That teen’s phone bounced onto the pavement. A 15-year-old went to pick it up and, in a widely circulated video shot by a bystander, he did so in front of a deputy wielding pepper spray. The deputy triggered the spray at the teen’s face, and he only made it a few steps before the deputy threw him to the ground.
Another deputy, Christopher Krickovich, straddled him, smashed his forehead into the asphalt several times and punched him in the head. The teen extended his arms.
…Later, the officer said he responded to the call as an active-shooter scenario, even though no shots were fired. [A lack of ability to exercise judgement like this should be grounds for firing. Incompetence should never ever be rewarded, let alone accepted as justification for egregious violence and abuses of pwer.]
…“Oftentimes, training doesn’t get to the philosophical root to explain to officers why you need to do X, Y or Z,” Klinger said. “Rather, it’s just, ‘Do X, Y or Z.’ It’s very easy for officers to misapply.”
Klinger added: “If there is a problem with the particular use of force, and [deputies] were doing what they were trained to do and told to do, you can’t criticize them.” [What? Watch me… If an officer cannot use reason and critical thought well enough to be responsible for their own choices and actions they not only have no business wearing a badge they are a danger to the community they are charged with protecting.]
This random and uncalled for level of unrepentant violence and bullying is what parents invite into their communities when they give approval to law enforcement officers in school. The child was lucky not to be shot dead.
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