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June 16th, 2010
07:49 AM ET
Police punches 17-year-old girl during confrontation
A Seattle police officer tries to cite a group of women for jaywalking and the situation escalates into a pretty ugly scene that’s all caught on tape. You see the officer punch a 17-year old girl in the face as well as the teen pushing the officer as he tries to arrest her. Now, there’s a lot controversy surrounding the incident.
Take a look at tape and see how it all plays out and then tell us what you think. We’ll share some of your thoughts during the 10 o’clock hour of CNN Newsroom.
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A push does not warrant a punch in the face.
She deserved it, lucky she was not shot for assualting a police officer.
Society has designated certain people as authority figures. We did this to maintain order and to control situations that otherwise would get out of hand and cause unpleasant repercussions. These people are called Police Officers and each and every one of us is subject to following their directions. It is the law. When a Police Officer gives you an order, you are expected to follow it.
When you look at situations that Officers are confronted with, the argumenative and boisterous individual is probably the most common. When the public places their hands on a Police Officer, it can be viewed as an assault. This man carries a firearm that he has to protect from being taken from him. When two irate people literally attack him, he has no alternative but to keep those people away from his weapon and his person. The guy was in an unfortunate situation made unfortunate by the two women who were refusing arrest.
People need to realize that Police Officers have a job to do and if they disagree with his judgement in a situation, shut up, accept the ticket, hire a lawyer, go to court, fight it there! In Detroit we have hundreds of people killed every year because the Jwalking law is not enforced. It's on the books but not enforced. I think the guy was doing a good job enforcing his legal and moral responsibilities as a police officer. I think the two women need to face assault and resisting arrest charges.
When you are told to "stop", by an officer, you stop, immediately. Being female, being young, being cute does not entitle you to attack an officer. He was attacked by two citizens, he did what it took to subdue them. Arrest them.
The officer should have TAZED her. She clearly has no respect for authority, others or herself. Her mother is also clearly ignorant. This girl laid her hands on the officer. I am not an officer of the law but I do value what they do and what they have to put up with to protect the rest of us. This officer should not be disciplined at all. We should buy him a TAZER.
I'm exposing the early stages of geezerhood by saying this, but when I was a kid it was pretty universally understood that if you scream at and/or shove a police officer there is a very real possibility that'll he'll knock you on you butt or take you to juvie. Or both.
She's a criminal. She broke the law, then got into a physical altercation. Resisting arrest is a serious crime. Let her complain all she wants. She should have gone easily and it wouldn't have happened.
He had all the right in the world to defend himself, everyone should know you never touch a cop
These 2 didn't stop and were confronting him while jaywalking illegally – so I say punch away!
She also needs to be slapped with an assault charge.
She should not have put her hands on the officer – PERIOD!
IMHO – it became self defense for the officer after she touched him.
The officer was acting in self-defense, so she totally deserved it. If she didn't want to get punched then she shouldn't have shoved him. Get over it.
When i first read this headline I was cursing the "bad cop" but when I read the details and watched the video it became apparent that the cop did what he had to do to keep control of a situation that was quickly becoming a mob against him. A sane person does NOT touch a cop, ever, at all, and certainly doesn't hit his hands to free someone he's trying to detain.
He should have tazed or punched both of them. Why would others try to protect them for resisting arrest?
It looked like the officer was putting up his hand trying to get the ladies to back off....If that's so, then the officer was completely justified in finally striking her. She was right in his face, and seemed to be very threatening. Young people have to learn that they can't always behave however they want. It's always best to be calm with the police.
I usually side with civillian vs police, but clearly the police officer needed to take control of a situation which was getting out of hand. He did not use excessive violance... she was not tazed which is what he should have done next.
She failed to do as instructed, disobeyed an officer, then pushed the officer. That is physical assault. The officer in this case had every right to answer physical assault with physical force.
The officer was rightful to do what he deemed necessary to subdue the teen. She should not have put her hands on him and so he was reasonable in using the force necessary....
She had the right to put her hands on him but now he, the Law Enforcement Officer's actions are being questioned? Would it have been ok if she was able to take his gun and shoot him with it it? Then what.
Americans have no respect for authority bottom line. Whether we agree or disagree there are rules to follow and there are things that you just don't do. Her parents aught to have taught them to respect authority.
I do think he for sure waited too long to react, he should have laid both of them out sooner.
Yes, the girst were wrong and should have listened to the officeer, but they did not pull weapons on the officer. The officer did have any reason to hit the girl with a full fist. The officer is wrong for hitting the girl, but girls started this mess.Girls should be arrested
The officer was absolutely in the right to fight back! It was clearly illegal to jay walk and even more illegal to push or use physical force on the officer when he is trying to arrest these brats.
That girl deserved to be punched in the face and the officer should NOT be reprimanded in any way shape or form.
PUT THAT GIRL IN JAIL FOR ASSUALT ON AN OFFICER!!! If our society so screwed up that we can't even see that she is in fault!?
The 2 girls had a choice, but they decided to be disrespectful and attack the officer. They made the choice to behave in a manner that caused the officer to re-act.
The girls should not have ignored the officer or resisted arrest. He had to get control some how. If they had cooperated all that they would have had was a ticket that they could have contested.
I think the police is getting out of hand we need some other way of controling the public police officers are showing to be a bunch of criminals themselves... so dissapointing
The officer was entirely appropriate in his actions. Police Officers have a very dangerous job and have to react appropriately. He was quite obviously being assaulted and outnumbered. His tactics were not working, so he resorted to what would work better...and it almost didn't. When are we as a society going to hold those who resist authority responsible for their own behavior? If they chose not to respect the authority and the protection the Police provide, then they chose either not to live in this society and benefit from that protection or face the consequences when they cross the law. This entire argument is ridiculous – the ladies were clearly in the wrong and are NOT victims.
These girls were way out of line. When a uniformed police officer orders you to stop. YOU STOP! That is one of the many problems with society today. People think they don't have to obey anyone. Most are taught this by thier parents. We need to get back to the basics. Teaching our children right from wrong and not expecting the schools or anyone else to do it for us.
I wonder if this cop punches his wife in the face when she gets out of line there was no need to punch that girl in the face he needs to go back to boot camp and relearn the right way to arrest a subject .
Even though the punch may have a been a bit much, the girl who was hit should never have stepped in and grabbed the officer in the first place. Wouldn't that be seen as an assault on the officer, thus allowing him to defend himself at any cost. Today's youth have to know to respect the law, not fight it, or things like this will happen.
The policeman did what he had to do. What if she would have gone for his gun?
When a Police Officer asks a citizen to stop, they should comply. Police Officers are out there everyday risking their lives to keep us safe. I feel like he did what he had to do. It has nothing to do with race, age, sex, or anything else but the law. He had no idea if she had a gun or any kind of weapon on her. I feel like he was well within his rights to do what he did. If that had been my daughter, I would have been upset that she did not comply to such a simple request.
The police have been given the power of State. If they say stop, it means stop. If you don't, they can take you down. If you swing at them or push them, what do you expect to happen? Another case of I will do what I want to do and authority and law be don't apply to me.
The suspects disrespected the police officer by not stopping and continuing across the crosswalk and than resisted arrest. As soon as the friend pushed the officer he was within the use of force continuim to punch her. Perhaps if he maced her, or used the Tazer we would be sitting here discussing that that was too forcefull too.
Bottom Line: NEVER lay your hands on a police officer and stop resisting.
Ok, granted the teenager should have complied with the request of the Police Officer and been a bit more mindful of her temper when stopped, but for the Police Officer to punch her in the face, clearly with all his might and anger was Totally uncalled for.
It looked as if he despised her as a person by the why her hit her. I hope this was not just becasue she was black that he responsed this way. Because I have seen numersous situations where white teens had gotten out hand with police and no responded that way, but I have seen where police officers have been more than harsh with black teens.
Resisting arrest is a crime. The only issue here is that the cop is apparently white and "victim" is apparently black. As stupid of a ticket jaywalking is, that should be fought in court, not with the cop just doing his job.
I can't believe the police department would say the officer did nothing wrong. Clearly the girl was resisting arrest and her friend should not have touched the officer. However the officer should use his training to get the situation under control without resorting to such physical violence.
Looks like another situation where WHITE COPS are harrassing black folks.... My questions are: Did this take place in a black neighborhood? and if so don't they have bigger problems like drugs & other crimes to tackle? if the answer is yes to both.... It's clear that this is another situation where WHITE COPS harrass black folk over ridiclous offenses... When they need to fight real crimes.... However this is the case in just about all neighborhoods in america that are made up of predominantly of Black folk...... Sad......
The police did nothing wrong.... If you are asked by a police officer to do something you should respect his command because he is doing his job so they had no reasons to carry on the way they did. People in these days are acting as if laws is not of any importance and feel like they should retaliate in whatever way they want to...... Yes the police has a right to hit her in her face because she went and pushed him. What if he had fell down and they try to hurt him? I am certainly sure the urban whatever that is would not have any issue with that....... Please I am black and I know they already saying its just that you are black....... No its just that those girls were brought up with no form of good parental guidance so they do not know how to show respect and the same thing they did to the officer , they might have already done it to the parents as well.
Officer was totally justified in using force. We need more cops like him.Not only did he deal with one woman, but two. The women clearly behaved like delinquents by pushing and shoving the officer. Since not one, both continued to shove and push the officer, and appears the situation was escalating, the force he used was necessary to stop any other violence.
Young people today have come to the unfortunate belief that they are their own ultimate authority and laugh at the structures put in place to maintain societal order.
They assaulted a police officer. Give them jail time. Perhaps that would curb their arrogance.
Police officers are the law. They deserve our respect. We expect them to protect us and our rights, yet people like her don't show them he respect they deserve for doing their job. When she was asked to stop, she should have listened to him and talked calmly and respectfully. He is there for her protection and yet he was threatened. He didn't deserve that.
Where do folks get the idea that they can ignore a lawful order from a law enforcement officer and not expect consequences. A lone officer in an altercation with multiple parties can be expected to take actions like this to gain control of a situation.
Teach your kids to respect the cops, and listen to what they are told. I'm tired of folks defending indefensible acts.
It seems the officer was caught off-guard by the aggression of the young woman being confronted. The problem may lie in preparedness training. It is a fairly new phenomenon for women to be so violent. What is the appropriate response? Mace, perhaps.
As the wife of a Peace Officer I worry about the men & women putting their life on the line every day to make sure we don't become a lawless society. Those women posed a danger to him & he had to defend himself. That would not have happened if they would have peacefully complied with the officer.
The police officer was wrong. They are the TRAINED PROFESSIONALS, not the people. People will react regardless of so called 'authority'. Therefore, it's up the the 'authority' to exercise restraint and self-control. If not, let there be a 'free for all'....
Neither teen should hve touched the officer
It is clear that he tried to restrain her without
such force, but she resisted arrest & the so called friend
stepped in which clearly left him no choice but to defend
himself.
He was pushed numerous times,with a crowd the
was becoming unruly one by one,
Put yourself in his shoes.
You initiate violence, you will be subject to violence. These two women deserved what they got and, hopefully, more is yet to come.
NEVER.. I MEAN NEVER, disregard the orders of a police officer and NEVER... I MEAN NEVER start an altercation with one.
Charge them both with assault and resisting arrest.
I believe the officer didnt have too many choices. Looks like the two girls were in a heated state. When did pushing an officer of the law become ok? If this situation becomes acceptable were is our civilization heading. At what point do we draw a line and say this is acceptable and not acceptable. Or is all grey and there is no right or wrong?
The girls were wrong. You cannot become combative with a police officer and expect a good outcome. They are lucky their actions resulted in just a punch and not a taser or worse!
Responding to a police officer's orders is must for a purpose. These girls not only ignored those orders but also assaulted the officer in the first place. Although I do not like the punch in the face, the whole incident must be reviewed in it entirety to see what actually lead to punching. These Jaywalkers should be given strict jail time and/or monetary fine. If they get injured while jaywalking either city or the innocent driver will get sued for sure. They are not too bright in my opinion.
I don’t know what they were thinking? Did they think they didn’t have to listen to an Officer of the Law? Bottom line, the one girl was resisting arrest and her friend was assisting. They should have been charged with that as well. The girls are lucky they didn’t get tazed.
Ever heard of pepper spray? I could understand if it were a man, but come on...twist her arm or spray her in the face. Hell, even stomp on her foot, but punching her in the face? Excessive. He obviously doesn't have enough sense to exercise executed judgement under pressure. The man is dangerous if he reacts that violently to a FEMALE TEEN. Disgusting.
One person resisted arrest and another attacked him. What was he supposed to do, step back and let them go? The females were wrong, the officer responded appropriately.
I am a 23 year old black male and I have successfully handled disagreements with law enforcement in a civil and mature manner. Had I been that officer, I WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING!!! These girls clearly need a lesson in respect and humility in addition to being reminded that they are not above the law.
the officer told the girls to stop and they refused; then they were resisting arrest and one of the girls pushed the officer. he had every right to react forcefully that is his job and he has a right to defend himself. also he was outnumbered which is a dangerous position for him. but i dont think a push warrants a punch in the face. they were teenage girls, he could have tried something different before he decided to punch the girl. i'm a teenage girl and the last thing i would want is to be punched in the face but if you cant do the time dont do the crime.
thhe only reason this is a story is the fact that a white cop punched a black lady . do we want law and order or do we want police being pushed and disrespected . this started because these two women were jaywalking and as minor as that may be it is what caused the police to confront the issue with these women . enough with the race based double standard . al b
When you struggle with a police officer, anything goes.
