Police pepper-spray Teenager in his own Home, mistaken for Intruder.

[Delekii]

"This is my house!"

"Oh, really? Can you give us the phone number of your parents then?"

"Sure, its [insert number here]".

[Phone conversation occurs]

"Well, we are sorry for the misunderstanding, have a good night."

"No problem, thanks for responding anyway."


When there are non-violent ways that the truth can be ascertained, why go for the fucking mace? I don't think that even the neighbors are necessarily racist (they could be, but even someone who isn't might jump to the same conclusion), nor are the police wrong the investigate.

But if the kid is claiming he lives in the house, give him the fucking benefit of the doubt until you know one way or the other. I'm not saying let him run along or anything, but certainly don't get your damn mace out, for crying out loud.

[WintersLegion]

The problem with getting the number from the guy is for all they know he gave them the number of a friend of his who will claim to be the home owner plus the not only did they not have pictures of him up but his id had a different address than where they were at. And there is no reason to expect the Police to have phone numbers to reach the owners at anywhere but the home where the owners weren't.

[Delekii]

The problem with getting the number from the guy is for all they know he gave them the number of a friend of his who will claim to be the home owner plus the not only did they not have pictures of him up but his id had a different address than where they were at. And there is no reason to expect the Police to have phone numbers to reach the owners at anywhere but the home where the owners weren't.

Have the station look up the number and check the owner of the phone.

I mean, come on. Use common sense. If the kid lives there, he will absolutely have some way to prove it. Hell, even if the person on the phone DID lie, just wait for the parents to come home while also conveniently NOT using the pepper spray.

The phone conversation was an oversimplification that represented how the scenario should have occured. If the kid was claiming to live in the house and not running away, there was absolutely zero reason for them to be forcing him up against the door or using mace on him. Just wait for confirmation - it's not like he's going to get on the phone himself and tell his white female friend that happens to be a doppleganger for the house owner to come to a house filled with cops and claim to be the home owner.

[Post]

When there are non-violent ways that the truth can be ascertained, why go for the fucking mace? I don't think that even the neighbors are necessarily racist (they could be, but even someone who isn't might jump to the same conclusion), nor are the police wrong the investigate.

But if the kid is claiming he lives in the house, give him the fucking benefit of the doubt until you know one way or the other. I'm not saying let him run along or anything, but certainly don't get your damn mace out, for crying out loud.

How do you know this didn't happen? Apparently he was arguing with them, not exactly cooperative.

[Vizardlorde]

People don't always have home phones... when everyone uses a cell, land lines are and unnecessary expense.

[Tydrane]

Have the station look up the number and check the owner of the phone.

I mean, come on. Use common sense. If the kid lives there, he will absolutely have some way to prove it. Hell, even if the person on the phone DID lie, just wait for the parents to come home while also conveniently NOT using the pepper spray.

The phone conversation was an oversimplification that represented how the scenario should have occured. If the kid was claiming to live in the house and not running away, there was absolutely zero reason for them to be forcing him up against the door or using mace on him. Just wait for confirmation - it's not like he's going to get on the phone himself and tell his white female friend that happens to be a doppleganger for the house owner to come to a house filled with cops and claim to be the home owner.

Wait for the parents to come home? Right, because the police just have all this free time on their hands. Even if the kid had been co-operative, I'd expect that if contact with the owner couldn't be established in a timely manner, that they'd take him down to the station until the foster parents came to collect him.

[Tackhisis]

I wish I had such neighbors.

[Noomz]

This is not about him being black imo... a white boy in an Asian household or a boy in an elderly household would probably be suspicious too and if the kid gets angry and unreasonable the police is in the right to stop the situation from further escalation.

Of course that only applies if the police wasn't lying and the kid really got threatening and belligerent.

It's not always about racism, but I guess that is what you write if you want to have the long ass discussions on mmoc that we already have on a daily basis. (not saying op was trying to do that)

I would get pretty angry and unreasonable with the racist crap the police pulled on him in his OWN HOUSE.

[Tackhisis]

...his OWN HOUSE.

That was not his house. He was not registered there and didn't even have the keys. A sane person would bit their tongue and complied. That lump of brawny started to misbehave instead.

[Delekii]

That was not his house. He was not registered there and didn't even have the keys. A sane person would bit their tongue and complied. That lump of brawny started to misbehave instead.

Are you on crack?

It was his house. He did live there. His parents live there. The police arrested him for being in his own house. In this universe or any other, being arrested by the police for being a burglar in your own house is likely to create ire.

Frankly, given that he lives in the house and they had no grounds for being there, I'm surprised he doesn't take it further.

[Notchris]

Frankly, given that he lives in the house and they had no grounds for being there, I'm surprised he doesn't take it further.

They had grounds in that they were called for a reported intruder in a home.
I doubt it would go anywhere really, as he had literally no way to prove he even lived there other then saying "I live here". Even his I.D. had a different address on it.

He should have explained that he was a recent foster child, and that he could provide a contact number for his foster parents. Not get belligerent and eat pepper spray for his trouble. Times like these are when you need a cool head.

[lockedout]

In the police report one officer notes that the door was closed but unlocked another officer also on the scene stated the door was unlocked and sightly open. Can police enter your home without permission without knowing if there is actually a crime taking place?

[Delekii]

They had grounds in that they were called for a reported intruder in a home.
I doubt it would go anywhere really, as he had literally no way to prove he even lived there other then saying "I live here". Even his I.D. had a different address on it.

He should have explained that he was a recent foster child, and that he could provide a contact number for his foster parents. Not get belligerent and eat pepper spray for his trouble. Times like these are when you need a cool head.

Awesome.... so can you tell me your address, so that I can ring the police on you?

Do you realise just how unbelievably ridiculous what you are saying is?

There is no universe - none at all - where if the police had knocked on the door and ASKED what the situation was, that it would have come to where it is. In an ideal world, the kid should have stayed calm. In REALITY, he was being arrested for being in his own fucking house, where he should have felt safe.

The police are entirely at fault here. The neighbours were nosy busibodies, but you can somewhat understand if they didn't know the kid. That said; if the kid was white, there is no way the police would have been called. However, the onus is on the police to know the situation before they take actions that will escalate it.

[Kellhound]

In the police report one officer notes that the door was closed but unlocked another officer also on the scene stated the door was unlocked and sightly open. Can police enter your home without permission without knowing if there is actually a crime taking place?

Yes, the courts have eroded the protections provided by the Bill of Rights by being very broad in what they accept as probable cause.