skater vs. cop...not a pretty scene

[thumper07]

In the very first video on this thread, I'm shocked at how freakin' patient and calm that cop was. Just listening to those wise ass kids got me flustered. If I was that cop, I would have freaked and started cracking skulls!!

I guess that's why I'd never make a good cop. I don't have the patience that guy had. That cop was more than being a super guy. The kids were the typical stereotype skateboarders that give us all a bad name.

Skateboarding is illegal in that city because of kids like that.

Soon, skateboarding will be illegal in the entire country. Unless we do something about it and stuff kids like that down through sewer grates.

[pavedwave]

calling a cop an asshole isn't against the law and while it's not smart, it's not illegal.

in court, a cop can and will easily make the case that calling him an asshole, or a "****ing dick" as was said on that clip, is "assault" and its illegal to assault an officer. sounds wacky, but freedom of expression has its limits too -- the inappropriateness of "yelling Fire!! in a crowded theatre" rules apply. even flipping the bird to an officer can go down on the books as assault.

I think Old Guy's points are completely valid -- the cop was/is unprofessional, and he was clearly antagonizing right from the start, playing on the kid's ego by trying to further embarrass him in front of his friends -- and really just trying to get a rise out of him -- which he did. if something worse had happened to that kid, and if the kid's family could afford a team of incredibly gifted lawyers, they MIGHT have a chance of arguing that the cop provoked the "assault", but even then the chances are really slim. cops + lawyers can also weave all kinds of stories about how threatened they felt being surrounded by a group of 5-6 "rabid teens", thus justifying their domineering choice of words as a means of controlling the situation.

I agree with skater dude's declaration that the officer was a "****ing dick."

but bottom line -- on the street, those fighting words mean jack squat against a cop. its best to shut your pie hole and have as many witnesses possible to any unprovoked, physical violence.

[Moogleluvr]

The laws that cop is supposed to be protecting, allows that kid to voice his opinion of said cops actions however he sees fit without causing harm to another person. He was never physically resisting. And the cop was WAY out of line.


he still has a great case in court, smart mouth or not.

What actually managed to piss me off about this video was the fact that the cop thought he knew so much about the laws (which are actually decades old, for those who don't know) and everything else.

He said skating was illegal in the entire city of San Francisco, when in reality it's not- skating is allowed in on the sidewalks in the residential districts during daylight hours.
He just has this really douchey know-it-all, lording-his-power over everyone deal that really got to me.

Then he goes on about how he's going to give these kids a break. How about just dropping the whole thing then? Surely it's not worth the effort to haul the kid down to the station and write up a report for such a simple offense.

Meh, whatever.

[Schmohawk]

Didn't San Fran used to be the counter-culture capital of the world. WTF happened? Are there any skate shops in the city. I mean why would there be if its illegal? Decriminalize Pot, Medicinal marijuana is ok, but no skateboarding?

The Rolling Stones hired the Hells Angels for "security" at their Altamont concert. People died if I'm not mistaken, but I'll bet you the Stones are welcome back anytime. Why? $$$$$$ is why.

I was in SF on 4/20 this year. Don't worry, the city hasn't changed.

This cop was just being a dick.

[thumper07]

What's up with the whole "lifting sewer grates" thing? Is that something Cali acid hippies do? Walk around and lift up sewer grates for fun? That seems to be mentioned here a lot and I'm curious as to why it's a seemingly common problem in SF.

[akimaveur]

Kid should have shut his mouth, but he didnt deserve to be threatened.
Cop should take that stick out his arse, but he started doing his job, until he got carried away.

[AngryGumball]

So, you can get busted for skating period in SF? Even as transportation? I'm glad I don't live there. I can totally understand if they were skating in the plazas and messing up property.

Also, whatever happened with Free Speech? People aren't allowed to express their feelings either? Lastly, if he simply said how he felt the cop was being toward him, how's that resisting arrest?

I know the video doesn't show all sides of the story, but on the officer's end, that was a bit harsh. Another reason why cops are hated by skaters, and people in general.

[killdozer]

Haha are you a Cop? Do we have cops on the fish now? Regardless im sure you fit into that category of a 1.5 inch penis and youve already proven that need to overcompensate. Lets see here, if i was a 40 year old man and a 15 year old kid called me a jackass then yes i would take the high road and let it slide. And i definatly wouldnt arrest him just because i was so insacure with myself that i got that angry about what a little kid said.

