Cop With No Sense: Autistic 11 Year Old Charged With Felony Assault

[JokersWild24]

Could be true. On the other hand, most 11 year olds are on the verge of puberty, which makes them bigger and stronger. Violent outbursts are far worse then. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Unless you have witnessed these outbursts first hand, as I have, you have no idea what it is like.

I am just saying there is always more to the story than mom's version.

 

Don't work in psychiatry, but I've witnessed them first hand. Once per or every other week I did Legal Aide at a homeless shelter, and I was there for two years. As you could imagine, I've dealt with adults who have some very serious issues going on. I've also never had a situation where I was assaulted or anything like that because I think your training, your own personal understanding, and patience are better tools than just threatening them with security.

 

To be clear, this was a place where people were patted down for needles before coming in and where there have definitely been uncomfortable situations. I've sat one on one in a room with people who've killed, people who've been convicted of rape, etc. with nothing but a pen and legal pad. I think a large part of the reason why I was so successful there is because using force (whether it be me, calling security, whatever), was something I would only do as a last resort because, as you said, desperate times call for desperate measures.

[Beechwoodfan]

Don't work in psychiatry, but I've witnessed them first hand. Once per or every other week I did Legal Aide at a homeless shelter, and I was there for two years. As you could imagine, I've dealt with adults who have some very serious issues going on. I've also never had a situation where I was assaulted or anything like that because I think your training, your own personal understanding, and patience are better tools than just threatening them with security. To be clear, this was a place where people were patted down for needles before coming in and where there have definitely been uncomfortable situations. I've sat one on one in a room with people who've killed, people who've been convicted of rape, etc. with nothing but a pen and legal pad.

 

I have too, every work day for the last 15 years. Every day I see the adults who would have been much better off if someone took the time to make them take responsibility for their actions. Perhaps the juvenile system is not the best, but adult incarceration is much worse.

Again, my hope is that getting him in trouble now will put him in touch with social service agencies that will help him.

[JokersWild24]

I have too, every work day for the last 15 years. Every day I see the adults who would have been much better off if someone took the time to make them take responsibility for their actions. Perhaps the juvenile system is not the best, but adult incarceration is much worse.

 

True, but I'm not sure hitting the kid with that charge is "making him take responsibility", per se. At least to me, based on what I've read from a couple of places about this whole thing, and then seeing what SROs are doing (which seems to be a fairly large epidemic in Virginia), I think there's at least some debate to be had on it. I was probably wrong for saying the officer had "no sense", but I still can't help but feel that this could have been handled a much better way.

[Jumper_Dad]

Definitely so.

 

My whole problem with this is making the kid a felon. You can tell from the interview that he's a pretty feeble child and that given his comments in the interview, he probably doesn't have the greatest understanding of all that was going on.

 

I think this was a situation where there were lots of things at play, but I don't know how just labeling him a felon and shipping him off to juvy is really going to help anything at all. What it does do is get rid of a headache for the teacher and the SRO, but sorry, I think that's part of the job they singed up for. It just seems like there has to be a better solution than that, but it's kind of the prison industrial complex society that we are living in.

 

If they send him off to juvy, they might as well just go ahead and sign him up to share an apartment with a registered sex offender, because that kid won't last in a juvy situation, IMO.

 

This happened a while back right? What was the sentence? Did he go to Juvy, how long?

 

FWIW and I know you know this, the over whemling majority of adults don't go to prison even for first time Felony convictions. A kid like that if he was sentenced to time wouldn't go into a regular facility with other juvenile offenders.

[JokersWild24]

This happened a while back right? What was the sentence? Did he go to Juvy, how long?

 

FWIW and I know you know this, the over whemling majority of adults don't go to prison even for first time Felony convictions. A kid like that if he was sentenced to time wouldn't go into a regular facility with other juvenile offenders.

 

Juveniles there is a finding then a subsequent punishment phase that's awhile after it (making an appeal tough, and some other things that happen if there's a failed appeal that make it worse on him). Still awaiting what the punishment is, and could completely be a scare tactic, but I'm not sure it's the most fair one. Not really familiar with what would happen to him if he did go to a juvenile facility, but anything outside of a closely monitored unit and it'd be like throwing a dolphin into a tank of sharks, I couldn't imagine him going into regular juvy.

