As the police chief said, if they'd had just one of those party kids get into a DUI crash, get hurt in a fight, or vandalize someone's property, they'd have been up the proverbial creek with no paddle. They have no room for error, and a lot to be accountable for.
I really think folks on this thread need to cut them some slack. Cops don't have a lot of time for a sense of humor on the job...every decision they make has a gravity beyond anything we desk jockeys can imagine.
Put yourself in their shoes...every move you make is under a microscope, you can never make a "right" decision (just look at this thread!), you're not paid squat compared to the danger you face and the responsibility you take on every time you go to work. Now multiply that for Sergeants, then evern more for Watch Commanders, then even more for Shift Commanders. Then take all that and add daily butt chewings from dumb-a** City Councilmen and Mayors, threats of lawsuits from some Jesse Jackass type who says you offended this or that, and that's what the Chief puts up with.
Now, all that in mind, can you not see how they would want to make sure there's absolutely no chance whatsoever anything could go wrong when they bust a party that, on first appearances, looks like every other high school party they ever busted? Cut 'em some slack. Or better yet, try doing a ride along some time, and see what they put up with. It'll open your eyes, man.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
You can believe whatever you wish. I would hope that my son would have declined to cooperate with the police if they had no reason (bottles, odors, actions)to have him take a breathalyzer(sp?) in a private home. I am tired of the bullying that goes on.If he was getting in to drive a car and seemed to be acting in an intoxicated manner, maybe. But, not for being at someone’s home.
I know about the mad dash. I just have a hard time believing it happened if, as is alleged, this whole party was a set up. If the kids knew what they were doing was legal (a fair assumption, since they planned the thing), then why would they try to flee when the police showed up? The most sensible explanation seems to be that the kids were worried about getting their cars towed, so they went outside to move them.
As the police chief said, if they'd had just one of those party kids get into a DUI crash, get hurt in a fight, or vandalize someone's property, they'd have been up the proverbial creek with no paddle. They have no room for error, and a lot to be accountable for.
If the police had merely taken a look around the house, and given a few kids a breath test, then I would agree with the Chief's attempted justification. But the officers did a lot more than that. From the article, it appears that they searched the entire home and tested just about every kid there, despite the fact that every one passed the test.
I don't think the officer's real concern was the risk of overlooking the one drunk kid hiding in the house. But if that was their real concern, then I think we would expect them to conduct a full search on just about every call they answer. That's scary.
I really think folks on this thread need to cut them some slack. ... can you not see how they would want to make sure there's absolutely no chance whatsoever anything could go wrong when they bust a party that, on first appearances, looks like every other high school party they ever busted? Cut 'em some slack. Or better yet, try doing a ride along some time, and see what they put up with. It'll open your eyes, man.
There's a reason the police face so much scrutiny- they have an incredible amount of power. Anyone that has the powers to stop, arrest, search, and use force like the police do SHOULD be held to a high standard and should be watched very carefully. "Eternal vigilance" and all that.
I know policemen are human beings and I try to cut them some slack when they make understandable mistakes. As a minimum though, I think they should be expected to act reasonably under the circumstances. In these circumstances, where it was clear the kids were not having a drinking party, I think the officers acted unreasonably. If the police had left the party after testing just a few kids, and missed a drunk hiding in the crowd, then I would loudly and proudly defend them.
But I won't defend them when they conduct inappropriate searches just because they are afraid of public scrutiny. Our rights are more important than police officers' egos.
(FWIW, I am waiting for one of my good buddies to finish his field training so I can go on a ride-along with him sometime this summer).