And ive never been arrested personally for skating because i wouldnt talk #### to a cop. But not because i dont want to, because i know all these cops are so willing to flex the long arm of the long that one small word in contradiction will land your ass in jail and your board there permanently. However even with some major ass kissing ive still been harassed for abnormally long amounts of time for no reason other then i was riding a board strapped to wheels.

But there is no arguing with ignorant people like you, im sure you agreed with that video i posted below, ever cop should choke out all skating teens right? Can i get an amen?

I was a police officer for 6 years in MD on the DC border. I am no longer in that career due to physical injuries. You can ask my wife if I have more than 1.5" in my pants fella. I would have done the same thing that officer did. I am not in Law Enforcement now, but support what they do because it's the most thankless job out there. Everyone hates you but everyone needs you. Lets see you say Fück the police after you get jumped, robbed and beaten and you need help. Let's see you say Fück the police when your sister or mother gets raped and you need help. Thanks for flat out insulting the one group of people that keep you safe. What if there are police officers who skate and are on the Fish? Does that bother you? Your views are your views but you said you get screwed by police even when kissing their ass? It's possible that you have an attitude that comes through and it comes off condescending. Shît like that is transparent to most but not to someone who deals with people all day everyday. I don't care if you are 15, 19 or 40. If you mouth off to a cop you are breaking the law. It's called public disturbance or disturbing the peace. If an officer shows up for something and you interfere in any way, including mouthing off you are then escalating a situation. I don't care if you agree with that or not. It's the law and an officer has the right to take you into custody for that type of disturbance to restore order. The courts are pretty liberal with that type of thing and the police use it as leverage to do their jobs. There is nothing wrong with it. The kid could have said he wasn't feeling good and needed medical attention if his head hurt enough to make him stressed enough to mouth off to a cop. You've surely got it all figured out though so I'll just sit back and let you insult me and or trash talk me for something now.

[Schmohawk]

So, you can get busted for skating period in SF? Even as transportation? I'm glad I don't live there. I can totally understand if they were skating in the plazas and messing up property.

Also, whatever happened with Free Speech? People aren't allowed to express their feelings either? Lastly, if he simply said how he felt the cop was being toward him, how's that resisting arrest?

I know the video doesn't show all sides of the story, but on the officer's end, that was a bit harsh. Another reason why cops are hated by skaters, and people in general.

Don't let this video scare you away from SF. You won't get busted skating. Trust me. It's a very laid back place. This kind of crap is rare in the city.

[Nick1717]

As much as i hate saying this californa seem to be taking away rights and telling people what they can and cant do like the cell phone thing

[pavedwave]

Also, whatever happened with Free Speech? People aren't allowed to express their feelings either? Lastly, if he simply said how he felt the cop was being toward him, how's that resisting arrest? .

As I posted earlier, free speech has its limits. You're free to express your feelings, but that doesn't mean they won't have consequences.

When he called the cop a ****ing Dick, at that time he wasn't resisting arrest -- he was assaulting the cop. The cop would have no problem at all arresting him on an "assault" charge alone. Now a judge's reaction, and what might happen in court is a whole different story -- some judges will just get pissed off at cops for bringing kids in and clogging up the system and burning up taxpayer's money on stupid frivolous charges like this -- and throw the case out as soon as it lands in their courtroom.

[Burninate35]

ok so if some kid - no better yet a little faggy ****er like that one - came up to you and called you ****ing dick you'd say ok thats your opinion, get out of here? chances are you wouldn't i ****ing hate all of you who hate cops because you are all ****ing retarded if you think they're out to get you.

You realize that cops ARE out to get people.The majority of cops are not out there to protect you, they are out there because it is a job. They way they advance in their job is mainly through how many people they arrest. Why do you think cops are trained in psychology? The reason is, so they can make you talk and incriminate yourself. They trick you into forfeiting your rights and then pretend to be your friend by saying things like "If you just be honest i can let you off easy." They say that so you will trust them and then incriminate yourself. You need to learn what cops are really like, and realize that these people are not your protectors. That being said, there are some nice cops, but most of them are not nice.

Also learn your rights, it can save your ass.

[Schmohawk]

You realize that cops ARE out to get people.The majority of cops are not out there to protect you, they are out there because it is a job. They way they advance in their job is mainly through how many people they arrest. Why do you think cops are trained in psychology? The reason is, so they can make you talk and incriminate yourself. They trick you into forfeiting your rights and then pretend to be your friend by saying things like "If you just be honest i can let you off easy." They say that so you will trust them and then incriminate yourself. You need to learn what cops are really like, and realize that these people are not your protectors. That being said, there are some nice cops, but most of them are not nice.

