Ridgewood Police Brutality

      When is 2020 going to be over? It can't happen soon enough for me.

     Upon a casual web search of Ridgewood, NJ the following story appeared about a group of bike riders from a nearby town. These were bicycle riders, not motorcyclists.

     "Ridgewood police officers on July 26, 2020. Video of the detainment has caused backlash from local groups, who say the police officers used excessive force when they detained a Latino minor."

     

      The boy was issued four motor vehicle summonses and was later freed when his parents signed a juvenile release form, police said.

     All I can tell from the video is that the boy was riding without a helmet and that he was barely 5 feet tall.

     I also know from my own experience that kids can be very disrespectful of laws we find unacceptable. I remember having my name taken by a police officer while riding my bicycle on the rail station underpass. This was long before helmet laws. The cop stopped me and warned me that if he ever saw me riding, as opposed to walking my bicycle,  there would be consequences. He never touched me or my bicycle and the entire encounter lasted less than 5 minutes. I never again rode my bicycle in this manner,  so never worried about the consequences which might have awaited me. 

     I suppose three police officers was a bit much and that some re-training is in order. I wouldn't fire these police officers but instead would make examples of them. Just like they tried to make an example of this young LatinX teenager. 

     Probably would have been smarter to let the kid ride away but hindsight is always 20/20. The teenager likely uttered an insult or tried to belittle the police in some manner. Egos were bruised in the process and all the policemen forget the old saying about "Stick and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me."