Stop means stop. Isn't this what we teach our kids?
Was the police officer out of line? No. He ordered the lady to stop and she refused and then her little buddy decided to intervene! C'mon!
I feel that the girl was wrong pushing the officer during an arrest and that the officer was justified in his actions. Not sure why jaywalking escalated into an arrest.. Seems over the top. Police are always put in situations where they have to defend themselves and should be able to do so based on their assessment at the time. We cannot see what else was happening outside the camera or what was being said.
It is amazing how a small event escalates when someone does not recognize authority. Her friend did not have any right to interfer and the offender did not help herself by disputing her violation. The officer was well within his rights to protect himself. He did not know if they were armed or not.
A police officer is attacked by someone – who, by the way, is not even the person being arrested. His choices are to shoot the attacker with a gun, taser them, or use physical force to protect himself. I think he showed incredible restraint.
I have to say, I'm disappointed that CNN is even posing this as an issue on which you could support the attacker. Society can't survive, let alone advance, if we continue to disrespect authority and accept the kind of behavior these girls demonstrated.
If any one reacts violently to an order from any authority, an like response should be expected. Why did this jaywalker decide that the police officer needed to be attacked? The police officer was not wrong in subduing the suspect. I am only hoping that the suspects that attacked the police officer are charged and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
They were asked to stop and did not. Then they strike a police officer. Why is this a racial issue and why does the urban league need to put in their two cents? The girl desrerved the punch, they both deserved getting arrested and hopefully criminal charges will be filed against them.
The officer was totally in the right. Arrest both women and charge them with assault and resisting arrest.
It is called "resisting arrest" and a Police officer has the right to protect himself. If the girls had shown respect for the law and listened to him in the first place, it would have never happened. Once the girl shoved the police officer she gave up her right to walk away peacefully from the situation and deserves some time in a jail cell for an attitude adjustment. I am tired of seeing reports on cops trying to present them as the bad guy. They have a job to do and it is not easy. They also deserve to go home safely to their family at the end of the day.
I could not help but laugh, it's simple when police officers stop or approach you, you show respect no matter what. The girls probably aren't used to showing respect to anyone, reason for the reaction from the police officer that unfortunately got out of hand.
Arresting tactics will be reviewed? So what, cops can't actually stop anyone anymore? People will just walk away from an officer and nothing can be done. I think the cops can be heavy handed, but I'm in agreement with the officer on this one.
This was definitely an example of excessive force. It probably made the officer feel good to be able to slug a teenage girl in the face for touching him. This just demonstrates the "bully mentality" of the police these days. Give somebody a uniform and a badge and it makes them a deity.
Looks like the two ladies feel like they are above the law...very foolish to interfere with a peace officer when they are doing their job. I would have popped her in the mouth as well for getting in the middle of my business, I cant believe they arent cying racism because the peace officer is white. When a cop tells you to do something it is in your best interest to follow his/her command...stupid girls
I cannot believe our youth think it's okay to push a uniformed police officer and get into the middle of the officer duities!!! The lack of disrespect and common sense is amazing.
This young lady derved this if not more. For those who think it was over board; I'd challenge them to put thier lives on the line day after day proctecting the good people of the USA!
This is a clear cut case of the officer defending himself and not being treated as a punching bag!
Mike H.
Minnesota
I believe the officer was justified in the amount of force that he used. The tape clearly shows the girl hitting the officer first. I dont know what world she is from, but in the world I am from you don't hit a police officer! Even if she felt that the officer was wrong there are alternative ways to deal with it. Dont assault an officer and then cry foul when the officer defends himself!
I am tired of people especially young people being disrespecful . They should have to obey laws like everyone one else; no excuses. The police officer did nothing wrong. She should have followed the law. If someone had hit that child with a car, her family would be the first one to file charges for injuries substained and blame the police for not doing their job.
The Police was right. I am a 44 year old black mother. If my daughter had assaulted and disrespected the police in that manner, I would have applauded the police. He should have and could have did more. They got lucky. Those girls obviously have no respect for authority. He did not have time to think of a nice way to get her off of him. What if she had grabbed his gun? The man probably has a family and he is human. When you break the law, no one has to be nice to you. How dare she decide to assault him because he is arresting her friend. What is the world coming to? They cannot get away with this and should be punished to the highest extent of the law. Period. Thank you to all of the police who risk their lives and health trying to protect society!
Violence breeds violence, if an police officer can't use common sense in a situation like this, he should be either given a psyche evaluation or be dismissed from the force. I was always told not to punch a woman and if he could think of this as the only thing he could have done to take control of the situation, he needs to be fired then. He is an "official thug wearing a badge" roaming the streets. We should all be worried about an individual like this. What would be next, "tasering'" you because you littered?
That officer was completely justified considering he was out numbered by two females who were actively using force to resist the officer. That officer was also carrying a live weapon and had no way of knowing whether the female who was attacking him was trying to go for his gun. He used the amount of force that was reasonable and necessary to keep that female away from him who could have grabbed his weapon and used deadly force on him.
Hate to say it but she got what she deserved. The altercation did not involve her she inserted herself into the situation and brought it on herself
The misuse of force by police officers in this country rises every time a Republican gets in the White House, and the problem became severe under Bush the Second and has not improved under Obama's Republican-light style of governing. This officer should be fired anbd charged with second degree assault. If the police chief in Seattle doesn't do this, he should be fired and replaced with someone who will. Seattle police have been out of countrol for years, so this action (firing the chief)b is probably overdue. Voilent thigs like this guy have no business wearing a uniform. Police are not above the law, and this cop broke the law when he assaulted this minor.
Would of this made the National News if the young ladies, and it appears that they were not ladies, if they would have been white?
I believe when this is brought out and made out to be a "Racial" issue this is why there is still that issue of "Racism". I am sure "Racism" is out there, Confederate Flags still flying, but making issues and broadcasting this it just brings the "Racism" out.
Congratulations to the News and all other persons/orginizations for helping in this.
This will never end as long as it is a aired news item and the persons/orginizations push this.
If I were a law enforcement person who was outnumbered, dealing with a situation of resisting arrest, and physically assaulted (forceful pushing is assault), I would respond with clear superior force to first preempt any escalation and secondly to control the arrest process. Accordingly, I see the officer’s actions as appropriate and justified.
I find it hard to believe that this is even really a story. The two women were grabbing the officer so he used what I would consider the correct amount of force. Honestly he should have hit the other as well. That being said, I do not know what he may have said or what his attitude was but they should have done what he said. They could later have addressed the issue if they did not feel the arrest was unwarranted.
Why is this even up for debate? The police officer clearly told them to stop. Not only did they ignore his request, they forcibly resisted when he tried to resist them. As far as I can tell, the cop did exactly what he should have done.
Props to the police department not backing down on this.
As an African American male previously abused by bad cops while in my teens, I regretfully agree with the police officer's actions against those two ladies. Those two women were totally wrong in their behavior in that situation. They totally disrespected the officer's authority. The police officer showed restraint. He could've easily used a choke hold or a stun gun on both of them.
The punch in the face looks extreme on camera, but this is a police officer. He is faced with unknown situations everyday. No matter how cute you are, he doesn't know if you will pull out a knife or gun to threaten his life. He was taking actions to keep in control of the situation and not put his own life in danger. And these girls should not have been giving attitude to, and putting their hands on this officer. He was doing his job and they were not following the law.
If you are going to break a law like jaywalking...don't do it in front of an officer and expect to get away with it because you want to.
If this officer gets in trouble for this it will be just another example to people that we are living in a society where we don't have to take responsibility for OUR OWN ACTIONS!
I'm against the fuzz punching anyone in the face, but she is luck she is female, or this story would have resulted in more than just a punch in the face. At a minimum a guy would get some taser action with night stick or gun to follow.
The video depicts what is a serious and ever growing problem in this county. Total lack of respect for rules and enforcement of rules. You see it every day yet when someone is wronged, they are the first to berate law enforcment for not doing their job. Whether it's Jay-walking, running stop signs/red lights it doesn't matter, a major percentage of young people today have no respect for rules and do not accept responsibility for their actions.
It's becomming a Wild West out there. Just last night in Sanford Florida a 17 year old boy, walking home from his job at Mac Donalds was shot, killed and robbed. I hate to think what it will be like in 10 years if things continue on the current path.
I feel the girl should have known better. When you push a cop around you should be ready for what ever consequences happen. That is assault and he has the same rights we have. I think because she was a female she thought she could get by with it. She should be prosecuted for her crime. He should be able to continue to do the thankless job he does.
These two women attacked a police officer. He has a responsibility to protect himself and his firearm. The fact that this is a woman does not change this. She deserved to be hit in the face. The pity is that she probably still won't learn anything from this. If I attacked a police officer and he punched me, I would still be the bad guy.
This is exactly why I didn't pursue a career in law enforcement. Why would ANYONE try to justify ANYBODY hitting a 17 year old girl in the face. If this officer couldn't handle her in any better way then its obvious he shouldn't be in this career.
If you are resisting arrest then an officer needs to take these type of extreme measures.
If you place your hands on another person, regardless of who it is, it is considered an assault.
If you touch, especially if you push or hit a police officer, it is assault on a peace officer. The girl deserved what she got. In some cities she might have gotten shot.
If a cop tells you to do something...do it. They are only trying to enforce the law. Their jobs are tough enough without people choosing to openly break the law with the expectation of no repercussions.
Officers put themselves in dangerous situations everyday, a simple traffic stop can cost them their life. They keep saying that he was trying to arrest them for jaywalking, as if the offense didn't warrent the reaction. It is obvious that the girls themselves caused the arrest instead of a warning by their attitudes and actions. I agree the girls were lucky that all they got was a punch in the face, the video shows that the girl in the black shirt literally attacked the officer it could have very well escalated to an even more dangerous situation.
Unreal to complain about officer. He was pushed by two people at once. They are lucky they didn't get shot. He doesn't know them or if they're going after his gun. Anyone who would dare to put their hands on a police officer is putting their lives in jeopardy. He gave them a warning and they continued to cross street. Stop punishing officers for upholding laws and glorifying criminals for breaking them. Alittle community service will do this disrespectful teens some good. How bout making them sit at corner they jaywalked at and direct pedestrians
HamatoKameko... arresting someone does not warrant the cop to be ASSAULTED. It's called self defense. Why does everyone think that they can just fight back with a police officer and that they are in the right. She deserved, she should have never touched him. Just get your ass arrested, and if they are wrong, the charges would be dropped. But no, ol'high and mighty heffer thought she could just fight back. The ignorance of the "f" the police generation.
The officer totally over reacted and was out of line. In no way did the girls, who are physically smaller, display enough force to warrant a punch in the face.
It is time that people, especiall young people learn to respect policeman and their orders. She was ordered to stop and ignored that order. And as I see it on the video, the girls attacked the police officer, not the other way around. They should have both been arrested for attacking an officer. What would you have him do, just let them go? Bottom line, they attacked him he should have had the right to use force.
If this were a guy, it wouldn't be such a big deal. Plus,those girls were stupid enough to resist arrest! Force was certainly warranted here.
I agree with most so far. She assaulted him and was resisting arrest.. She deserved it and the Urban League should stay out of it. It doesnt matter if your a man, women BLACK or WHITE!!! Hitting a police officer warrants you being arrested however the officer feels fit. Shes lucky she wasnt shot!!!!!
I'm not sure what country we live in anymore– where the youth of our society has zero respect for the men and women who everyday risk their bodies and lives to uphold the law and integrity of all people that share the common bond of US citizenship. This officer had two disrespectful teens that could have easily tried to take his gun or as seen in the video, if they were any stronger have beaten him up. He absolutely had every right to defend himself and defend the rights of all people surrounding these two brats that think they are above the law.
The young lady was jaywalking and not commiting a felony. What is the fine for jaywalking? I`m quite sure it is cheaper than a swollen or scratched face. The term professionalism comes to mind when a police person is dealing with the public. If anyone must keep their head, it should be the professional when dealing with a child. You don`t strike a child, its against the law.
As an Assistant Principal in one of our nation's schools I see this kind of disrepect for authority/rules/laws each and every day. The rate at which respect among our young people continues to degenerate is disturbing. Just a few years ago the prevailing attitude among teens about doing something wrong or breaking the rules seemed to be "It is not a crime unless you get caught." Now the attitude that I see has morphed into, "It is not a crime unless you get caught...but if/when I do get caught then instead of compliance I am going to become immediately more defiant in both attitude and actions." There was a time in this country when officers of the law received automatic respect and compliance. If an officer asked/ordered a citizen to comply then he/she did so. Now, the general attitude is that those who put their lives on the line each and every day to protect us have no right to enforce laws when it is directed at us! We live in scary times.
