Yeah sister, first it's scissors, then stilletos. Next thing you know you're hooked, jonseing for the hard stuff... chainsaws!
Posted on 12/13/2004 10:47:06 PM PST by kattracks
PHILADELPHIA -- The police chief and the head of the city's schools apologized Monday to the mother of a 10-year-old girl who was arrested and handcuffed after she brought a pair of scissors to school in her backpack. Although officers were following protocol when they drove the girl to a police station with her hands cuffed in front of her, discretion will be used in future cases involving young children, Police Chief Sylvester Johnson said.Johnson said he told Rose Jackson that the arrest of her daughter, Porsche Brown, was "extremely unfortunate" and apologized for "any trauma that her daughter experienced" on her way to the station. The district said Brown had violated a ban on bringing scissors -- which are considered potential weapons -- to school.
"But calling in local police to address such a matter involving a 10-year-old criminalized the young student who apparently meant no ill intent," said a statement from the office of school district Chief Executive Paul Vallas.
It also was "a waste of vital law enforcement resources," the statement said.
The girl's suspension, initially set for five days, was amended to two days and she was expected to return to class Tuesday, district spokeswoman Barbara Farley said Monday. She said she knew of no plans to expunge the suspension.
[snip]
Police officers decided Thursday that the girl hadn't committed a crime, and let her go.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
I think you're being a bit paranoid.
< Being Philadelphia, she probably had in mind some defensive or aggressive action with that tool. I am sorry to see so many Freepers join the "poor victim of the mean cops" crowd. >
"Being Philadelphia"?...hmmm.
You don't think handcuffs were a bit overboard?
I was always facinated by my mother's shiny sewing scissors. I hated the dull, rounded end ones. Perhaps she felt the same way?
Oh, and BTW, to the person who was complaining about the taser being used on the boy with the broken glass, he was threatening to kill himself. I don't know if something else could have been done, but there was more to the story than he was "holding" a piece of broken glass.
.Most people on this thread are not concerned, as you are, with the size of the sissors or that the girl had them in her backpack (you chose to use the word hidden as though everything in one's backpack is hidden)
NO
Most reasonable people are offended that a young child was treated in such a physically harsh manner, (abused is a more apt word), by ignorant school officials and then handed over to police goons who handcuffed her and hustled her off to jail.
Recognizing the public outcry...and it is an outcry from reasoned people...Those moronic adults involved have made profuse public apologies for their stupidity.
Here is a case where loss of jobs should be applied and a punitive law suit against those involved instigated.....and I wouldn't be surprised if one isn't in the works now.
"Being Philadelphia, she probably had in mind some defensive or aggressive action with that tool"
The mind reading capacity of idiots astounds me.
Yeah sister, first it's scissors, then stilletos. Next thing you know you're hooked, jonseing for the hard stuff... chainsaws!
" Second, why does Mom not have her daughter's name?"
2nd marriage for mom?
She had hidden the scissors in her backpack,
(you chose to use the word hidden as though everything in one's backpack is hidden)
her choice, she is either hiding them, or brandishing them. The sooner she learns she can't win, the safer the system will be.
" Third, PORSCHE?"
Chevelle and Impala. First names of two students in my ex's 3rd grade class many years ago.
This is the school system that Fast Eddie managed to help bankrupt as mayor. His reward? They made him governor.
Like it or not, an enormous number of children today have divorced parents, are born from unmarried parents, or have no identified parents and are being raised by the state or by foster parents. So why focus on "where is Mr. Brown" and etc?
I suggest that concern should be with how this young child was treated regardless of who her parent are
I recall an article by Jeff Cooper some time ago when he said a citizens dignity is more important than the almost non-existent danger to police. He also mentioned that in ancient Rome it was illegal to shackle a citizen for any reason.
I wouldn't go that far and see no problem with cuffing dangerous criminals when they are arrested but this idea that everyone must be shackled is despicable.
The jackboot thug defenders will be on this thread, in short order.
Have the administrators been eating the school paste again?
I bet she hid some pencils and books and maybe a snack in there too. What idiots those police were, to just let her walk.
By the way, the length of the scissors is irrelevant. It is the design of the blade that makes it suitable or unsuitable for use as a weapon, and most common scissors these days are useless for stabbing.
" I would be highly concerned if a child, 10 or not, brought 8" scissors to my child's elementary school, and the event was just swept under the rug."
Then I recommend you pull the covers over your head and never get out of bed. It's a big bad mean old world out there.
Of course she was carrying her scissors in her backpack. Where else was she supposed to be carrying them. Why call them hidden?
If you carry a book in your backpack, or a pencil or even a CD player, are you calling that hidden?
I know when I was ten, I surely didn't like to use them little bitty scissors any more. For one thing, my hand was too big. For another, they don't work as well.
Of course, my grandma taught me to thread a needle and do running stitch when I was four, so maybe my grandma was abusive, too...
When I was in school (yes, it was a while ago) a girl tried to stab a teacher with a pencil. Will pens and pencils now be considered potential weapons? What's left after that-crayons?
8-inch scissors. Yeah, pretty deadly.
Original Kamaaina supports 'open carry' for scissors, LOL...
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