Not right.

[blunttech]

Do you guys thing being dicks about it will keep skateboarders off public property? I've been skating for 12 years and let me tell you what - the nice cops and property owners are the ones i respect. I once got my face slammed on a marble wall for walking on a sidewalk downtown with a board in my hand. Those people didnt see the end of me for a LONG time. Fortunately for them, ive managed parks for some time and get in for free so no more street.

im smarter than that. 15 years ago i would have grabbed them by the shirt and threatened them. but no, i have some sense. i talk to them and explain how much work i have into my place and ask them nicely if they will respect that.
i also tell them i dont mind them using it if they try not to damage anything. other means gets you a hose in your window well overnight. doesnt mean i wouldnt like to kick their fucking disrespectful asses though

[Jscotty]

Those kids got what was coming to them. They have to know that the world is not their playground. I can recall on many occasions where these skateboarders have run into the back of me while I was walking down the street and rather than saying, "excuse me sir" they give me a dirty look as if I purposely knocked them down.

Personally I think cops should be exempt from most traffic laws. This woud help them do their job more efficiently and more effectively. They have been specially trained and they are authorized to ingore stop signs, traffic, lights and speed restrictions when responding to an emergency, so why can not this be the case all of the time? When I need a police officer for a non-emergency circumstance, I still want him to arrive ASAP. Like when someone broke into my garage and I caught it all on video, I wanted the cops to run as many stop signs and break every speed law because I didn't want to wait 2 hours for the cops to arrive.

[Garageaholic]

Those kids got what was coming to them. They have to know that the world is not their playground. I can recall on many occasions where these skateboarders have run into the back of me while I was walking down the street and rather than saying, "excuse me sir" they give me a dirty look as if I purposely knocked them down.

Personally I think cops should be exempt from most traffic laws. This woud help them do their job more efficiently and more effectively. They have been specially trained and they are authorized to ingore stop signs, traffic, lights and speed restrictions when responding to an emergency, so why can not this be the case all of the time? When I need a police officer for a non-emergency circumstance, I still want him to arrive ASAP. Like when someone broke into my garage and I caught it all on video, I wanted the cops to run as many stop signs and break every speed law because I didn't want to wait 2 hours for the cops to arrive.

yes, but that's not my point. I'm saying liesurely because of "well, i'm a cop and I dont have to wait at a red light if i don't want to. I can just put on my flashers and creep into the intersection and sail through. Then i'll take my flashers off and i'm on my way"

That does not sound to me like an emergency at all. It sounds like taking advantage.

If someone was in an emergency like you were, OF COURSE i'd want him to break every traffic law he could in order to DO HIS JOB. But that's not what i'm talking about here. What I'm talking about is the hypocritical nature of many cops who think it's okay to do stuff like that just because he "can" and not becuase his job calls him to do so. It's hypocritical and pisses the fuck out of me everytime I see it...

[blunttech]

yes, but that's not my point. I'm saying liesurely because of "well, i'm a cop and I dont have to wait at a red light if i don't want to. I can just put on my flashers and creep into the intersection and sail through. Then i'll take my flashers off and i'm on my way"

That does not sound to me like an emergency at all. It sounds like taking advantage.

If someone was in an emergency like you were, OF COURSE i'd want him to break every traffic law he could in order to DO HIS JOB. But that's not what i'm talking about here. What I'm talking about is the hypocritical nature of many cops who think it's okay to do stuff like that just because he "can" and not becuase his job calls him to do so. It's hypocritical and pisses the fuck out of me everytime I see it...

what you dont realize is there are many cases that dont warrant full on lights and sirens but yet require a quick response from the cop that may be going to help you or a loved one. this is what you see. what fucking purpose does it serve a cop who is paid by the hour to blow a red light? he will get his donuts when he gets there. unless you have a crystal ball or some freakish mind reading powers how is it you determine what and where he is going when he blows the red light? i rode along with my dad for a good 10 years 3 or 4 nights a week during the summer. almost always there is a need to get somewhere quickly to respond to a call that isnt a life or death situation that full lights and sirens calls for

[benDASHDASH]

ha, that kid got away, right? the cop had to cover his embarrassment with the iron fist. funny.

[sticksdaman]

interesting debate
still dont think the girl needed to get choked up like that tho.. if that was my daughter id have a fit......

[delatlanta1281]

what exactly did the cop do wrong? skateboarders are little fuckwads with no respect for anything or anyones property. i own a commercial building and spend hours upon hours maintaining it and trying to make it look nice. my wife spends countless hours after work landscaping and planting gardens. many times at dusk i drive up there to find little insolent assholes with skateboards riding the handicapped ramp and trampling all my wifes flowers, fucking up my handrails and generally messing shit up. i would have loved to see that cop bust that little fuckers head against a few curbs. not until you have these little shitbags fucking up your property will you understand

The point is they weren't defacing anything, and that is excessive force. Think about your daughter being manhandled for rollerblading.
I agree that skateboarding can deface property, but there is NO REASON to choke a minor.
BTW blunt, skateboarders are not just little fuckwads anymore, I happen to be a skateboarder, T.J. skates, Oscar De La Hoya skates, Jason Lee, Owen Wilson...... alot of us have grown up now and are in the professional world. You can tell a kid to stop or move along, 9 tmes out of 10 they will. I know I did.