Have these girls taken leave of their senses? The girl he had to hit wasn't even the one he was trying to arrest! And when I say "he had to hit," I mean just that. Obstruction of justice is against the law! Puting your hands on a police officer is assault! Resisting arrest is against the law!
Do these girls think that they are above the law? Who gives them the right to put their hands on that officer? If they want to be treated like adults, then they should ACT like adults, not like a child throwing a temper tamtrum. Grow up! Become a contributing member of society!!
I hope they are both fined and given community service, and the officer shoud be commended for not having used his tazer.
The law is the law, that's what keeps us from living in total chaos.
I'm really disappointed in the Seattle policeman. He didn't hit her hard enough. When I was young we had this thing called respect. What if she had grabbed his gun and shot him? Bet the story line than would have been: Why didn't he do something sooner! I think it is really this simple....He's a cop, you're not. Hands off or ya gonna get popped.
Fredricka, I think that those young ladies thought they were tough and was fighting with the officer which was wrong in the first place, and then you can plainly see he was having a hard time with that one girl before the other one jumped in, so what was he to do? If he had pulled his weapon one of them could be dead right now. People need to ask themselves, if they were men would anyone be saying anything? You are not suppose to touch an officer of the law for any reason, and to fight and hit one means added charges called resisting arrest and asaulting a officer in the line of his duties, so they clearly caused this problem. You also see the one in the black shirt was fighting even after she saw her friend get hit so be fair and admit they caused their own problem. vernell, saint clair shores, michigan
Good for the officer. I am sick to death of the disrespect kids have for authority today. Go visit a classroom from grades 4 to 8 and you will see what our "timeouts" have done to this new generation. They laugh and smirk at any type of authority and have become rude and disrespectful to the point of being unmanagable.
Placing your hands on anyone is considered assault in most states, if you watch video closely you will see the hands of the girls around the officers utility belt which holds his gun, taser, pepper spray, baton etc.. this could have resulted in them disarming and utilizing them on the officer. It is just common sense that when your approached by law enforcement and questioned that you comply, the worst thing you can do is put your hands on the officer, especially in a violent, resisting manner as these two women demonstrated. Police are aware of how situations can escalate out of control, this is why verbal commands are given first and used as a gauge to to evaluate whether or not the person or persons confronted could pose a threat to officer safety.
Her friend should of stayed away and she would not have been punched. The officer looks as if he did nothing wrong.
Fact: They were both wrong. The ladies for jay-walking and resisting and the officer for his unwarranted response. However, the officer is held to a higher standard because of his implied authority.
End result: He was provoked and lost it. I doubt if the police manual lists a face punch as a tactical defensive mood.
The winner: The Lawyers!
If you touch a cop and LIVE to regret it...you learned a valuable life lesson the hard way.
They're plain stupid and lucky.
I live in a town where if you jay walk the cops smile and wave at you and hitting a woman in the face is a crime no matter who you are .
The young lady was wrong for resisting arrest but there were alternative methods of restrain that the officer could have used tazer gun even mace and where is back up? but an over-hand punch to the face is a bit much.
In the officers defense . . .He is an officer trying to enforce a law that has been put in place for safety reasons . . . he has a gun on his waist . . .what if one of the girls got hold of the gun?
what did that young lady expect? She attacked a police officer and he stopped the threat. Folks must expect that if they assault a cop, the officer is going to do what is needed to resolve the situation. If I saw the tape correctly, then this so called punch stopped her fighting and she was placed into custody after a very short struggle. This punch took away her will to fight the officer. Did the officer have a taser? Would she rather have been tased or pepper spray used? Or, should she have just shut up and not attack the officer? Why is your company not placing any blame or commentary on her actions? It is always the cops fault.
I am a police officer and we face these struggles every day. I don't expect the 'Urban League" to get out there and fight with people that are impaired or trying to hurt others. All they are good for is causing trouble and discontent. If you disagree with them, you are racist. To the little girl that got punched, grow up. If you assault a cop, expect to be arrested. Please remember, I am going home safely each night. The only person that gets to hurt me is my wife.
i think it is important to maintain the law – New York City is better place because of the laws where enforced – a group jaywalking can cause vehicle accidents,their own death and the death of others – the enforcement was good – unfortunate he struck out but better he punch her than use a stun gun as happens nowadays – fighting with the law should be severely punished
Jaywalking is a simple ticket. Resisting an officer, and touching him usually gets a smack down. However, the officer or the two belligerents could have de-escalated the confrontation. But boy, she can sure take a punch. They are both lucky, because cops have nightsticks, mace, dogs, pepper spray, Tazers, guns, and a badge that gives him the authority to lawfully question anyone he deems necessary to enforce the law. It's not a debate you're going to win! What gets into people?
HamatoKameko.....You obviously did not see THE ENTIRE
incident or you are only commenting on what you wish, to
suit your comment. You obey a police officer when he tells
you to do something. You do not push then around.
They have a job to that requires the utmost
cooperation from everyone to uphold the law.
When you go pushing a policer around,
you have undermined the authority of that officer
on the scene leading to others thinking they can do the same!
Which in fact took place!
Teens today need lessons in respect
that lacked in their up-bringing.
I applaud the officer for protecting himself
and issuing what was needed without drawing
his firearm.
These were two big girls that attacked the officer. The one in pink is his size at least. They had no right to attack him. He did what he had to do to defend himself and to subdue them. This has nothing to do with race.
If you get caught jaywalking, apologize to the officer. If you fight him, you better be prepared for the results. Your actions not only reflect badly on you but also on your parent or parents. It is obvious from your actions, you couldn't care less. The officers action were restrained and correct.
The use of force was totally justified. Being young and female is not an excuse for being violent and confrontational with an officer of the law. If either of those women had produced a weapon the outcome could have been much different and where would the Urban League be then.
The Police Officer was within his scope as an Officer to defend himself. The girls friend (her lawyer) pushed the Police officer while his was making a lawful arrest of not only jaywalking but disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, now her friend pushes the officer, she becomes an arrest, obstructing governmental administration (OGA). Once she put her hands on the officer he has the lawful right to stop her using force. Police Officers do not have to wait to get shot before they take action.
The state grants the Police Officer the power to be in charge of unlawful incidents and does represent the public, so when you hit, push or scream at an officer you are doing this to society as a whole. The public should realize this and to avoid any contact with Police they should obey the laws of there City and State
This would not be an issue unless the cop was white and the victim african american.
I will be further disgusted if this becomes a racial issue because the only black and white in this situation is that he was right and they were wrong...that card is so overplayed when non white persons commit crimes or otherwise behave inappropriately.
In hockey, the third one into a fight is punished – that would be Angel Rosenthal, the girl who attacked the cop. She escalated the situation and assaulted the officer. I reviewed her criminal record on line – she needed a smack down, and so do the idiots from the Urban Leauge who predictably jumped to her defense – who do these fools call when they get into trouble, like being mugged by someone like Angel (that is her specialty, by the way – hope YOU never meet her and her friends on a deserted street)
The key word here is confrontation. Why was she confronting a policeman while he was trying to make a legal arrest. You can not interfere with an officer and not expect some sort of consequence. She could have been shot and it would have been justified!
These people crossed the line. If i chose to push and fight a cop who's in the process of giving me a simple jaywalking summons i should be punched in the face....and stop dragging race into the debate.
I'm a black man and i've had my share of encounters with white polices offcers and they are quite often arrogant and unfair but video in this case speaks for itself. You get physical with the cops...you lose!
The officer should've taken the time to educate the teens on dangers of jay walking instead of arresting them. It's all in the way you speak to them (no attitude) now the teens will have a hard time trusting or having respect for any police officer.
The officier was attacked and being assaulted by two persons while in the disposition of his duties and defended himself. The officier showed restraint in defending himself as he has no way of knowing what either of the assailants had at their disposal for attacking and inflicting injury on the officier. This short clip is all you are showing but is this all the camera person captured? Since we do not know the full timeline of events, who is to say they did not decide to do this in advance and tape the event? The comments of the 'community leaders" are arm-chair analysis play down the multiple assailants situation and in this case I FULLY disagree with their position and I am fully disappointed with the "community leaders".
Both teens attached the officer. You don't attack police officers. As third party 'viewers' of the video, we do not know what the teens were saying to the officer. They definitely were not following his instructions (as best I could hear) to settle down. While the blow to the face may seem excessive, the officer was protecting himself.
The parents, also need to be held accountable. Apparently, their teachings (or lack thereof) of being respectful of police, following the police directions. Had the teens followed the law, this would have been avoided.
Lock them up, send them to a work farm, fine the parents, SEND them out to do community service with out of control teens. Maybe the parents will wake up and learn something.
Stop fighting the police people.Its not worth putting yourself or those around you in harms way.Whether they were profiled or not is unknown but bad behavior isn't going to change the way he is ever doing his job a that moment.It only creates the results those older teens received.As the song is sang."I fought the law and the law won.
The women showed a total lack of respect for authority. They are the ones responsible for the escalation of the situation. Once they used force with the police officer, he had no alternative but to use whatever force necessary to control the situation. As a high school administrator, I know how hard it is to control two women who have lost control of their emotions. He was correct in his response, and appeared to use less force than he could have. The women should face consequences according to the law.
Any group defending and condoning the women's action is not looking at the situation objectively, and should not get involved unless they can be objective. Of corse force is needed. The women got what they deserved!
So you are saying it's ok to punch a woman in the face' the same thing cop's visit People for doing, do that cop have a Mother 'Wife or Daughter what goes around comes around.
She deserved what she got. If i, a grown man had pushed a law officer around after BREAKING the law, i probably would've been tasered. City streets are not school/college campus'es. Young people need to learn the difference when schools out.
Jeff your right the cop's never do any thing wrong!!
Does anyone in there right mind think if you scream and push a Police Officer they are just going to say, oh. OK, im scared and I will leave now. You can go on about your business.
How would the public react if the Officer walked away from these 2 females after they screamed, fought and pushed the Officer?
We as a society would feel unprotected.
Tre, hey so small infraction should be dismissed because the neighborhood is jacked up? Are you serious or stupid. The law is the law is the law! Since you want to throw out assumptions, how do you know that the teens were not jaywalking to sell someone some crack. Funny how it works the other way huh?
She got what was coming to her. You do not touch a police officer, and you definitely do not grab or push one either. I give the police officer credit for what he did under the circumstances of two women screaming at him and being around a big group of people.
This is completely ridiculous.
1. They broke the law in front of the cop.
2. The girls verbally curse out the cop.
3. The one lady resists the cop trying to detain her.
4. The other lady then physically assault the cop while he's trying to detain someone else.
Just what on earth do you expect to happen? When a cop tells you to do something, you darn well better listen. The best way past situations like this is to not complain and comply willingly. You don't do the exact opposite.
Here in Washington State the radio/news is making this out to be the biggest issue in the world right now (and blame it all on the cop).
I would not live in a city that is that worried about jay walkers and people spitting on the side walks is this city that hard up for cash this is out of control before you know it they will be shooting people for throwing trash on the ground .
The incident does not surprise me nor do the comments that I have read posted on the CNN website. One of our country's major problems is race and the perception of african-Americans. You can see the difference in perceptions with the Rodney King incident. Whites saw him as deserving the beating while blacks saw police brutality
I don't believe the cops would have punched the woman if she was a white women. I fault the priest, pastors and preachers for not dealing with this issue during church service. Sundays from 10 to 1 are the most segregated hours in this country. Young black males fill the prisons and America now jails more black males than South Africa at the height of apartheid.
Perhaps the officer should have used pepper spray or even his baton. He would have been able to better control both females. These aren't little girls we're talking about here. One girl jumped on his back! I think this would not be an issue if he resorted to pepper spray or baton. Ask people what they would rather have used against them; a closed fist punch to the face, pepper spray to the eyes, baton to the side temperal lobe?
The girls need to be charged for resisting arrest, assaulting an officer, j-walking, and anything else they can be charged for. Why were they released from jail? Why do they think it's o.k .to talk back and touch a police officer. This stems from bad parenting.
I was waiting to see how long it would be, before someone makes this a black/white issue. It only took 37 minutes. I agree with 'Tre". It is sad that 'Tre' had to make this into something that it was not.
Matti, so if the cops show restraint and the teens were 'already at a free for all' and he was being assaulted, is he supposed to back down or defend himself because 1 for his saftey and 2 he is carrying a firearm that could be taken away and a greater threat could arise? You don't think about those things or do you stay in the victimhood mentality continuously?
CommonSense, she wasn't a female teen after touching the officer, she became a criminal. Heat of the moment reaction huh, the time if would take for him to pull out mace, and how close she was, he could have been stabbed or worse. Hypothetical... but you have to assume anything can happen especially being a police officer. Go become, hit the streets and see how you feel after.
Shame on you Urban League! What did you want the officer to do, give the ladies a time out? We don't get a pass on acting inappropriately because we're black (Yes, I'm black). We've taken away disciplinary rights from principals, teachers, even parents...what do you want to do, take away respect for authorities as well?
