Report Raises Questions About Arrests at Elementary School

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

A police commander has been placed on administrative leave as a new report raises questions about the chain of events that led to several elementary school children in Tennessee being handcuffed and arrested.

An internal review report released Thursday by the Murfreesboro Police Department says school resource officers raised concerns about the plan to arrest the kids between the age of 9 and 12 at Hobgood Elementary School on April 15, but the schoolchildren were taken into custody anyway. The report addressed the arrests of four children at the school. But a Murfreesboro police spokesman said six other kids were also named in a juvenile court petition.

Records show that the children were charged with "criminal responsibility for conduct of another," after allegedly witnessing a fight and not intervening.


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/report-raises-questions-arrests-elementary-school-38914402

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By SHEILA BURKE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — May 5, 2016, 7:41 PM ET

Short article. No more at link.

[scscholar]

1. Republicans hate children

That's why they be this way.

[Agnosticsherbet]

2. Everything about it should raise questions about arrests in an elementary school.

Shit, the world is nuts.

[raging moderate]

3. We have to make this gross injustice to children stop.

I suspect that racism plays a large role here.

[jtuck004]

4. Were they black, and the officers white? That's probably just early race training.

Otherwise, you see, they might begin to think they are just like everyone else.

This makes sure they stay subservient, kills off thoughts of becoming independent, and teaches them the way to the jail, for later.

We do the same thing in lots of other places and ways, but usually a lot more subtle, so as not to raise too many questions.

[1monster]

5. Heck, as a teacher, I've always been told not to physically interfere

with students who are fighting, but to call for help.

I know one male teacher who tried to break up a fight between two girls and got his nose broken for his efforts.

I don't understand what these police officers were thinking. I can't understand why they thought children should be responsible for breaking up a fight.

[liberalhistorian]

10. That was the same for my stepfather, a longtime

high school teacher. Fortunately, his school wasn't too bad and there weren't too many fights, but when there were, he finally learned to stay out of them unless he wanted some serious physical injury or to be accused himself of harming a student. When he taught, there were no "school resource officers" and little, if any, security, and that's how it was when I was in school, too, despite the fact that schools could be and often were just as dangerous then. Administrations handled it on their own and they didn't have "school resource officers" justifying their existence there by criminalizing every little thing and arresting at the drop of a hat.

And I know that when I witnessed fights I would have been terrified to have intervened, I am not in any way ,and never have been (and certainly wasn't as a child or teenager) physically strong or capable, not at all a fighter. I wouldn't have even known what to do when intervening. I'd go and get some help right away. These were fucking CHILDREN, for Christ's sake. WHAT THE FUCK was wrong with the goddamn police?

[skepticscott]

6. What the Holy Motherfucking Shit??

"criminal responsibility for conduct of another"?? What a ginned-up pile of horseshit. There can't even have been criminal liability for failure to act here, not for a fucking NINE YEAR OLD.

[jtuck004]

7. This will be in the database for the rest of their lives. Every single time an officer

requests info on crime and name info in the are, their names will light up like a blood-red christmas tree.

The juvie records are sealed, but I think the name will still pop up for suspicion.

They may want to keep them home from school. That could lead to guns being pulled on them, extra suspicion when they try to report something or ask for help later on. A gift that will keep on giving, and giving...

Hope they tell them to be extra careful.

[packman]

8. Wonder if they will arrest those cops standing around

when another cop beats someone senseless or kills them - "criminal responsibility for conduct of another"

[blues lover]

9. Typical bad behavior

I live near Murfreesboro and can testify to the racist attitudes that infest our state government at all levels. The cops are quite out of control in the smaller towns and basically make their budgets by confiscating peoples' belongings and running speed traps. Policing for profit and keeping the black folks in terror is considered enlightened police work. A few years ago, my black neighbor was found dead in an alley down the street. He was ruled a suicide even though he had two gunshot wounds to the back of his head. Our governor just went along with the troglodytes in our legislature to allow guns on campus statewide. Our congress critters can be summed up by Marsha Blackburn and Scott Dejarleis. Two people who make Trump look like an enlightened liberal. The tea party is considered moderate.