[blunttech]

The point is they weren't defacing anything, and that is excessive force. Think about your daughter being manhandled for rollerblading.
I agree that skateboarding can deface property, but there is NO REASON to choke a minor.
BTW blunt, skateboarders are not just little fuckwads anymore, I happen to be a skateboarder, T.J. skates, Oscar De La Hoya skates, Jason Lee, Owen Wilson...... alot of us have grown up now and are in the professional world. You can tell a kid to stop or move along, 9 tmes out of 10 they will. I know I did.

while i respect your opinion the problem here is none of us saw what happened "before" the camera starts rolling. much like the media it is all selective. given that, the cop did nothing wrong for the circumstances. you buck authority and you pay the price.you wernt there and dont know what happened. you dont know if they did or didnt destroy property, broke any laws etc etc.. you may not be a little fuckwad but every skater ive ever come across has no regard for anyone's property. that is my experience and why i call them that. you are probably more mature than the kids i speak of but you cant sit there and tell me you dont know what im talking about.
by the way, if my son or daughter broke the law and disrespected police or any authority i wouldnt cry like a bitch. thats the problem with parents today. defending their kids at any cost whether they are right or wrong. what message does that give kids?

[Turf1600]

I can honestly say - alot of little skater kids are little douche bags. Their parents let em go mess peoples stuff up and when they break their arm on someone elses property they sew them for it. Parents these days are shit. Best thing to do blunt - knob your handrails and put a potted plant at the bottom of the stairs. Make the place not skatable.

[Mtriple]

The video only shows what happened after the incident had escalated. I'm sure those little shits were giving the cop a hard time from the beginning.

I'm not saying that all cops are good. I work with some real winners and we've had our fair share of problems. The cop in that video showed nothing to make me believe he was out of line.

Again, they got what they deserved.

[delatlanta1281]

I agree, I don't know the whole story, but the people standing around getting manhandled when they are clearly being calm and not resisting?The girl doesn't start resisting until he puts her in a headlock.....

As far as kids and parents go I agree. my mom left me in a holding cell when I got arrested for skating. I took it like a man b/c I knew it was illegal at the time. it got thrown out and the judge asked the cop )City of Atlanta) why he was bored enough to chase skateboarders at peachtree marta when there were drug deals going on all over the area.
Skateboarders are spoiled these days. There are public parks in every town , Vans has private parks and contests. In my day all we had was street and the occasional driveway ramp we built out of scrap wood. I can understand why we got hassled..... we were seen as rebels to most b/c they didn't understand that a true skateborder is like a golfer. They live for the perfect shot or trick. I think that is part of the problem with children now, not just the skaters, but most all of them. Their sense of entitlement. It seems kids from highschool senior down are more bold and have less respect than when I was in school. If I said what kids say to me back then it would have been my ass, now I ignore it for some reason.... Hmm why is that?
Anyway now with its commercial backing and mainstream look, I had hoped skateboarding wouldn't be frowned upon like it is in this video. Even the woman in the background is yelling at them.
I want to say it is a small town mentality and it is the deep south, but actually in Georgia the small towns are more progressive than Atlanta. We still dont have a public park, and many of the outlying towns do.
It comes down to them breaking the law which by city ordinance they did.
But as an adult and a paid employee of the city there is a time and a place. A slap on the wrist or a stern talking to or maybe a "move along please" would suffice in this situation...
Not a beatdown.
Like the Nike commercials.... as much as I disagree with Nike getting its fingers in the pie, and as much of a sattire as they wer, they kind of made sense to us (skateboarders that is).

[delatlanta1281]

Also,
This will probably make the news. I found out that the officer is suspended with pay and under investagation.

[AlarmedBread]

Kudos to the cop on a job well done.

You do not approach an officer from behind, especially not when he is handcuffing one of your friends! The kids are stupid, it was not excessive, they were obviously running away from the 'bike cops' and had been there all day for their 'skateboarding day' . If the kids would have just stopped, heeded the warnings and left the area the first time, none of this would have happened.

"Just for sk8brding?!?!?!OMGZ?1??!"

Morons.

[delatlanta1281]

Whatever.
I bet you tried it, couldn't ollie and started rollerblading.

You do not approach an officer from behind, especially not when he is handcuffing one of your friends!

Thanks for the advice Perry, I will keep that in mind.....
Hey how's the drop going? Are you actually going to do it or just leave that pshopped thing in your sig?

[Turf1600]

Whatever.
I bet you tried it, couldn't ollie and started rollerblading.

Standard procedure among douche bags.