Teen attack on park ranger makes top cop think of police brutality, for some reason

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Careful with your word – “ranger was reportedly unharmed”? If you watch the video, he received multiple blows, including kicks to the head.

Um, that kid is going to jail. When a cop does the same thing and the only thing he gets is a 2 week paid vacation while they “examine the situation”, then it’s really not the same thing is it?

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I’m quoting Fox News on the ranger’s condition, odd as it seems given the viciousness of the attack.

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A good example of how a normally-suspect “news” source can probably be believed in this instance, because their bias would be to show how dangerous it is to be in law enforcement.

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Oddly edited for ‘raw video’. Is it possible there is more to this story than random unprovoked aggression, I wonder?

That attack was tough to watch. That kid was relentless.

Ps. ‘facing charges of making terroristic threats’? Really?

Pls send me video link of similar scenario, involving unprovoked cop attack on civilian who is clearly abiding w/ the law. (Reverse of this scenario – civilian attack on ranger by someone who clearly breaking the law)

You’ve got it wrong in the last sentence. We do expect the same societal standards from criminals as we do from police and other upstanding members of society (ie: don’t beat people up). Criminals choose to disregard these, which is what makes them criminals.

That to me is the problem. If a passer-by disregards the law, that makes them a criminal. But also, if a police officer disregards the law, that makes them a criminal. The first part usually works. It’s the second part that people (especially people in power) keep having such trouble with.

PS: I know “obey the law” isn’t that cut-and-dried: unjust laws, civil disobedience, etc. But I’m speaking generally.

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Here’s another rascal ‘clearly breaking the law’, for your viewing pleasure, Mr. Ethics is Black and White and Easy to Judge.

I’m sure together we can stretch his words somehow into ‘making terroristic threats’ to Guantanamo his brazen criminal ass away from polite society once and for all.

From the always excellent 99 Percent Invisible podcast’s episode on Love Park.

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I hate that word so damn much. It does’t mean anything and the media/justice system are assholes for latching on to it. A “terrorist threat” makes sense. Is “terroristic” supposed to be a low calorie version of a terrorist threat?

Don’t we just call that a “threat?”

I’m fine with language evolving, but inventing new words just to play with people’s fears is just plain dumb.

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Dude, thank you so much for posting that. I was there that day. I’ll never forget that, and it just goes to show HOW LONG this “fight” over an EMPTY PLAZA in center city has been going on.

Apparently the fighting kid is not even a Love local. If you want to check out the skating done by locals who are able to skate there without beating anyone up, check out http://sabotageonline.com/

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I was unaware there was still a fight. I was under the impression that the authorities gave up enforcement of the ban.

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My guess is that accusing someone of just plain ‘making threats’ doesn’t pack enough of a sensationalist punch since it’s very common during fistfights (and traffic) and everyone knows it doesn’t mean anything but frustrated anger in this context.

On the other hand, probably saying someone is making an actual, holy shit terrorist threat is a serious enough accusation in our litigious-happy society that the media avoids throwing it around without hard evidence.

Hence, terrorism lite. Maximum fear mongering with minimum consequence. You got it.

Looks like the kid had his hands up trying to surrender.

Our lawmakers enjoy using overly broad or vague terms, and they’ve really outdone themselves in recent years.

They could probably charge a litterbug with terrorism if they wanted, and if that litter contained copyrighted material, they would add a charge of piracy, for unauthorized distribution.

I’m exaggerating a bit here. At least I hope I am…

Hard as it may be for some of them to do even that, cops are expected (and required!) to do more than adhere to the law.

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This would be the same Charles Ramsey whose violations of Fourth Amendment rights ended up costing D.C. millions of dollars. Yeah, I can see why he might be a little grumpy about police being held to standards.

(Edited to correct name.)

Local Fox News is never as horrible as the national brand. Sometimes they do a pretty good job. But afterwards it’s always time for something awful again.

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