Remember that one too many times you talked back to your mama and she slapped you across the face? You never did it again, did you? I didn't! Remember when you used to get in trouble for disrepecting a teacher and now the teacher gets in trouble if he/she disrespects the student? Same twisted thing with this story. Shame on you for supporting those kinds of ideals. Case closed.
had it been two white men grabing a cop no one would say a thing but as it was two black women every one thinks its wrong he did not hit the girl for being black or being a woman but for being a idiot that could have grabed his gun im a 48 year old biker that has not all ways seen eye to eye with cops but i have never grabed one if you put your hands on a officer you might just get punched in the face i for one say they ask for it they got it now get a ice pack and shut the hell up
JUSTIFIED. Not pleasant, but justified. Police officers are charged and held responsible for enforcing laws which in turn protects the communities they serve. ALL decent citizens NEED to cooperate with police. This is how our system WORKS. Criminals typically do not cooperate with police and therefore require police to use force to accomplish their duties. The actions of the woman in the dark shirt caused the need for the police use of some force. The action of the woman in the pink top were criminal. She physically interfered with a police officer while he was attempting to do his job. He was justified in using whatever force needed to gain control of this situation.
The purpose of Police officers is to stay in control of any situation they may encounter and keep a level head. Police being intimidated by teen girls is far-fetched. The only weapon we, as citizens, have are phones to capture the brutality police inflict upon our under-aged children.
Take away their jobs or positions in life... spontaneously add in a fight between a Man and two Women... HE SHOULD BE FIRED IMMEDIATLY ! ... Counseling or penalties will not change him... He lacks the CHARACTER needed to be a Police Officer... He is not QUALIFIED... If he is married, I pity his Wife.... someone should check on her well being.
Wow! This is how they teach our kids respect in Seattle?
A lot of police office are very bad and a lot of them at very good. and lynnwood and seattle have many problems with race over there.
But after all I said. You never push or screem at a poilce offer.
I would have done the same as the poilce offier did. mybe he should have mace her in the face also to keep from resiting arrest.
The police officer's response to the girl may not be what we would like to see, but you need to take into consideration the response those girls gave to him. He was trying to enforce a law – they became unruly and beligerent.
Americans are showing less and less respect for police and the law. No wonder the police are frustrated. Everyone seems to think the law applies to everyone but themselves.
Has anyone considerd that maybe some petty crimes should be ignored the cop should have just over looked this and just gave them a warning he was more then likely a rookie and rude as hell this isnt a race crime but instead a stupid crime on the cops part .
The officer was clearly attacked first and was within in his right to defend himself by whatever means.
now the woman is crying wolf, when she clearly attacked him first.
charge her with assaulting the officer. he was doing his duty.
when are these ppl going to learn, that when an officer of thelaw tells you your under arrest, it simply means that. she had no right, to lift her hands to him at the time she was being arrested.
The officer most certainly felt threathened with that woman lurching at him ,whilst he was doing his job.In this day and age, the officer has to think on his feet, that his attacker may well be harmed. charge her and throw away the key. as for the officer you did your job sir and have nothing to be apoligetic about, resisting arrest is a crime in its self.
ontheweb, go get puched by a light weight and see if physical size is a factor...
Everyone go to the Seattle website & tell them how you
see it. JUSTIFIED!
Good of the police officer. What would have happened if one of the females would have been able to wrestle the officer's weapon from his holster?
Once again, IF this girl would have made the correct decision (remember the baseball fan in Philidelphia that made the WRONG choice by going on to the field) and not laid her hands on him, the punch NEVER would have happened.
Way to go Officer.
Melvin Cole, a 17 year old is not a child. Quit dismissing the girls for their idiotic reaction and victimizing them. You probably have never been in law enforcment and even though it is a misdameanor, it is the LAW. Why is this for your to hard to grasp????
willie..... don't turn this into a racial issue. It was clearly.... the girls
were WRONG!
I live in Seattle and if you know our recent history of violence against our officers, you would understand why this girl should expect to get popped if she lays her hands on a police officer, let alone hit and shove him. Any one of those surrounding him could have gone for his gun. He did the right thing. Who raises kids who think they can get away with assaulting others, especially those in authority, and then cry foul when the consequences hit them in the face? Stay tuned for the lawsuit that will surely follow, it always does. The girl deserved what she got, and was lucky he chose a light punch.
Mrs. Witfield,
I am a black male from the southern states. I would be among the first to empathize with the victim of police brutality. However, this in my opinion is not such a case. This police officer was put in a bad situation. Both of these girls were out of line. they are lucky they didn't get mased, tased, of shot. To me this is a blatant disrespect to the real victims of police brutality to support her in this. You can't do wrong then play the poor defenseless girl.
@CNN Why do you not show the whole video from the beginning? It gives the context of the situation and how the girl in the pink shirt resisted her friend (light blue shirt) telling her to stop and how she went after the officer.
I cannot believe that people can think the officer did anything wrong. As a rule, if you touch a police officer in a threatening way, they have the right to defend themselves anyway they deem appropriate. He had many options to that effect.
All of us need to respect authority more and when a police officer tells you to do something, you do it. An police officer once told me that their philosophy is "I will be nice to you, until you give me a reason to not be nice".
Police officers do not need to educate teens...parents and family members need to educate teens on respect and manners.
This is not a race issue except that a "white" officer will be punished for doing his job. That is a shame.
word2wise... right, what would have you done with 2 beligrent females... that's right nothing. Shut up, sit down, and stop condoneing the lack of respect for law enforcement.
Bill, wow, how can you extrapolate so many far fetched assumptions from him DEFENDING HIMSELF. You make society worse sir.
The racists who keep talking about how race is any part of this issue are sickening. What's even more sickening is the percentage of people who think it's perfectly alright for police to use whatever violence they want, ignoring the law. The officer should not have tried to escalate a ticket for jaywalking to an arrest in the first place. One of the pro-cop posts noted that police have to use whatever force is appropriate–well this was not appropriate, and anyone who thinks it was has no business in uniform. Or voting, for that mattter. We are headed for a police state, and it will be run by right wing Republicans who have no respect for the ideals upon which this nation was founded. Goodbye freedom, goodbye Constitution, hello fascism.
Look at the video again... the dumb teen says "get him off me". Is she to stupid to realize she broke a law and is being arrested? Is there a lack of home training? What the hell are people thinking? The lady in the pink got what she deserved. You interfered, you pushed, you got hit back. For every action, there is an opposite equal reaction. Why are people defending these beligrents teens.
Bill...Are u out of ur mind or what? Attacking the officer
got them what they deserved!
While the punch may appear shocking at first site, what is the cop supposed to do? If he were to back off and let them go it would only lead to more problems down the road. People need to fear authority.
The teen should not have resisted arrest. I sound like my parents (may the rest in peace) but the majority of urban kids today have no respect for there elders.
The cop was absolutly right, being jumped by two people, come'on, the girls need to be jailed!
When will people learn NOT to resist arrest ??? She got what she deserved. The officer had the right to defend himself. I hope that the police department will stick by him, and not settle a lawsuit with this woman just to get rid of her.
Pretty simple, stupidity in action, stupid cop, stupid girls.
I think the Police Officer had every right to punch her in the face. When a Police Officer is attacked by any citizen, the officer has the right to control the situation. If I was the officer, I would have punched her again!
This is sickening to see. This did not warrant a punch in the face whatsoever. I only feel bad for his wife and children since this officer seems to feel so comfortable punching a female minor right in the face. What has society come to where this is an acceptable act of retainment for a minor offense.
The police officer was absolutely right in punching her in the face, she had what was coming to her. her being a female, or 17 is a non issue. Fact of the matter is she was behaving hostile and was interfering in an ongoing matter, I would have punched her out too.
I, and many others, who are completely cynical against cops and the rampant state of police abuse caught on film these days (and attempts by departments to suppress it) find this to be completely justifiable. One was resisting arrest (over a simple citation), and the one who got punched physically got involved in trying to hamper the arrest. A single cop in a mob, she got off pretty easy, and I commend the copy for not using a taser and also in seeming to do all he can to be gentle and not throw the girl down the ground when trying to subdue her.
The officer is trying to arrest the woman & they are resisting with FORCE and there are numerous people around ONE LONE officer & they aren't listening. They got what they deserve, if they were calmly talking, that is one thing, but obstruction and pushing an officer is unacceptable. They should not respect for the officer of the law & these kind of situations have often turned violent against officers before.
I think the police officer is completely within his rights in upholding the law. The girls were way out of line. Too many times we punish the officer when it is totally the person committing the crime's fault. The other girl should have kept completely out of it. The police office should not get repercussions from this at all. It was totally a case of protecting himself and upholding the law..
Jaywalking is not a serious offense, but nevertheless, the officer was attacked and was right to use the force needed to defend himself. The women should be arrested for assault.
Two people assaulting a police officer. No question that the officer has to protect himself and his weapon. No matter what your ethnicity or gender or age, do what the police officer says and do not fight him. It is a stupid thing to do.
God, I would not want to be a cop for all the money in the world. Oh, and by the way, I am a liberal Democrat.
Sorry to say but when you try to resist arrest and go so far as shoving an officer which is an assult. The officer, who is outnumbered, has to take steps to get the situation under control. The girl belongs in jail. She commited a crime. I support the officer 100%.
kids now days are out of control !! The officer was in the right
Looks like the cop did his job.....black or white....that kind of assault on a cop, you are going to get the same reaction. The cop can't back down, he/she is paid to "enforce" the law.
Why aren't you asking about the girls behavior? They were clearly belligerent and aggressive towards him. He reacted to them. The punch didn't come "out of the blue". He was dealing with an uncooperative person when a second comes in and pushes him. That's two on one and his job is to gain control of the situation. The girls clearly had no respect for authority and were wrong to react the way they did.
The chick shouldn't have resisted BUT...Jaywalking? Are you serious? Cops still do that? The officer totally used unnecessary force. Makes me wonder what kind of attitude that officer walked up on those girls with, they seemed awfully offended for a simple jay walking ticket. I'd like to see the whole thing play out, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find this officer had racist sympathies. It just seems a bit wonky to me.
I have never seen a man punch a woman in the face. However, on deeper level, I can guarantee you that if she was White he would never had done it at least not in public because maybe he can see his mother, daughter or sister when his fist goes barreling towards their face. He is a coward and should be terminated. Why doesn't the police train their officers how to quickly diffuse a situation especially when you have an audience. Jaywalking, OOOOOMMMMGGGGG! He needs a life. Make him work the borders between Mexico and California. He needs some humbling. Shameful.
Jaywalking? The perspective of the officer involved is obviously in question. His overreaction to the situation is criminal and he should be both suspended without pay and prosecuted! If his duty is to serve and protect there is no doubt that his actions failed miserably. The example that he sets is absolutely unacceptable.
This is unbelievable. A jay-walking arrest? Ridiculous. Officers are hired to enforce the law and stop crime. This wasn't even a crime worth getting involved in. He should have been patrolling somewhere, or doing something constructive, not stopping a couple of black teenagers from crossing the street at an incorrect area. If they were white, I guarantee they would not have been stopped.
A push does NOT warrant a punch. There is a point where too much force is unnecessary. He could have easily subdued her without resorting to smashing her in the face.
I concur that the teens were reckless and should not have pushed the officer in the first place, however I think it is unacceptable to say an officer should be able to react however he/she would like, just because they were touched. That's idiotic. They know what kind of danger they are in, and a shove from a teenage girl is hardly anything to get so upset about. It's disgusting.
a push certainly does not warrant a punch to the face. That grown man should be ashamed of himself and the girls family should press charges. A 17y/o may very well not be a child but we were all teenagers once and we make stupid decisions. If this were a white girl i bet he wouldnt have punched her like that, she probly wouldnt have even been arrested. Its ridiculous that these officers can get away with such behavior.
commenters are saying the officer had no right to punch a woman like this. Was this girl acting like a woman? If a someone was attacking you, would you let her attack you cause she is a woman? I think he should have followed up with a left hook.
Well...since these girls were resisting arrest and being verbally abusive themselves, what would anybody have the officer to do otherwise? They look like pretty big and strong women to me whatever age they are and not easy to contain if they are physically resisting. Some people and some animals just don't respond to easy handling. I wonder – what would people expect the officer to do when these women are in affect attacking him? I am sure that it is hard to know what exactly the best thing to do is when you are in the moment, BUT it looks to me that there was no other solution, unless the officer just put his tail between his legs and walked away. And THAT...is not a good answer either. It would be my idea that these women got what they deserved by their own actions.
I'm shocked by how many people agree with the actions taken by the officer. Of course both teenagers should be arrested for resisting, but the officer should have relied on his training to control the situation, and I doubt that he was taught in the academy to use his fists to do that.
I live in Seattle and watched this video a minimum of 6 times – even slowed down. Not only are these women out of line, so is the crowd – whose only concern is to make sure they get it on video. This is a sign of a sick piece of our society. CNN – make sure you get the WHOLE story – about who these "teenagers" are. No one should show this disrespect for the law. Also – if you look through this tape – NOT at about 1:25 into the tape the man dressed in all black with what appears to be a hand gun in the background. I for one am disheartened anyone with good sense would be so out of line as to play the "race" card on this one. Shame on them. This officer was trying to do his job..... then was accosted and HE is being questioned.
