N.C. police pepper spray black teen in his own home

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Well, thank God they didn’t shoot the young man. Gosh, that’s pretty incompetent of them.
 
Good article, we never see excess police force used in home invasions.
 
What a relief the poor guy didn’t get shot.

They shouldn’t have pepper sprayed him though, if I were him I’d be looking into all avenues of redress for this grievance.
 
Careful folks! One side of the story. Ever been in law enforcement and had to make these decisions? They happen in mere seconds.
 
The story says the young man was 18, and in the home of his foster parents. A neighbor called the police reporting a possible burglary, the police entered the home and encountered the young man, who seems to have claimed to have been a member of the family. Then, apparently, the police asked the young man why he was not in any of the family photos, and he became, in the words of the article quoting the police, “‘profane, threatening, and belligerent,’ and ‘refused to follow instructions.’”

The young man has apparently been a foster child with the family for a year; the family had moved to this house in July and so were not yet well-known to their neighbors. His ID had a different address.
 
This was definitely a misunderstanding which luckily did not end in bloodshed. I’m sure the young man was shocked to find his home invaded, but the cops had a legitimate reason to question his right to be in the house; he was not in any family photos of an obviously white family.
Unfortunately, young black men have to prove themselves to law enforcement when a white man would not be subjected to those questions. I’ve heard black men say they are questioned in stores all the time if they are wearing expensive items.
Maybe the police could have handled it better, but they had a report of a black man in the house, supposedly a burglar, and they found a black man. For his part, he responded with profanity and anger. The police took action. I hope they apologize publicly and he can accept their apology.
 
I did this from 1979 until 2008. Mistakes are made. Each time any such occurrence happens, from pepper-spraying a young man to the Titanic sinking, several vital factors are present. Remove just one of those factors and it would not have occurred. In all of those years, I did a lot of apologizing, as I had only incomplete, incorrect, or even false information to go on. It is in the apology that healing can begin.
 
po18guy said:
Careful folks! One side of the story. Ever been in law enforcement and had to make these decisions? They happen in mere seconds.
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Yes, I have.

The police said the youth was threatening and uncooperative. Without knowing the whole story, I will not criticize the police.
 
Let’s dissect this why don’t we:
St_Francis said:
The story says the young man was 18,
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He was 18
St_Francis said:
and in the home of his foster parents.
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Correction, not just in the home of his foster parents but HIS house.
St_Francis said:
A neighbor called the police reporting a possible burglary,
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How many burglars enter the front door unlocked?
St_Francis said:
the police entered the home
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Was the door unlocked? Did they have probable cause to enter the house?
St_Francis said:
and encountered the young man, who seems to have claimed to have been a member of the family.
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Not seems, is. Sensible thing to do is to do a simple police check.
St_Francis said:
Then, apparently, the police asked the young man why he was not in any of the family photos,
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Since when do you determine if someone belongs to the family by looking at photos on the wall? That is **** police. Hello ever heard of a computer that SHOWS he is a member of the family?!!!
St_Francis said:
and he became, in the words of the article quoting the police, “‘profane, threatening, and belligerent,’ and ‘refused to follow instructions.’”
.
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I would be to after showing my id. Remember before he became profane he did show his ID and while it was for a different address you have to ask yourself this:
  1. Since when do burglars show id?
  2. Why can’t the cops checked the computer for who belongs to the family?
 
this case is one of two trhings:
  1. an honest mistake by police officers responding to a call about a break-in in a heavy crime area.
  2. a case of excessive force by police officers.
I will not make a judgment since we don’t have all the facts and don’t know what really happened, but what I can say is that I am most dismayed by the comments made here thus far. No one has pointed out the needless inclusion of race in the subject of this thread. There is no evidence that race played any role in this case and there is no reason to fan the flames of racism where there is none. It’s irresponsible and is exactly why we have the kind of reactions we have seen in Ferguson, MO.
 
saintjohnxxiii said:
Let’s dissect this why don’t we:

He was 18
Correction, not just in the home of his foster parents but HIS house.
How many burglars enter the front door unlocked?

Was the door unlocked? Did they have probable cause to enter the house?
Not seems, is. Sensible thing to do is to do a simple police check.
Since when do you determine if someone belongs to the family by looking at photos on the wall? That is **** police. Hello ever heard of a computer that SHOWS he is a member of the family?!!!
I would be to after showing my id. Remember before he became profane he did show his ID and while it was for a different address you have to ask yourself this:
  1. Since when do burglars show id?
  2. Why can’t the cops checked the computer for who belongs to the family?
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I don’t think computers show who belongs in which families.

