So, if we listen to Mom...The teachers, the police, and any students or others were expected to wait for her so that she can talk her son down. All the while he's threatening to kill people. Awesome situation.
I'm sure that "my body reacts that way" excuse is going to work well in court if/when junior committs his first crime.
Not sure what else the cops could of done. Pepper spray seems reasonable in this situation.
The thing that really irks me about this mother is the utter lack of responsibility. "Oh it's not my kid's fault, or mine, it's the school system's"
Really? So if the kid was raised by you for the first 5 years of his life, and the behavioral foundation was set by your standard, then what do you expect him to be like outside of the home? Even if he does have "a little extra trouble" keeping his temper, it doesn't mean he is completely free of responsibility when he decides to have a freak-out.
My brother has a behavioral problem, and whenever he has "outbursts" (not even close to the violence this kid shows), my mother and father always take responsibility, and try to teach a proactive approach to my brother and try to find a solution (like counting to ten and breathing before reacting), and finding things that raised his irritability level, and then taking them away or reducing them. One of the things we found that increased his tendency to misbehave was violent video games. Maybe the mother could try not giving the kid the Xbox for a couple weeks, that game in the news clip looked pretty violent..........probably makes him a little jumpy too.
As for the cops.... did you see the size of that kid? When I opened the thread I thought "well, sounds justified, but the kid still couldn't really pack a punch unless he fashioned a sword from the yardstick." Well, that kid was huge for an eight year old.... if he had a stick or a bat there could have been some serious damage done.
Cops justified. Mother, smarten up. Please. And give your kid some breathing exercises, and maybe some yoga.
When I have kids, I'm totally gonna use pepper spray for discipline. You know, since you're not allowed to spank 'em any more. Same result: kid cries for a while, but no bruising. Win.
Wait, was the stick sharp? I understand why you'd spray the kid if he might stab you with something. . . . or was it just a plain ol' stick? In which case couldn't the cop just take a whack from it on the leg, brush it aside, then pick up the kid and carry him out or something?
I'm little confused. Why were people running from him and locking themselves in rooms if the kid didn't have some type of deadly weapon? They just didn't want to get rapped in the shins or what?
__________________
"An adherent of homeopathy has no brain. They have skull water with the memory of a brain."
When I have kids, I'm totally gonna use pepper spray for discipline. You know, since you're not allowed to spank 'em any more. Same result: kid cries for a while, but no bruising. Win.
And you can do it from a distance! Same reason why when my kids act up, Im going to use internet bullying. That way it's anonymous as well.
When I have kids, I'm totally gonna use pepper spray for discipline. You know, since you're not allowed to spank 'em any more. Same result: kid cries for a while, but no bruising. Win.
Personally I would prefer to use the fire hose.
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Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
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Wait, was the stick sharp? I understand why you'd spray the kid if he might stab you with something. . . . or was it just a plain ol' stick? In which case couldn't the cop just take a whack from it on the leg, brush it aside, then pick up the kid and carry him out or something?
I'm little confused. Why were people running from him and locking themselves in rooms if the kid didn't have some type of deadly weapon? They just didn't want to get rapped in the shins or what?
I don't think the police officers' well being was the only issue here. A hysterical child can easily get hurt while being physically restrained.
Is pepper spray lethal?
Did the kid suffer serious injuries? Minor but last injuries?
Did it diffuse the situation that the police were called in to do?
Based on the question of "Were the police justified to use pepper spray on an 8 year old having a violent temper tantrum?", I would say yes. I think what should be questioned is when the police used it. Did they use it to calm him down, or did they us it when the kid says, which is after he calmly dropped the stick?" That is what the debate should be, but it seems it has been blown up into an issue of what the police did, and not why. Its being looked upon at face value without significant regard for the reasonin.
Wait, was the stick sharp? I understand why you'd spray the kid if he might stab you with something. . . . or was it just a plain ol' stick? In which case couldn't the cop just take a whack from it on the leg, brush it aside, then pick up the kid and carry him out or something?
I'm little confused. Why were people running from him and locking themselves in rooms if the kid didn't have some type of deadly weapon? They just didn't want to get rapped in the shins or what?
They probably didn't want to get slapped with any potential lawsuit should they harm little precious while restraining him. If I were a teacher, I wouldn't want to tackle some 8 year old kid.
Honestly, I think pepper spray was the best outcome for everyone involved. It got the job done without anyone getting hurt. What if the cop restained the kid and the kid broke an arm? You'd have the mom screaming bloody murder like she is now.
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They probably didn't want to get slapped with any potential lawsuit should they harm little precious while restraining him. If I were a teacher, I wouldn't want to tackle some 8 year old kid.
Honestly, I think pepper spray was the best outcome for everyone involved. It got the job done without anyone getting hurt. What if the cop restained the kid and the kid broke an arm? You'd have the mom screaming bloody murder like she is now.
There are better ways to defend the police action in this case than this, hopefully. Studies of the effects of pepper spray have always been contradictory, but I don't believe there have ever been ANY done on the effects it has when sprayed into the faces of children. What if the kid was asphyxiated and ended up dying? You'd have more than the Mom screaming bloody murder.
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"An adherent of homeopathy has no brain. They have skull water with the memory of a brain."
You don't believe there are health risks when spraying pepper spray into the eyes of an 8-year old child?
The only long term effect that I got from being pepper strayed in the eyes (Trust me kids, you don't want to bet someone that it doesn't hurt) was that I stumbled into a wall at about 20 miles an hour when I was trying to run from the pain.
And no, the urban legend that says its tasty on eggs is completely wrong.
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Lets say the kid has the exact same outburst at the mall, mom grabs pepper spray from her purse and blasts him...What would the authorities do to her ?
If the cops need weapons to handle an 8 yr old they shouldn't be in law enforcement and they should also have their nuts cut so they can't have kids.
I don't think the police officers' well being was the only issue here. A hysterical child can easily get hurt while being physically restrained.
I generally stay on top of my 'special' kids moods and so don't need to restrain them, but on the many occasions I have had to respond to all hell breaking lose in another room ('I don't know what happened, I turned my back for a second') I have always managed to wrap a kid up and sit them down without to much trouble.
Cops were just being lazy and were probably, rightfully, pissed at being called to a situation the school should have been able to handle.
if he had a stick or a bat there could have been some serious damage done. 