The officer did not use enough force in my opinion. Anyone who resists arrest, especially someone who assaults an officer, should be brought to compliance by any means. I am sick and tired of seeing this happen to our law enforcement officers while they are trying to do their job. This was a perfect example of a time when using pepper spray or a taser would have been appropriate.
GRANTED: Both Young ladies were wrong in the sense that they did not comply with a law enforcement officer's directives. However what real man finds a need to punch a female in the face, especially during such a minor altercation.
If this type of force was required for this "LAW ENFORCEMENT FIGURE" to control the actions of a female, then he is truly in the wrong profession, and should sincerely consider seeking a new profession that requires fewer manly attributes. The officer in question was the third GIRL in the the trio depicted.
Chuck
Ok.... I have watched the video and understand where people are coming from on both sides of this issue; however, I have to say that I do not believe this officer's actions were out of line. The first girl is clearly acting belligerent and uncontrollable; the officer is trying to perform his duty. While trying to contain the situation with the first girl, the second girl is stepping into the situation in an "attack mode"; not a "let's figure this out" mode. It is very clear from the video that the second girl is grabbing onto the officer and jumping on his back. The officer went into self-defense mode... he needed to protect himself.
The Urban League is trying to find racism in this incident where there is none! Shame on U.L. for wasting "tv air-time" on their grumbling!
The officer was absolutely correct! The jaywalking child was wrong and had no right to resist arrest.
Im a Black woman myself and I really dont feel sorry for those girls.
When tempers are flared and you behave like a savage sometimes u get the short end of the stick. They can classify that incident under "ish happens". I would tell my own daughters the same thing. You dont get a pass just bcus u are young, Black and a female, especially when you provoked the situation.
The teen(s) in this video and many other female children in this age group that feel entitled to hit or abuse whomever they please without consequence for their actions simply because they are "girls" are getting a wake-up call. If you commit a crime, or physically interfere with a police officer in the process of an arrest, don't cry to mommy when you're arrested and prosecuted yourself.
I don't support hitting women.I understand the situation.Black and white law officers generally will encounter violence from black men and black women.The officer was doing his job as he saw fit;and in the pursuit of his duties,he did nothing wrong!Let's start respecting law officers.Black women,start acting like women;and stop emulating you black men.What have they done for you;except to 'beat you up'and degrade you?White women,WISE UP ALSO!Many of your actions are borderline 'moron.'
Having watched the video numerous times my honest opinion is that this police officer is a dangerous violent man and has no business whatsoever being a policeman. This was jaywalking and these were women. His grasp on reality and the appropriate method of dealing with a minor situation are frightening. Take his badge, take his gun, get him into couselling and prosecute him.
Is there any wonder why there is no respect in the African-American community for law enforcement? Since when did someone get arrested for "JAYWALKING"? There were any number of different ways this police officer could have handled this situation but he chose not to. I would wager one year's income (substantial) that behavior would not have occured in an affluent white community. America, we are going backwards! A lot of that momentum is created by this type behavior from a "professional". This officer should be fired and he really needs to relocate from the Seattle area. There are consequences for his actions just as there are consequences for the teenager involved.
Police officer gone wild! This officer was had obviously lost control, and to resort to such a low-grade of violence against FEMALE, Teen-agers! These teens may have been wrongfully disrespectful and he may have had cause to stop the one teen for the infraction, he's an Adule Male! His duty as an officer is to serve and protect. Not throw blows to children's faces! As a native New Yorker, I have seen NYPD gain control of a bad situation involving school-children without using force, even when under seeming attack. After watching the video, I felt that his gross lack of judgement and immediate reaction to punch the African-American Teen in the face was racially infused. Unfortunately, we may very well need to pull the race card on this one. The Seattle PD need to deal with this asap. This officer should be suspended without pay, and sent directly to anger managment. (Do not pass Go..)
I think the cop has anger issues. Watch the video, that punch to the face looked like it was nothing but a reflex. That guy needs to get into a different line of work away from the public. Was she out of line, absolutely but that is no reason to hit her in the face. The department standing behind what the cop did says nothing more than they condone violence. How can they say it means anything but. One more thing, he’s very luck that wasn’t my daughter. He’d be opening his door one evening to a fist.
For Jovan...
When does a push warrant more serious retaliation? Someone pushing a child? A pregnant woman? An elected official? At some point you will have to concede that we need to treat some people as more protected than others. I think most people will agree that cops when doing their jobs are entitled to a little more freedom in defending themselves. Do you want to live in a society where police can't defend themselves against attackers?
Not by coincidence that every black country is a mess. Lets stop fooling ourselves, blacks have a cultural flaw. Its not a race thing, its a cultural problem. An educated person would understand why we have police officers, and they, like you are not above the law. When a cop stops you, Stop! If he violates the law, get a lawyer! This is why all white majority coutries have law and order......the culture demands it!
Would we even be having this discussion had it been a black officer with two white teenage girls? No we would not,because the only people injecting race into this situation is the liberals and black community saying that the officer should not of punched,but I think any action this officer would of taken would have been called too excessive no matter what he did. The simple facts are the officer stopped them for jaywalking they disrespected him and he then tried to arrest the one teen and the other jumped in shoving him and telling him to get his F-ing hands off her and the officer then came back and punched her using what was resonable and neccessary to try and diffuse the situation. Look at everyone around in the video they were egging the girls on and taunting the officer,only one of them tried to assist the officer and pull the girl who got punched back. A police officer is in authority for a reason and like my father told me when dealing with a police officer you say yes sir and no sir and follow his orders only criminals fight back and resist.
Beer summit # 2. Oh, I forgot, the girl is a minor. I guess Obama will have to settle for Kool Aid or Juice.
I am african American and a racism expert and the author of why they Just cant get over it a Spiritual and psychological approach to overcoming racism. I believe that the policeman was right every one need to understand that you can not get angry and fight the police for arresting your friend. The police are people too that just want to do their jobs and make it home alive at night alive. If society upholds this teen in this matter we are saying to them they do not have to have respect for the rule of law. Then shame on us all. This was not about race it was about right and wrong and both girls was wrong.
jaywalking is a citation, not a punch in the face..The young girl who jaywalked and her friend were reacting to the OVER reaction of that cop..he was not dealing with a terrorist....I wonder does he punch his wife out when she disagrees with him? It just sends the message that violence against women is ok.....which of course it is not
There is a science for brain surgery, computers, nuclear weapons, flying the space shuttle and for many more professions. Police work is a science. In fact in this case there was a professional Police Officer using tactics. The officer was 100% right in his actions. Even to the point where he did not scream for backup on the radio when he was alone and surrounded by the perps friends. That situation could have gone bad in seconds. Other police officers would have raced to the scene and risk crashing on the way and for what? This teenager that thinks she above the law?
To the untrained public eye that has very little knowledge of justified force and the laws of the land for where there are many this looks like a street fight. So far from the truth.
Do we know if there was a serious traffic condition at that crossing? Were there traffic accidents on that street caused by people jaywalking or worse people killed crossing at that intersection? There is clearly an overpass crosswalk in the background for pedestrians to use. And if the cops did nothing about the jaywalking and the teens friend was killed crossing the street the same teens would be out there screaming that the cops don’t do their job. There’s always more to the story.
AVIOD COPS! OBEY THE LAW...
How many of you people out there have ever bean arrested for jay walking or walking on the grass or spitting on the side walk or throwing a bubble gum wrapper on the ground there is a great big lack of common since here on the cops part he has to be a rookie and those girls are just stupid teenager's most teenagers are .
PS: Most violent crimes are caused by teenagers. It's a fact not my opinion. In fact the females usally hold the guns and drugs because they think Police are less likely to search them. Fact not fiction.
It's been good to see that the vast majority of responses have been in favor of the police officer. As for the simple jaywalking: that's a busy area and it is against the law. The girls escalated the incident from a simple ticket to assaulting a police officer. He took the action he considered appropriate at the time to control the situation. Police officers put their lives on the line every time they go onto the streets. The girls brought the results on themselves through their criminal activity of disrespecting and attacking a police officer. Kudos to the Seattle Police Department for standing up for the officer. And shame on the Urban League for their support of criminal activity.
Can we at least agree that it's not about jaywalking? The story is not "Teen crosses street and is sucker punched by policeman."
You get what you get when you assault an officer. I'm glad the officer did what he did. If you break the law and an officer tells you to stop, guess what, you stop. Being cute, black or white, or a female you are not above the law. When did it become ok for people to disregard an officer of the law.
All too often we see a scene like this where certain civilians have a typical attitude towards authority, whats right in society and whats wrong. The officer was clearly doing his job while the idiots in the back ground were egging on the girls. Anyone with respect for one another would have refrained from acting in this manner towards the officer. It makes me sick and this goes on and on!!! What has happened to society.
We can call it youthful stupidity but the girls were absolutely wrong. The officer may have done something to make a simple arrest escalate but the second girl's actions made it necessary for the officer to gain control by any means, including punching. We must teach our youth to respect the job our police are sworn to do.
I had to respond to one comment. I writer said the cop over reacted to a minor infraction-it was minor until the girls didnt stop. disobeying and resisting arrest is not minor, in fact it as criminal as you can get!
I am the first to admit, most cops are jerks, and writing a jaywalking ticket is pretty low. That just shows that there are too many cops obviously and not enough violent crimes to prevent. HOWEVER, no one has ever made a situation better by resisting arrest. Just take your ticket, pay the small fine, or show up in court and make your case. Also, feel free not to jaywalk! I've miraculously never been punched by a police officer and I've received a hefty amount of tickets.
How can anyone condone what the cop did? I'm not saying the girls weren’t out of line but he HIT her!! Not just a simple shove or anything hit took a fist and punched her in the face. That is violence!! I know they were smart mouthed and way out of line but his reaction was strong violence and letting him get away with it is condoning violence.
She deserved to get punched in the face and alot more. Her friend is lucky she didn't get some. I am sick and tired of unruly disrespectful youth. They are out of control. What I don't agree with is that police get to punch them in the face and I can't. If my child is unruly at home, I must grunt and bare it or get assault charges. The justice system sucks. If only the police can discipline the children, let them raise the.
Are the police to allow that kind of behavior from people? People cannot be allowed to fight with a cop simply because they dont want a simple ticket. She didnt want to get punched in the face? She shoulda done what she was told. She took that punch good anyways, not like it knocked her out or anything.
BTW, I am AA and I agree with the police officer. However, let's not be naive about our justice system. Susie from suberbia would not have been treated that way for J walking. Justice should be meted out fairly and equally to all people.
The girls have shown complete disrespect for the law. He should have tazzed them both. I hope they have to serve several hours of community time for their actions.
Maybe we ought to DRUG TEST for STEROIDS...... A little fist happy... WHAT THE HELL
I have watched the video and have read some of the comments. I can not believe the "race card" is being used. True it was a white police officer and two African American teenagers. What happened to role models? Oh thats right, the role models of today are professional athletes who think they are above the law. Nobody is above the law. I have to say the situation did not cause for a fist, but looking at the video the bystanders only cared about being on the news and getting the video. I even heard the bystanders urging on the teens.
No race card should be played. Should there be punishment on both sides.......yes. The officer should apologize for punching the girl with a closed fist. the Teenagers should apologize as well for their unrully behavior. If we always play a race card with every situation then this country would be a wreck! Oh wait, it all ready is a wreck. It is heading down hill fast!!!!!
This video just proves that nobody is above the law! The teenagers tried to resist a police officer. the second teenager tried to keep the officer away from her friend. She put his hands on him and i was taught never to do that!!!!! EVER!!!!
CNN hopefully you get the whole story and report fully the way it needs to be reported!
Interesting...the officer actually had someone that he appeared to be trying to arrest. The woman that was struck in the face actually broke free from the man that was restraining so that she could apparently assist her friend. She assisted her friend when she grabbed the officer’s hand/wrist to free her friend. Not only did she grab the wrist, she pushed him. This unwanted touching is an assault; the officer then defended himself and punched her in the face. The officer then places her under arrest; the individual that interfered in the arrest.
So let me get this straight, people are angry when this young female not only obstructs justice, but then assaults an officer, and then is subdued by one strike to the face. Furthermore, the female that the officer appeared to have been trying to arrest was resisting arrest. This situation could have turned worse, but it actually turned out great. We need to be honest with ourselves and our actions; not everything happens because you are Black, most of the time, our own actions dictate the outcome.
I am Black and certainly believe that there is racism and sexism in all parts of our society, but the action that the officer took does not appear to be racist. If I was in the same situation, I would have done the same thing; and it appears that many of you on this board would have done much worse.
A tazer? That could actually cause a heart attack. Pepper spray actually lasts for up to 45 minutes, and there is no guarantee that it works on everyone. She could have went for his weapons, bottom line is that we do not know what her intent was, but I can tell you what she did. If anything, the video proves that the officer acted properly.
I have been racial profiled before and so has my family, but like I stated previously, this doesn’t appear to be one of those situations.
The Girl is 17 Years of age – that is not acceptable!
Most properbly the Girl could be his daughter and (this should not happen to anybody but,) what if his Daughter hapen to (even) slap him (the Police Officer as the Father) will he punch his own Daughter in the Face?