Also learn your rights, it can save your ass.

Very true. Cops always pull that kind of ####. Cops are not your friend. They're trying to manipulate you.

[killdozer]

You realize that cops ARE out to get people.The majority of cops are not out there to protect you, they are out there because it is a job. They way they advance in their job is mainly through how many people they arrest. Why do you think cops are trained in psychology? The reason is, so they can make you talk and incriminate yourself. They trick you into forfeiting your rights and then pretend to be your friend by saying things like "If you just be honest i can let you off easy." They say that so you will trust them and then incriminate yourself. You need to learn what cops are really like, and realize that these people are not your protectors. That being said, there are some nice cops, but most of them are not nice.

Also learn your rights, it can save your ass.

I'm totally with ya man. I wear a hat made of aluminum foil so if a cop tries to manipulate me through the powers of persuasion, it won't work. That and I check the areas where officers are in line for promotion and don't skate there since those officers are more likely to haul me in so they can make rank. Oh and when a cop tells you "if you just be honest I can let you off easy" I only tell the truth in Klingon because it all gets lost in translation. Good stuff.

[AngryGumball]

Often too, (especially around here) cops are almost never around when you need them until it's too late. That's not what I would consider 'at your service.' I had it a month or so ago when we had to call in as I had this 6-foot 300 pound guy threatening me and the family, coming towards me, and foaming at the mouth. Much much later, a cop finally shows up. In the mean time, more stuff could have happened during that close to 3-hour delay.

Another night, around the same time frame, there were a few nights where some guy kept revving his motorcycle and racing down the quiet neighborhood probably around 1 or 2 AM. Let's add on that he's only waking up everyone on the street. A call to the 5-0, nothing. Now, if it were skaters 'wrecking havock' or just skating, they'd be right there to bust them.
Yes, I understand they have to prioritize things, but this should have been up there priority-wise. So with that said, around here, their motivation to 'help' you sucks.

My final word of advice: Our law enforcement system needs some serious tweaking as there's so many things that are screwed up and out of whack.

And about the free speech thing, I was always under the impression that free speech meant you could say what you want (excluding threats) w/o any form punishment...or that's what we were tricked into believing anyway.

[nugpop68]

In the DC area, if you got tuned up by the cops it usually meant you weren't going to jail. This was actually a good sign. Now it seems like folks have to pay twice. Once on the street and again downtown. Rip off. Oh, the good old days...

This guy will clarify things a bit:

YouTube - joe the cop

[killdozer]

In the DC area, if you got tuned up by the cops it usually meant you weren't going to jail. This was actually a good sign. Now it seems like folks have to pay twice. Once on the street and again downtown. Rip off. Oh, the good old days...

This guy will clarify things a bit:
YouTube - joe the cop

That vid had me in tears laughing, but it's true though.

[MacSpeedMike]

What's up with the whole "lifting sewer grates" thing? Is that something Cali acid hippies do? Walk around and lift up sewer grates for fun? That seems to be mentioned here a lot and I'm curious as to why it's a seemingly common problem in SF.

No its not something "cali acid hippies" do you retard. Although i suspect even "cali acid hippies" would know they lift them up to grind them.

[Slops57]

Fuck that cop. I don't care if the kid did call him a dick. He is should be setting the example and threatening to break a kids arm isn't doing so. Plus kicking a kid in handcuffs into a cop car is a dick move. I'm glad all those people saw if and i hope that cop at least got a few complaints filed on him. That's not how you deal with difficult people. I have been hassled by police before that had way more people skills than that. Even when some of my friends shot their mouths off they threatened them with a citation or ticket NOT arresting them and threatening them with violence. So to reiterate...Fuck that cop.

[thumper07]

I have family members that are cops.

In that situation, that cop didn't know these kids. He was 1 man, surrounded by a bunch of punk kids. Not that he couldn't have beat up anyone of them individually. But, at any time, one of them could have come up from behind him and smashed him in the skull with a rock or their skateboard.

It happens all the time. They train officers in the academy to take control of a situation like that. The safety of the officer is of utmost importance. Taking control of a situation where there's 1 cops surrounded by 8 punks requires a direct approach.

Similar to that of when being attacked by a group of dogs. You point at those dogs as they're approaching and begin yelling at them. "No!!" "Sit!!" "Stop!!". That's the best defense against a pack.

Take charge, yell, take command, take control.

That's what the cop did and he was in the right.

As far as what he was taught, those kids could have killed him if he acted nice and subservient.