Cop Slams Boy, 10, Against His Cruiser For Skateboarding

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Cop Slams Boy, 10, Against His Cruiser For Skateboarding

Written by sun sentinel

Wednesday, 08 April 2009 06:52

Nobody is questioning that police have a tough job. Everybody knows what they do is extremely dangerous, and we all should be aware that a YouTube presentation of alleged police brutality won't tell all sides. Still, it's appalling when you hear about a South Florida rookie police officer being accused of slamming a 10-year-old boy against his cruiser because the boy skateboarded into the street near his house.

Officer Davie Rodriguez received a two-day suspension and was ordered to attend anger management classes, which seems like a lenient punishment. Investigators said he was guilty of "improper use of force."

All officers should be trained well enough so they don't handle a 10-year-old kid in this manner. If the Davie police officer had a problem with where the boy was skateboarding, you wonder why the officer couldn't just walk the kid home to his parents.

Davie isn't the only South Florida city where the issue of proper use of force is getting scrutiny. InFort Lauderdale,a recent Sun Sentinel report showed the department has cleared all brutality complaints against police since 2001. Police spokesman Sgt. Frank Sousa said that shows "the officers are doing their jobs the way they're supposed to."

Not necessarily. Police need the support of the public. It is difficult to gain that support if the public thinks complaints about brutality might be whitewashed, or thinks police are too harshly cracking down on 10-year-olds armed only with skateboards.

For police in any jurisdiction to maintain credibility, they need to get out in the community and participate in public meetings. Beyond that, it must be clear to citizens that problems with individual officers will not just be shoved under the rug.

The vast majority of the public surely support the police, and they should at a time when public safety budgets are being cut while worries about crime increase. But they don't want to feel intimidated or pushed around in ways that damage police credibility and hurts public support and awareness.

BOTTOM LINE: Police departments must work to maintain credibility.

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