I'm saying, it was too much, the Government have to Protect the Citizen much better from such Brutality of such Police Officers!
THANKS
JAH Love you all!
I agree that the punch in the face was a little over the top, and yes, I mean "little."
My wife is a teacher and she deals with snotty, pompous, arrogant, defiant teenagers every day. The stories I hear from her sound like students are just daring the authority figures (teachers, principals, police officers stationed at the school, etc.) to do something to them (get angry, fight back, etc.), so they can cry foul and. It looks like the lady in pink had it coming. Maybe Mom needed to punch her in the face a long time ago.
The thing that scares me the most is that, even with the overwhelming majority of replies on this article supporting the officer's actions, the officer will be the one who will lose his job or have to issue an apology.
I am amazed at the people who are writing here in defense of the girl. It does not matter what the race is or what the gender is of either individual. Look at the facts... An officer tried to stop two individuals for breaking a law. It does not matter what some may think of the law, it is a LAW. The individuals became confrontational, resisted authority and pushed the officer. Where in this does someone who is intelligent and rational say "the officer is in the wrong"? Why is this even a race issue? Was there a racial slur? If this were my child, I would make her apologize to the officer and be embarassed in my lack of parenting skills. If my child ever shoved an officer over a ticket, I would have to say I failed as a parent and my child is a negative impact on society. This is one of the reasons we as a society are having issues.
If we want to be a free country, then we need to be intelligent enough to understand simple right from wrong and respect the authority and laws of our country. If we cannot find that level of intelligence, then we deserve to lose our freedoms. If this ticket was unjustified, then go to court. If an officer is assaulted, they have the right to defend themselves. She is lucky she didn't get maced, tazed or hit with the billy club. I hope she is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and made an example. Assault toward an officer should never be tolerated.
She's a punk with ATTITUDE who chose to show off in front of her friends, and run her mouth instead of taking the ticket then see the judge to refuse to pay it. Her friend assaulted the cop while making an arrest, and the cop had a right to defend himself against it, as it did not concern her. If the cop was beating up the girl for no reason, THEN people could jump in to defuse the situation, but grab a cop over a non crime such as jaywalking is ignorance. As well, the cop could have talked to her by giving her a warning, and been on his way but the point here is, he was 'assaulted' and reacted very quickly to the situation.
What kind of message are those who support the actions these girls sending to other young people in our society. Values and morals are slipping lower every day, and why wouldn’t they? We are so constantly bombarded by media portraying all sorts of bad behaviour to the point that young people probably think it’s normal and acceptable. And to reinforce the attitude there are always those who will defend the actions of anybody on some grounds or other. What good are police who aren’t effective? Sort of like the referees in a wrestling match, just ignore them and do as you please. He was right in what he did, and, the girls should have all charges including assault levied against them.
How can anyone put this in to a racial matter this is a social problem.
If a cop tells you to stop you stop you be polite and respectful. She probably would have been givin a warning instead she got arrested.
He should of tased her,it looks bad ,but she would of been hurt worse with the taser.I dont think she got hit hard,or she would of been dropped.
You must follow an order ,or your resisting...flatout.
I think it's disgusting that the office has been reassigned pending an investigation. The video shows that the girls were physically attacking him while he was very clearly attempting to detain them. He had the right to defend himself and had a back-up officer arrived he probably would not have had to go to such extreme measures.
Have they already disregarded the deaths of the officers that were brutally murdered in the line of duty in the past year? It's important that the message get out there that they will not tolerate attacks on police officers.
And shame on all of those bystanders who chose to watch rather then come to an officers assistance. Who do you think they'll call when they need help? Disgusting.
The police officer's actions were justified.
If you even bothered to watch the entire video, and read the story you would find out that he asked other people over to his cruiser because they were Jaywalking. He wasn't arresting anybody, UNTIL that 17 yr old (which she is only 1 yr shy of 18-legal adult) decided she didn't have to respect authority. He asked her again to come to his car and after she tried to just walk away when he was talking to her he decided to arrest her but then thats when her friend who had no buisness touching a police officer jumped into the scene and he had the right to execute any means possible. He was professional until the girls became threats. He has a loaded weapon and they were becoming too heated, so a swift movement on his part took an assailant down with minimim damage. (her black eye will heal people..his career?? who knows)
I think this is being blown WAY out of proportion. She has to take responsiblity for her actions. Even though she's a woman, that doesn't mean she can get away with anything. Law's are made to be obeyed and we have police to enforce them.
He is here to protect and serve and even though most people believe that Jaywalking isn't a big deal people die from it just the same as people who don't wear seatbelts, so enforcing a law that hasn't been paid attention to isn't wrong.
People today have no respect for authority, but they'll soon learn.
She was resisting arrest, and when she shoved the officer it became assault. He was well within his right to respond with equal force. Those girls should be in jail for assault, resisting arrest, jay walking, etc. end of story.
They showed no respect for the law and got what they deserved.
I doubt this video would have been aired by CNN if the cop were black and the girls were white.
I can certainly tell who the racist are on this chat!!! This is 2010 you people never cease to amaze me! You all need to live on your own planet with that racist crap!!! It's amazing how the southern mentally towards African-Americans ventured all the way out west, across the Pacific, to the Europe, across the Atlantic, and back again.
Jay-walking ... are you kidding me! I'm not surprised that the white police officer approached these TEENAGERS (not women) about jay-walking. The officer needs to be fired! I agree with Chaz and Robbyn that if these two teenagers had been white females the officer would have probably kept driving and never said one word to them.
I also feel sorry for his wife and kids ... he's an abuser.
Jay-walking it's a BIG JOKE. This is one reason why I don't respect the police. I have a suggestion for this officer, why don't you help to fight terrorism in this country or help to deter drugs from entering into our neighborhoods instead of hitting teenaged girls.
She was mouthy and assaulted an officer. Last I looked pushing a cop is some kind interference and /or assault to and of an police officer’s duty. She could have been shot, your right and then what. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Ya can’t blame her for that. That’s societies fault for altering the norm.
Maybe we should just start putting cow catchers on cars. And why we are at it remove crosswalk signals.
The office had all right to defend himself from the two crazed females. In my mind his action's are justified.
At what point did people stop understanding that you OBEY the instructions of police officers?
The girl in pink ASSAULTED the officer by laying hands on him. She needs to go to jail for the Felony she committed. The girl in black resisted arrest continuously. She gets jail for that as well as a ticket for the small jaywalking offense.
She could have just taken the ticket and kept her mouth shut. They both now need to deal with the felony they are guilty of. I do not think the officer acted inappropriately at all. The girl in pink attacked him and he reacted to the situation the best he could with one person already resisting him.
stop saying a teenager was punch for jay walking she was punch for resisting arrest and trying to escape. Why dont you newsmen tell the truth its right on video.
As a person that has been racially profiled many times, I feel the teens behavior was wrong, you never confront a police officer in that manner, you show respect and composure. I think she got exactly what she deserved. She could have insited a riot. What the he'll was she thinking. (Real Stupid)
It's nice to see that there is more support for the police than there was for that girl. Shame on her for behaving in such a manner. What did that girl think the officer was going to do when he was attacked. This is a society that has had children with guns killing each other. How can you blame the officer for reacting. That's his job. Maybe it's time for society as a whole to practice restraint.
Such a stupid human.....she did not know who the white dude was but she knew what uniform he was wearing. United States law "COOPERATION" was the salution there, and it's the key to sucess of solving any problems. She should have cooperated
The police officer appeared to be alone and had both girls attacking him to some degree. That broke a severe law and elevated his threat even more. Once they touched him, it is in policy for him to do what he has to to restrain them with the least damage, unless that doesn't work also. It looks harsh to see him hit her in the face, but he tried everything else like grabbing their arms and it wasn't working and they both "ganged" up on him. He didn't look in the best position to get out his tazer or pepper spray which would have took longer and might not have been readily available. The fact is he was specifically asked to monitor an area that has a problem, and even if he wasn't, people can't get mad when they break a law that is in fact a law, even if it is minor. Everyone on here who feels sorry for her doesn't understand or respect the laws and policies. I highly doubt the police department or union will let him lose his job, nor should he. Police have the right to protect themselves in different levels. He tried to arrest her. that didn't work. He tried to grab her and control her arms. That didn't work. Next is striking. I doubt she'll suffer permanent damage. After that, he might have been able to do much worse. He didn't stray from policy. Some people need to learn the government in which they live.
Someone remarked "white cops harassing blacks;" actually this was the other way around. He was probably targeting that stretch for jaywalking to prevent fatalities/accidents, if it is a busy street. I don't care what your color is – don't assault a police officer, otherwise that officer will have to take appropriate action. I'm 100% behind him, along the majority of people who've commented, it looks like.
kim canazzi she would have gotten a citation. but she chose to ignore then start pushing the cop. both girls should have been tasered then arrested for assault and trying to alude a police officer, most people that are claiming the cop was in the wrong seem to be women, just look for yourself.
That 17 year old was bigger than the police officer himself and there were 2 of them in the first place. Plus there were other people around and you never know if they are just passing by or will jump in a fight next. He protected himself, good for him. He did his job, even better!
For those of you who say the police is right to punch a young girl in the face, you all are sick out of your minds. This is Jay walking for Christ sake, if the officer felt he was in danger, he should have called for back up or be more diplomatic in handling the situation.
Aren't this guys trained to handle such situations without resorting to violence? A push from a woman does not give you a moral or any other right to punch her in the face. He was never in any danger judging from the video, and i repeat, he could have handled the situation much better.
It seems Seattle police are know for such acts of violence against its citizens rather than protect, this may have very well have triggered the young ladies reaction in the first place...
This is clearly a cop that would probably punch his wife or child in the face if rattled, and yes because he is a cop that will be just fine. I guess you sick people can justify that action because he is a cop... You all make me sick!
This cop needs to take a class in morals and anger management... This is not policing, this is a crazy idiot on a mission... He is an out of control Raging Angry White Cop.
Anyone ever hear about escalation of force? Well, if your in Law Enforcement or in the Military you would know. The Police Officer had every right to punch her square in the "patoots!" He was being pushed around by these two girls! It's called assaulting a police officer and you can be arrested if you commit this crime. What if they had a weapon, the cop didn't know. So he's obviously trying to control the situation before it gets out of hand. Especially when he has a group of people standing around watching which could at anytime join in the fight against him. What ever happened to good Samaritans? For whatever reason these bystanders think it's funny! O wait... I'm sorry, they are trying to get their 15 minutes of fame on TV! Ha I'm baffled....And one more thing, don't you think it's funny how the beginning of the video is cropped and not shown. I am curious as to how this all really started.. Last but not least.. if you follow the rules of the law at all times, you'll never get in any trouble!! Weird how that works..
she's lucky it was a police officer and not a street brawl. stepping in on a brawl could have ended with her stabbed or shot. give some respect to the badge and dont be so eager to jump in where you arent needed.
She deserved that. She was breaking the law and putting herself and others in harm by jaywalking. If she was being arrested for drugs no one would care. The cop could beat her ass and no one would care and thats a victim-less crime. I say throw the shackles on her, the cops finally arrested someone who was committing a actual offence.
Hey lets have cops all over the country start punching out unruly teens your daughters included for jaywalking or minor infractions. See if that's the America anyone of you would continue to live in...
Has Rev. Jesse Jackson or Sharpton made a statement regarding this incident? This girl went after a police officer; what did she think would happen?! She is lucky he didn't pull out his gun; which would have been justified, to protect himself. She could have been killed, and it would have been her fault. I have a daughter, and I would feel the same way if it was her in that video. If you don't have respect for the LAW, then you are going to have a long, hard life. Get this girl in some type of facility that teaches her responsibility, teaches her a profession, gives her an opportunity to make this situation right, and everyone needs to move forward from this.....and learn! What if that officer was HER SON, and 2 guys' were gangin' up on him? I wonder how she would feel? RIght is right, and wrong is wrong! This officer was right and justified.
she deserved it. She attacked him, he defended himself, and arrested her for assaulting a police officer.
It would have been MUCH worse in my opinion if he had tazed her. At least hitting her carries no risk of permanent harm.
If you think a cop is not right in giving you a citation or a ticket, then take it to court and fight it. Fighting the officer only guarantees that you will be unable to fight any charges later.
Just because you have a badge does not give you the right to abuse people anyway you want to. If she was wrong for shoving him, then he was REALLY wrong for punching her. Where does it say that a police officer is allowed to punch, hit, or put his hands on anybody who didn't inflict pain on them? He has handcuffs, and he should have used them, not his fists! A police officer is suppose to prevent violence, not create it.
When will people realize that holding some sort of "higher" status does not mean you are at liberty to do whatever you want, however you want??? I teach my kids that just because someone is a police officer, soldier, teacher, etc., does not automatically mean they are a good person and are 100% right. If you teach them to trust adults too much, when one of them is out to hurt them, they will think they have to go along with it, because they are an authority figure. I don't think so...Does that mean that they disrespect adults? Not at all.
All of you that say she deserved it, you disgust me. To say that any man should hit a woman just for pushing, is outrageous. Do you punch women in your family for pushing you when you act out?
Giving a weak man too much power results in situations like these. Because at the end of the day, he is just that...a weak poor excuse for a man...
