"they were just skate boarding"
Just skate boarding ? As I posted last night...skate boarding cost each taxpayer in my community an additional $50,00 a year in taxes to repair and replace the damage caused. Now you may choose to pay $50.00 a year on your taxes for kids to destroy public property but the great majority of taxpayers in my city wanted to do no such thing. We DID invest in a skate park for kids to skate all they want...even asked them how to build it to meet their needs.
The tens of thousands of dollars that skateboarding cost my city did not include the damage to private businesses and property nor did it include the legal and medical expense of the several pedestrians that were knocked down buy the kids who were just skate boarding.
I understand kids wanting to have fun but if they are damaging property and injuring other people then it becomes a problem. Many cities try to help with the problem by building skate parks like we did and limiting where kids can skate...not to be mean or heartless but to protect the other citizens, protect property and to give the kids a place to express their sport and culture WITHOUT VIOLATING THE LAW.
These kids were not a poor group of sweet innocent kids just looking for a play to have fun, they knew they were violating the law and were ready to videotape the consequences. Some had already been arrested and some on the tape could be heard using extremely foul language and getting in the officers faces so close that you could see thei spit flying. This was a set up plain and simple and they accomplished what they wanted. They provoked some cop, just trying to do his job and go home, into losing his temper and putting himself into a position of being disciplined for his actions. Abuse of authority and brutality is never justified. Should the officer have reacted better? Probably, but I wasn't there and the tape doesn't show the whole story.
Communities have voted to limit where kids can skate board, if you don't like it get the law changed. Until then, obey the law and don't try to twist things by intentionally provoking an incident and then saying, "poor kids, they were just skate boarding".