the line)...
If there's an ordinance on the books against skateboarding in the streets or on the sidewalks and you do it in front of a cop, he has every right to stop you. If you don't like the ordinance, petition to get it changed, don't openly defy it.
If you don't stop when he tells you to, that is, technically, "fleeing." (Though this cop was a pretty big dick in the way he was pointing that out) The kid who ran is almost certainly in some ugly trouble for that.
The only real point where I think the cop crossed the line is where he goes after the girl for refusing to sit down. At that point, she hadn't done anything we've seen other than vocally protesting the cop's actions. She's completely within her rights to refuse to sit as long as she isn't trying to leave, which she wasn't until he went after her.
The kids might have a case for excessive force, the girl particularly so, but without seeing what started it, we can't be sure.------------
Honou Productions
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Honou Productions.
Mostly playing devil's advocate here (I personally think the cop's being a dick and seriously needs some cautionary warnings about his use of force, even if this incident doesn't quite cross the line)...
If there's an ordinance on the books against skateboarding in the streets or on the sidewalks and you do it in front of a cop, he has every right to stop you. If you don't like the ordinance, petition to get it changed, don't openly defy it.
If you don't stop when he tells you to, that is, technically, "fleeing." (Though this cop was a pretty big dick in the way he was pointing that out) The kid who ran is almost certainly in some ugly trouble for that.
The only real point where I think the cop crossed the line is where he goes after the girl for refusing to sit down. At that point, she hadn't done anything we've seen other than vocally protesting the cop's actions. She's completely within her rights to refuse to sit as long as she isn't trying to leave, which she wasn't until he went after her.
The kids might have a case for excessive force, the girl particularly so, but without seeing what started it, we can't be sure.------------
Honou Productions
------------
Honou Productions.