Unfortunately, these two women felt justified in "defending" themselves against this police officer forgeting that he has authority over them! Granted , the police have had moments of shame in the past using force over and above their authority but in this situation, these women should have shown proper respect for his position. I agree with the officer on this one and am happy that we live in a country where the officers use their hands to control a situation and not a gun or other means to do so otherwise we'd have two less people in the world. Why do we have to be a generation of entitlement? Laws are their for a reason and if we break them....we suffer consequences.
Someone always has to bring the racial issue to play. ALWAYS! Tamron Hall on MSNBC today sadly had to go ahead and make this a racial issue. Today she commented on how WHENEVER its an AFRICAN AMERICAN who is in an altercation with police, with the subject being AFRICAN AMERICAN (and of course the cop being white)that “the tapes (footage) ALWAYS have to be reviewed to determine weather it was police brutality”. Implying simply WHAT??? Simply because shes black and the officer is white that the law will simply side with the officer. Yes your right Miss Hall, and to all the ignorant people who think this is a racial issue…get off the (((YOU ARE ENTITELED BAND WAGON))). You are not entiled to any special treatment because you are black! BOO-HOO for the girl, because of all things she’s BLACK!I’m sure the family is lawyering up as we speak. Had it been a black officer punching a white subject it probably wouldnt have ever reached the news. QUICK! sound the sirens someone get the NAACP to look into this!
I am so happy to see that the NAACP and Al Sharpton are not going to get anywhere trying to profiteer with this one. Folks in the black community, like Dr. Gates, need to understand that you cannot get up in the face of a cop. If you choose to do this, whether you are white or black, you risk getting knocked on your behind. If you lay your hands on a cop, you risk getting shot. These girls got off easy.
If racism isn't behind the whining we are hearing about this, then sexism is behind it. For the feminists out there: If you want to be treated equally, you are also going to get blasted in the face if you lay your hands on a cop. There is going to be no special treatment for you either.
Mike – The officer should not have to apologize to anyone. He did absolutely nothing wrong. You may sit there as an armchair quarterback saying he shouldn't have used a closed fist. You need to stop being so sexist and thinking women are helpless. This guy puts his life on the line everyday. If you were in his shoes, you would feel differently. I think he showed great restraint, particularly when the jerk with the camera kept rolling and got in his face while he was trying to make a legitimate arrest.
I can't believe that you people, would think it's okay for a police officer to punch a minor girl in the face. I amnot condoning that girls behavior she was wrong but, me as a parent is not allowed to hit my child anywhere, let alone in the face so how could you say it's okay for a police officer. He should have just held her down an arrested her why would he assult her like that, if the shoes were on the other foot and, that was black cop and, the teens in question were little spoiled white kids and, that cop would be out of job law suits would be filed tell the truth you would be so upset with that officer would't you?Especaily if it was your child and I'm a white women and I feel this way.
Clearly the police officer took it too far. When you get pushed you push back, back up get the taser out and taze, but punching is way out of hand let alone hitting a female.the female hit should go to jail for interfering with the arrest but the cop should get revoked.
I support the policeman.
I am disappointed in the police officer. He should have punched the girl in the black too. In my opinion, he was actually too gentle with these girls. It don't matter if you're a woman, you are not excused in attacking a police officer just because you're a female. He should have gone for the knock out and knocked that girl in pink out all the way to Tacoma.
and now "Big Al" Sharpton is speaking out on Joy Behar. Why is this man on TV whenever a black person is involved? He would have never said a word about this, if all parties were white! They need to stop giving him face time.
Let's look at Facts in Case (as my old legal professor used to say) –
The officers was there executing his official duty and had established his lawful presence. He was in a 2 on one fight against two pe ople. One of those people was much larger then him (despite her being 17). When you watch the video the larger 17 yo (let's call her Biggen) fights off one man to get to the police officer and sends that man flying out of the picture. Biggen then launches at the police officer and shoves him Terry Tate style ..
To paraphrase the US Supreme Court an officer does not have to wait to be in immediate danger to his/her safety before he/she acts. On this occassion Biggen needed a good overhand right to her face. The officer on the street has every right to "Hit em back first".
One last thing ... just to clarify.
Biggen didn't get punched because she was resisting arrest. She was punched because see had and was actively assaulting a police officer who was in the lawful execution of his duties.
"Hit em back first"
I have watched the video several times and I feel that the officer was justified. If you look at the video you see that the officer is dealing with two very vocal and argumentive individuals. The older female was fighting the officer to keep from being arrested.
The younger knew she was being video taped it can be seen on the video that she looked at the person holding the photo just before she tried to get in between the officed and the 19 year old. That shove that she gave the officer was not little. I could see, from the video, that the officer was shove back a step.
The man was dealing with hostile people and had probably felt that he was in danger. This gave him the right to defend himself. If anyone believes that just becuase that girl is only 17, that she can not cause too much damage to the officer, they need to get a reality check.
Personally I think that both of these women should have just stayed and talked with the officer. Because they would not cooperate with the officer is why they got in trouble. You will notice that none of the other people that were stopped had a problem with the officer.
What would have happend if a 17 year old white girl wat hit in the face by an African American cop.....? Would anyone of you would think its justice ?
Just one more comment.
In some of the earlier post people were complaining that this just might be a racial problem, becuase the officer was white the females were black.
Granted, from the video, at least three out the five people stopped by the officer were black. But there was one white female in the group that was stopped.
People need to stop with the racial stuff. Stop making it into blacks Vs. Whites. That is crazy. I know many black officers that are harder on blacks then they are on white offenders. Think on that a bit.
He has to have authority to calm criminals and violators who resist police officer's arrest down. Those girls were already performing an illegal act by resisting a police officer.
He could have used some other tactics though.
I am a woman and I think that it is least appropriate for a man to hit a woman. However, if the police officer can not stop this kind of women, how can he stop a really dangerous criminal?
He is definitely not a representative of the U.S. law to them and they are only 17.
Imagine you would have to confront any of those girls along! Are not you scarred? A trained man could not handle either one of them.
It is interesting that their male friends were only standing and filming. Sounds like an ambush to me.
CNN I love how when you report your stories you leave out the important facts that usually lead up to the event that you feel the need to report. That girl was resisting arrest and her friend assaulted the officer. All of those girls got what they deserved!!
I will be the first person to protest if this cop has to suffer the consequences! Those two dumbs should be in jailed and still in cuff
Something good comes of this. The one in the pink... she'll never obstruct an officer again.
@Mike
THe officer had every right to used a closed fist on the girl. He could of used a taser, a baton, or could of even shot her. Personally I think she got off light.
J and EJ .... Police Officers are trained to subdue people who are attacking them in many different ways.....PUNCHING A GIRL IN THE FACE IS NOT ONE OF THEM ! ......He clearly snapped and if you cannot see this FLAW IN HIS CHARACTER, you and the rest will be responsible for what he does in future should he be allowed to remain on the Force..... Watch the video again...at that moment he could have restrained her properly, instead he snapped and went into a FULL ALL OUT BAR BRAWL STYLE OF ATTACK !..... That was clearly wrong and he will get worse as the years go by....... HE MUST BE FIRED !
I was just watching this on t.v. and the NAACP is going to become involved. Why? It always has to become a race thing when a black and white person is involved. As a black person myself I can say I am a little embarrassed everytime I see something like this on the news and it becomes a race issue. These women where assulting a police officer! The police officer punched the women to get her back and to defend himself. The question that's being asked is should the police have punched the women and was it done out of anger. Once the women put her hands on the officer he has every right to defend himself.
Why are people trying to defend anyone fighting with a cop and his reaction to it. If he would of tased her the officer would of been wrong for that too. The officer in this case would of been damned if he did and damned if he didn't. Stop giving excuses for the actions of ignorant people, it's embarrassing. Act the way you want to be treated and stop making it a race issue.
Please don't use the race card on this one!!!!! He is an officer he had to do what he did to protect himself and control the situation. I am a black woman and I am ashamed these girls have no respect for the law.
Good for that officer!!! These two young "ladies" were way out of line. These girls need to tell this officer they are sorry for putting their hands on him. She desserved more than a punch in the face. Honestly what made them think it was okay to behave like that? The two girls behaved like they were raised by wolves. He had every right to use force after she used it on him. People who want to claim he punched her because she was black need to realize this has nothing to do with race. The officer was in a situation where he could get hurt and did what he needed to.
It wasn't just a push...she attacked him from behind, she could have grabbed his gun or used a weapon of her own to attack him, when you're a cop and you have a family at home, you don't waste time second guessing what may or may not be a harmless shove or an attack on your life
Let's be real. Those teens should actually be charged with assaulting a police officer! They were shoving him around and at some point he's going to have to do something to defend himself! Just because he's a cop doesn't make it any different. There were so many people there and he could've even been a victim of a mob beating! That looked SO scary for him. Seriously those girls should've known better and just cooperated. They totally assaulted him. And now it's being called police brutality because he stuck up for himself? And it doesn't matter if they're 17 and women, etc. The media is totally turning this into something that it isn't. That girl who got punched was hitting and shoving him. Please. A "push" doesn't warrant a "punch"? Keep it real, people. Keep it real.
Black people need to stop raising there children to have no respect for others. I don't by any means want to imply, that all blacks are raised this way, however if you have lived in the black community, you know exactly what I'm talking about. She is rude an she deserves what she got. Teach these children some manners and chances are, they won't get hit! By the way, I'm a black man.
This whole thing was ridiculous, all this over JAYWALKING. Not seeing it from the beginning, it is hard to say who was wrong. The young lady who was hit had no business getting involved, the other young lady should have stopped when told to do so, the officer, I feel just lost control. OMG JAYWALKING!!!! What would have been the outcome if a real crime was being committed? I'm just saying.
you put your hands on an officer and resting arrest i don't care if you female or male. you don't do something that stupid she deserve it and not to much force. i rather see a punch than a taser any day. and its part of there tranning so you know what don't do something stupid you wouldn't be in this postion.
what happen if she just walk the way across the street legally? what if she just obey the officer?
why didn't she she has a crimmal record. enoguh is enough. good officers bad people.
I hate to say it, but this girl was resisting arrest and then the other girl actually started attacking the cop! I'm not a fan of the them vs us mentality between police and the people they are supposed to be protecting, but these girls acted inappropriately. On the other hand, why bother with the J walking violation?
I believe the officer was justified in his decision. I dont think there would be any issue here if the girls in question were caucasian. You dont put your hands on ANY officer.
OK! I am so tired of this story! its been on the news for days now! We had a senior man get beat so bad three nites ago by a GANG! they almost killed him. it was in the news once! But this story of the girls goes on, and on! The policeman did his job! How about some stories that to do with people and not their race, that would be great!
One needs to respect the police officer. When a civilian push a police officer and can get away with it, it's telling the world it okay not to obey the police. Today a push, tomorrow a shove, then what?
to many time we see an officer risk his life in the lline of duty.
but come on people when's the last time you saw some one grabbed
and held like that for Jay walking?
are we living life back in the 60's coming into the 2010?
you don't hear much about jay walking, but officers hitting a women. question honestly(men) if that was you and her freind tried to help hwo much of a man are you to hit a woman, that was not proffessional about his job. How many time have you seen on the news a police man hit a woman, because she was black always plays a part in it, yes it did!
if the "man" would have really been a professional about it and had not grabbed her like that and calmed down the young woman explaining his action to her, the friend would feel the need to intervein. why is it alway the black people who gets hit and for the record she didn't hit him she pushed him and he punched her, that's the whte supremisse way.
If this had been a while women punched in the face by a black officer, the officer would have been punished? I have seen women resist arrest but i have never seen an officer handle it that way. Officers should know take down techniques that do not request punching women in the face. She never struck the officer and her actions did not warrant a punch in the face.
The officer had every right to defend himself and the two girls in the video need to face charges for it. Patty In Seattle
She assaulted a Police Officer. She should have gotten the taser used on her and then been charged with assault. Officers have a hard enough time doing their jobs. They shouldn't have to deal with disrespectful punks.
I just watched the video of that Seattle police officer punching that girl. a lot of things here went wrong. First of all the girls should have been more compliant with the police officer. They show a total disrespect for the law and behaved like thugs. i am not sure if the officer called for back up or not but either way he should have. He is trained to handle these situations and he clearly went beyond that training. He was not being professional and he did not set an example for those citizens. i think all parties involved were wrong and both parties should except to pay for those actions. I understand that cops have a high stress job but that does not give them a reason to hit anyone for jay walking it was not like that girl robbed someone shot someone i dont think she deserved to be punched
I find it amusing that the other people filming this in the background with their phones think that they are helping the two assailants, but in reality they are helping the police officer. We can clearly see how belligerent they are. And please, stop making this about race. It's about respect for the law and the police officer's who enforce for OUR safety.
The cop is a moron, I'm not saying that the punch wasn't warrented, the punches merit is debatable, I see both sides. The cop is a moron though for punching her with that many people around, He is only one guy and the people around could have reacted very badly after witnissing him do that and a situation could have spiraled out of control and could have resulted in a serious threat to his safety. So the cop is moron and in this sense, he shouldn't have done it.
that girl seriously needs anger management. officer was not wrong.
