Police brutality or stupid kids?

A police officer in McKinney, Texas, has been put on administrative leave pending an investigation into an alleged excessive use of force against a 14-year-old girl and two young males. The incident was captured on video and uploaded to YouTube today.

We’re the first to point to abuse of power made by police as the various law enforcement agencies across the country grow more militarized and belligerent, but in this case we have to ask if the force was truly excessive or if it was exaggerated by reports. There’s a difference between being abused wrongfully and hindering an attempt by law enforcement to calm a tense situation. The dozen or so officers were called out because of a fight that had broken out at a public pool. While everything was getting sorted out, the officers instructed many of the youths in the area to get on the ground while they figure out what was happening. This is standard operating procedure when there are more potential suspects than officers.

We don’t see what started the altercation. We see the aftermath of an officer hurling a 14-year-old girl in a bikini to the ground and pushing her face to the ground. While this may seem to be excessive, was it truly too much force or was it just the right amount? We are not here to judge; our instincts say that pulling a gun on the two boys who approached and putting both knees and his full weight on her back were too much, but it’s hard to judge given the situation.

What do you think?

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