[Jumper_Dad]

Juveniles there is a finding then a subsequent punishment phase that's awhile after it (making an appeal tough, and some other things that happen if there's a failed appeal that make it worse on him). Still awaiting what the punishment is, and could completely be a scare tactic, but I'm not sure it's the most fair one. Not really familiar with what would happen to him if he did go to a juvenile facility, but anything outside of a closely monitored unit and it'd be like throwing a dolphin into a tank of sharks, I couldn't imagine him going into regular juvy.

 

He won't

[JokersWild24]

He won't

 

What kind of facility would he go to? I wouldn't imagine that he'd be in a regular juvy at all unless it was some kind of isolated unit there. I'd still imagine that a medical unit could be fairly dangerous to just throw a kid into.

[Jumper_Dad]

What kind of facility would he go to? I wouldn't imagine that he'd be in a regular juvy at all unless it was some kind of isolated unit there. I'd still imagine that a medical unit could be fairly dangerous to just throw a kid into.

If he was actually incarcerated it would be in a very controlled medical setting I would guess. Not just patients out roaming around freely...but again I don't see him spending anytime locked up.

[JokersWild24]

If he was actually incarcerated it would be in a very controlled medical setting I would guess. Not just patients out roaming around freely...but again I don't see him spending anytime locked up.

 

:thumb:

 

Gotcha. Have honestly never had an issue with a juvenile, but know some people who've been to juvy. Definitely doesn't seem like a place that's very fun to be in, and that part of the article had me pretty worried honestly. If you are saying that he had the mindset to be convicted of a felony as serious as that at such a young age, then you could be assuming a lot of things about what kind of situation he could ultimately wind up in, and I think that's what probably worries the parents in that situation as well. For the kid himself, it'd possibly be debatable that he really comprehends all of what's going on in a way that makes sense to us, so he might not even know what the consequences could be.

 

I was under the impression that a felony would have a stricter sentencing guideline than a misdemeanor, even for a juvenile, so it might have been a situation where the Judge in an administrative hearing who more "calls balls and strikes" didn't have as much leeway in sentencing as we might think either.

[nkuclubbaseball19]

Don't like campus police. Don't like SROs. Gotcha.

[halfback20]

 

And that's my point. Schools shouldn't be militarized zones where children are being hit with felonies because someone who is working with them doesn't understand them.

 

What about a school resource officer makes it militarized?

[JokersWild24]

What about a school resource officer makes it militarized?

 

I'm not old, but when I was a child in grade school, middle school, whatever, we didn't have SRO's on hand to give out felonies to kids of that age. I'm sure the police were called from the main department when things were serious. I'm not convinced that the current setup is better than that, with having someone on hand to make calls like that, especially in situations like this one. What about the situation seems less militarized to you now that someone is standing at the door waiting to police kids each day?

[halfback20]

 

True, but I'm not sure hitting the kid with that charge is "making him take responsibility", per se. At least to me, based on what I've read from a couple of places about this whole thing, and then seeing what SROs are doing (which seems to be a fairly large epidemic in Virginia), I think there's at least some debate to be had on it. I was probably wrong for saying the officer had "no sense", but I still can't help but feel that this could have been handled a much better way.

 

It's always easier to be a MMQB. Fact remains that others who could have changed that charge felt it was the right call. You still only want to blame and degrade the police officer. The measley ole, dumb SRO.

[halfback20]

 

I'm not old, but when I was a child in grade school, middle school, whatever, we didn't have SRO's on hand to give out felonies to kids of that age. I'm sure the police were called from the main department when things were serious. I'm not convinced that the current setup is better than that, with having someone on hand to make calls like that, especially in situations like this one. What about the situation seems less militarized to you now that someone is standing at the door waiting to police kids each day?

 

I guess I could make the argument that he didn't give the felony out, the kid might have earned it.

 

When my kids are in school I hope there's 5 officers there. I've seen alot of SROs. Most I've met are friends with the kids. They know them, talk to them. They don't really police the kids but when kids do something criminal and can't be controlled by a teacher, the SRO will most definitely be called.

 

Again, not sure how having an officer there is militarized. They aren't wearing campaign hats, yelling at kids in class like a drill sgt, ordering them around the school, etc.

[JokersWild24]

It's always easier to be a MMQB. Fact remains that others who could have changed that charge felt it was the right call. You still only want to blame and degrade the police officer. The measley ole, dumb SRO.

 

Sorry, I'll call him the guy in charge of serving and protecting the children at school who was brutally assaulted and injured by an 11 year old kid with a mental handicap.