I had not heard of this yet. I just went over to Yahoo and read some links to this story, and watched the snippet of video. The man who took the video is a resident of LA, who was staying in the motel, so it said on one of the sites. I am not at all condoning the punching of the boy and slamming him on the car. But I have to agree with Susan here...slow down people.
Can you imagine the adrenaline that was running through this cop? He was injured and claims the boy attacked him first. He did have a cut to his face and was bleeding.
When he picked up the boy, it looked liked a person who did not know their own strength. Like if you saw a suitcase and used alot of force to pick it up, not realizing it was lighter. As for his punching him after the boy made a comment, I would love to know what kind of comment could invoke a person to punch a 16 year old who is handcuffed!
I also would love to know what anyone of you would do in that situation. With your adrenaline high, injured, fearful there may have been a gun, threat that you may be shot at, etc, etc. The cop is only human people, just as all of us are.
There was a well known respected Dr in Florida where I worked. He requested an nasogastric tube to be placed in a woman who was having stomach problems. This is a thin tube that is introduced into the nose, and is "led" down into the stomach. On an alert patient it is hard for them to sit still and not resist. She was very resistant, screaming and turning her head from side to side, and after several attempts by several nurses, who also used restraints on her, they could not put it in. The Dr had worked a very long shift and it was now his duty to attempt to put it in, the law says only a certain number of attempts can be made by nurses. The Dr went into the room with one nurse, who held one hand of the patient. When the Dr was putting in the tube, the woman was screaming and slapped him with her free hand. In response the Dr slapped her back. Does this make him a horrible person? I think he made an awful mistake, and also reacted as any human would.
As a side note, I have been hit several times by abusive patients. I have also seen many nurses brutally hit by patients. The adrenaline IS a factor and sometimes people cannot help reacting to reflex and hit back. I never did, and I never saw anyone who did. I will be the first to say though, that being in that situation it is a possibility, and can happen.
I could never imagine all of the stress a policeman goes through, they actually have their lives on the line. Unless those of you sideline cheerleaders take into account the amount of stress is entailed in such a situation, you really are fooling yourself and spouting hot air.
wendy