Despite the fact that the two girls were the instigators, that does not serve as an open invitation to resort to violent brutality. Police officers indeed should know better.
The girls were very wrong yes I do agree with most of you on that, however im sure when he was trained to become an officer he did not learn that when things get out of hand to resort to punching females who are pushing you. Yes he should protect himself but if he couldnt handle two females pushing him, what is he going to do when it happens with a man...shoot him. I just feel he could have handled himself a lot better!
both girls seriously need angermanagment classes. officer was 100% in the right.
First of all, these children broke the law on severals fronts. The school saw the danger at this intersection and asked the police to monitor the jaywalking. So, the girls disobeyed the schools warning to jaywalk. Then they disobeyed the law and most importantly they broke the law by first not obeying the officer. DO you see the pattern of disrespect? I support the officer. We pay taxes for him to protect our children and he gets no respect. None of this would have happened had these girls obeyed the law and respected the officer's authority. Parents need to teach respect. The officer was surrounded by onlookers and the situation could have escalated and the life of the officer could have been in jeopardy over a group of disrespectful jaywalkers. These girls need to spend a few days in jail.
I think the police acted out of frustration and not out of protocol. He couldn't gain control of one of the girls, the crowd was antagonizing the situation, and the other girl just put it over the top. How would it look if a father punched his unruly teenage daughter in the face? He would be arrested. If my wife and I are scuffling and I punch her I am going to jail as well. Why are cops an exception? I am in no way condoning the girls' behavior but his behavior was just as bad. He lost his cool and reacted and that is not how an officer of the law should carry himself. Frankly if a cop cannot handle a couple of teenage girls any better than that then I don't feel that he is capable of protecting and serving his community.
He should have tasered her then arrested her for disobeying and officer and assaulting an officer. I hope they throw the book at her. The video proves she it.
honestly a police officer is no different from a regular human.......a badge and a gun.....doesnt mean u can punch a lady in the face because of a harmful little push.....he could of easily handle things in a way more easy, responsible and mature way
The police officer wasn't able to subdue a single female seventeen year old, and on those grounds alone should be fired. Let alone the fact that a jaywalking infraction led to a physical assault, I mean the circumstances are laughable.
You play, you pay. C'mon people, common sense dictates this to happen in most cases these days. You DONT put your hands on a police officer. Especially when he's alone and tangled up with someone else. Dont give me that "she's a kid" jive either. There shouldn't even be an issue with this one.
I think he had every right to hit her in self defense. She ripped his hands off the other then girl then turned and stepped up as if to keep fighting him off. i think if you are gonna act like you are gonna fight then you deserved to get the consequences. Also what is wrong with all the people video taping maybe if they put the cameras down and helped defuse the situation then maybe this wouldn't have gone this far.
If a person obstructs the law, it is a police officer’s duty enforce it. If this calls for a punch, so be it. I think he should have tazed both women if he had the opportunity.
sorry but look at the video he was obsessed with this one girl he didnt even care about the girl that pushed him and he hit.why cause the girl probally was talking crap to him the whole time and probally like a lot of people not only most cops have anger issues!!
This girl deserved more than a punch! She deserves a felony assault charge on her Record. Then maybe people won't think they can do what they want as long as a video camera catches it.
The press is disgusting making it look like this police officer was in the wrong. Watch the whole video these girls are morons.
I don't personally like cops but I respect them and teach my children to respect them.
Al Sharpton breeds more prejudice and give good non prejudice black people a bad name.
Please email the Seattle police to defend this officer so he don't loose his job and set a precedence that if your black you can hit a cop.
opa@seattle.gov
Before presenting the video the was captured "could this have been a set up?" one should know that there is a pedistrian overpass steps away and the women, some of who were adults, were in a large group hanging out and continually jay walking across a busy street. The officer stopped only to talk to and warn the girls to stop their jaywalking. It esculated into a confrontation by the women and one pushed the officer in the shoulder while another came around his back and held his arm. He was armed and I am sure worried that his gun could be taken from his holster while he was wrestling with the women. I believe he did the right thing to ward off a larger threat from the group pushing and shoving. Funny how only part of the incident was captured and who films such an incident with such clarity of film on their cameral or hand held video device?? Both women have previous records . The one arrested has been attending school to receive a GED and will receive it this week.. We need to treat our officers with respect .
I'm from UK and I didn't know what jaywalking was until today, we do it all the time! I undrestand that you can get fined or cuff straight away for this crime in the US, these girls must know the rules but they chose to disobey them and not only resisted arraest but attacked a policeman!
This guy acted in self defence we are only surprised because now we know she's 17. Maybe he should of gave her some wicked slap that would send her to floor or some Jason Bourne twist!! I'm black but I hate it when blacks make a deal of it when it had nothing to do with race. She's lucky thats all she got, how dare they do that to a policeman?
The officer used unneccessary force. He did not have to punch the young lady like that. If she pushed him, he could have used another tactic. I think he is a racist and it came out. If a black cop had punched a white girl in the face, he would have been crucified.
Firstly, it is no secret that everything we say and do can be recorded to be used to condone or condemn at a later time.
Police Officers have been given the authority to protect us from harm. Cooperating them usually works better than resisting as was clearly shown in the video.
Without argument, punching is not a form of restraint. The video shows that the young lady who was punched was not being arrested or restrained but was agressively interferring with the arrest. Respect for the granted authority was sorely missing with both of these young ladies.
Was the young lady who was punched a minor? Could you tell by looking at the video? The video clearly shows that she was out of order and interferring with the arrest.
Guilt or innocence would have been better handled by not resisting and if neccessary along with the video, handled in a court of law.
The proof was right there.
I support the Officer in his response to the situation. I have worked as a Correctional Officer in a county jail, many times when a Officer would bring in a young person, they show no respect for the Officer , the law or anyone else. It is all about them saying "You violated my rights". They know Police Officers are under scrutiny and I have watch teenagers spit , hit and kick officers. Get the whole picture, people were too quick to judge the situation, shame on you. Take a walk by the side of an Officer for a week or so, your opinion may change. Also the people standing around watching it as entertainment are pathetic. Those teenagers acted like spoiled brats, who believe they are above the law.
Why were these two girls assaulting the police officer in the first place? It should have been a simple ticket but they had to fight him. If I get pulled over and hop out of my car and grab the cop I guarantee I'm going to get a whole lot more than a punch in the face. The girl in pink is bigger than the cop and he is out numbered by two disrespectful law breakers. The proof is that they assaulted him long before he hit the girl in pink. And 17 years old does not make you a child. I wish people would get off the whole "child" thing. If he had done any of his training it would have been a baton to the knee or a taser...then all heck would have broken loose in the media.
After viewing the video my first thought was "I feel sorry for that police officer" because I knew certain people would turn this into a race issue ignoring the truth. This is not a race issue, this is a society issue. When I was 17 I never would have thought about mouthing off to a police officer. If I did I would expect him to kick my ass. Then when I got home my dad would have kicked my ass too. It's very simple, it's called "RESPECT" or in this case "LACK of RESPECT". I hope the department and his unoin support him 100% and don't cave in.
All of this over jaywalking? I think that both are at fault. She should have never given the officer the opportunity to arrest her. And her friend should have never gotten involved. The officer IS an authority figure and should have used discretion. He didn't need to punch her in the face. "What did you expect him to do?" I'm not sure. But isn't that why we entrust so much power to these men and women? So they can protect us AND maintain order? Punching a minor in the face is not order in any given situation. It was his call and this officer clearly made the wrong one.
Honestly. I'm 16 years old and if a 12 year old was behaving belligerently with me, does that give me the right to haul off and punch them in the face?
This is ridiculous and everyone involved should be ashamed.
When this woman put her hands on the officer she deserved what she got.
The law states, that you have the right to defend yourself. Obviously the officer felf the threat and responded the way that he was trained. Was he wrong to punch her, yes. Was she wrong for pushing him, yes. it is a no win situation. But, this is a ridiculous incident that should have never happened.
Many things went wrong and no one wants to take blame but you have Rick Sanchez who will be able to analyze the video. Obviously the officer needs to take a training. Why we have to use force to control a citizen? If the officer felf threat he is in the wrong field. His response was exagerated. I think the officer was wrong as a nother officer here in Orlando who was reaching for her stung gun or gun becaue of a cooling vest for Multiple Sclerosis. It is up to us citizens to make things right. The officer was wrong. She was wrong but the end result was terrible. Yes, I agree this is a ridiculous incident that should have never happened.
Drop the racist comments, it is ignorant. If there had been twenty people breaking the law and he only stopped the black ones I would get it but people get too hung up on black vs white. You are the people that keep that kind of thinking alive. I get called racist all of the time from people using derogatory, racist terms on ME. THOSE ppl are the racist ones. I figure, the more you bring it up, the more racist you are. Make sense? Drop it.
1. jaywalking should only be a law in big cities or busy intersections. Considering it IS A LAW, it needs to be obeyed. If you break the law and get caught, take your punishment.
2. DO NOT argue with a police officer, that is just stupid. Only a stupid person would think they would get anywhere besides jail by arguing with an officer.
3. WHY WOULD ANYONE even THINK about touching a police officer? That is just a request for a beating...seriously...just stupid
4. He should have punched her harder.
I am only 23 and it seems like year after year, teenagers are getting more and more out of control. If you ask me, we should pay him to go around punching out of control teens for parents. I know my 15 yr old brother needs a few of those. In the last year he has broken a wii, a $1200 tv, a bike, a porch, various art pieces, movies, games, etcetc.... someone punch him already!!!
We have been too easy on youth and i blame it on parents. I don't know how me and my brother are so different with the same upbringing but i sure do wish someone would teach him a lesson.
back to the video, i don't know why ANYONE would side with the girls. He should have went on a punching spree... I still would have supported him, put them in their place! Punch, man, punch!
Next step-TASERS
hoorah!
Well was unable to view tape by the time I received note of this so called bad officer. By comments read, think if it were your child who you rather he had shot them, especially with the line of behavior that has been noted they were out of control. We ask for respect and protection for ourselves and our children from Police Officers, where is there just due respect and protection for them while serving us? Remember there are ill doers in every form of life but it doesn't mean they are all rotten.
To say that the cop had no right to hit a black teen girl is to say that a black teen girl doesn't have to obey the law. In my America, a black teen girl is a citizen like everyone else.
To say that the officer has no right to become violent with her is to say that she is allowed to disobey a law, put on a fit-throwing show for everyone to watch when the officer tries to enforce that law, and "show her fangs" by pushing the officer away from her friend (who also appears to be putting on her own show) and not suffer any consequences when the officer continues to try to enforce that law.
To say that the citiation for jaywalking is stupid and unfounded and the officer shouldn't have been trying to give them a ticket for that is to say that one doesn't have to obey the law if they personally feel that law is frivilous.
To those who say these things, do you feel that black teen girls should not have to obey the law? Are you saying that law enforcement officers shouldn't be allowed to enforce the law? Are you saying that citizens should be allowed to disobey any law they feel is frivilous? Do you know what "frivilous" means? Can you read? Did you make it this far into my comment or give up at the word "consequences?"
This police officer does not belong in a uniform..For those who think he did right.. You only say that because it did not involve your own teenage daughter...I don't think he would have been man enough to punch a man in the face...he only punches young girls in the face and he is not capable of controlling simple situations. This police officer would have shot a male.
This group of people felt that the law didn't apply to them so when the officer confronted them about jaywalking, they should have just cooperated, taken their ticket and gone on their way. It's shameful that young people these days feel they have no obligation to obey laws that are set to protect them from harm. That girl got what she deserved when she put her hands on the officer.
The only person who can judge this cop is the cop, himself. None of us were in his shoes. None of us were attacked by these two girls, surrounded by on-lookers who seemed just as irate. As for me, I was taught long ago never hit a cop. Shame on you, CNN for presenting this in such a way to make this police officer look bad. And shame on you, Rick Sanchez. You were notorious for this sensationalism in Miami, and I see you have not changed a bit.
The two women were in the wrong! Period! He's an officer of the law.
@R. Jordan
My teenage daughter would never do that, as a pretty basic value in our family is to comply with all officer demands/requests; physical resistance is simply a vehicle to a felony. For assaulting a police officer, she's lucky that she didn't get worse than a punch.
This police officer is far outnumbered, and having all involved parties control the situation. It is well within the police officer's rights to do what's necessary to gain control of the situation. She wouldn't have been hit if she didn't (violently) take action against the LEO.
The woman may have broken the law, but the officers responce way way out of line. He should be able to control a situation with citizens not bearing a weapon with less physical force.
It seems a situation where the officer abused his position of authority and used unnecessary force to the detriment to all officers across this land who do their job with contientous effort to keep the peace & recognize citizens rights.
I have taught all my children that police officers are trained and educated and here to serve us all..When you are approached by one, give them the courtesy they deserve without being disruptive. The officer had two "wayward women" resisting him and had no way of knowing what the two were capable of at the moment the 17 year old tried to "slap him". Momma must be proud. I did also note that the ACLU once again tried to wage a "racial war". The video doesn't lie. This video should be shown in all highschools!