As to my “seems to have,” etc., when we only have one side of the story to go on, second-hand, it is hard for me to be definitive.
 
madtom said:
this case is one of two trhings:
  1. an honest mistake by police officers responding to a call about a break-in in a heavy crime area.
  2. a case of excessive force by police officers.
I will not make a judgment since we don’t have all the facts and don’t know what really happened, but what I can say is that I am most dismayed by the comments made here thus far. No one has pointed out the needless inclusion of race in the subject of this thread. There is no evidence that race played any role in this case and there is no reason to fan the flames of racism where there is none. It’s irresponsible and is exactly why we have the kind of reactions we have seen in Ferguson, MO.
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I disagree. The young man was obviously very different from the residents of the home, and had id with a different address on it. He could have been a burglar who was bluffing, and if he did become belligerent and threatening, then that’s a concern.

OTOH, I am very happy to read about a family which has kept their foster child after he turned 18–very often foster children are left totally on their own with very inadequate skills when they are 18. I hope this willl be cleared up quickly so the family can get back to what seems to be (:oops:) a loving normal state.
 
saintjohnxxiii said:
Let’s dissect this why don’t we:

He was 18
Correction, not just in the home of his foster parents but HIS house.
How many burglars enter the front door unlocked? Was the door unlocked? Did they have probable cause to enter the house? Not seems, is. Sensible thing to do is to do a simple police check. Since when do you determine if someone belongs to the family by looking at photos on the wall? That is **** police. Hello ever heard of a computer that SHOWS he is a member of the family?!!! I would be to after showing my id. Remember before he became profane he did show his ID and while it was for a different address you have to ask yourself this:
  1. Since when do burglars show id?
  2. Why can’t the cops checked the computer for who belongs to the family?
Click to expand...
Let’s dissect your reaction.
  1. Burglars routinely begin at the front door. Getting no answer, or a locked door, they go around back.
  2. Was he a young male, i.e. the demographic of burglars? Yes.
  3. You and I know it was his house. The police didn’t. Public agency computers will only check his driver’s license, and give the same address that they could read on the young man’s license. TV shows are no help here.
  4. You do not need probable cause. That applies only to making an arrest and the issuance of arrest or search warrants by a judge of magistrate. Check it yourself. It’s on page 1365 of the Revised Fourth Edition of Black’s Law Dictionary. While you are there, look up “exigent circumstances” It will be illuminating.
  5. The sensible thing to do is properly investigate what appears to be a felony in progress.
  6. Criminals lie. That’s their job. It is the police officer’s job to properly investigate.
  7. The use of a chemical agent is lower on the force continuum than simply touching him. You are aware of the force continuum?
  8. What would you suggest when the potential suspect becomes uncooperative?
Might I suggest a career in law enforcement, since you are apparently in possession of facts which no one else knows?
 
St_Francis said:
I disagree. The young man was obviously very different from the residents of the home, and had id with a different address on it. He could have been a burglar who was bluffing, and if he did become belligerent and threatening, then that’s a concern.

OTOH, I am very happy to read about a family which has kept their foster child after he turned 18–very often foster children are left totally on their own with very inadequate skills when they are 18. I hope this willl be cleared up quickly so the family can get back to what seems to be (:oops:) a loving normal state.
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well then I’m not sure what we disagree with!
 
Is it me or are the police just getting overzealous and perhaps with repetitive promises’s of terrorist attacks, just the police responding according to the heightened state? Is it possible to do both, to raise the awareness in perception and at the same time protect and serve in a more humanly manner? The incidents differ but the situations have a pattern and the behavior is always a contingent which escalates all this.

Do you have to be submissive with the police to some degree?
 
The ironic thing is the house was broken into, by the police. What right do the police have to just enter a home? The neighbor reported a break in, not the home owner. What facts supported this? A lot of bad things happen because the police can take what is essentially an unverified assertion from a caller on the phone as the truth.
DeShawn Currie “became profane, threatening and belligerent” and “refused to follow instructions” from officers.
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If someone broke into my home I’d have at least that level of reaction. Of course in the American police state the police can do anything they want and you must be obsequious. The moment you aren’t you will be assaulted.
 
It would not have been hard to have assumed a non-threatening stane (hands over head), explain the situation, give relevant contact information, and then wait for the police to contact the homeowners, or have the homeowners contact the police. That way the situation could have been resolved with little inconvenience and would be open to restitution to be made. Now that he was apparently belligerent, The police have every right to use some sort of force against him. There are many instances of police using force against people in their own home because they are openly hostile to the police and not following orders, especially because people feel more at liberty to act up in their home. I think that the police had the legal right to be there, and that the young man acted improperly. The only reason race was involved was because the guy was a different race than the family was known to be. A white guy who’s address didn’t match and who was hostile to the police would have been treated the same.
 
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