DC Cop brings gun to snowball fight.

[Bob Hubbard]

Kids in DC set up huge snowball fight via twitter and facebook.
Plain cloth cops car gets hit.
Cop jumps out waving gun.
Local cops get 911 call about nut waving gun.
incident under investigation.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/12/20/nr.dc.snowball.fight.cnn

 

[jks9199]

Was the gun a reasonable response? Probably not, though a lot depends on exactly what neighborhood. There's a huge crowd on the scene there, and it was clearly effecting traffic. Which was already a huge mess at the time...

However, in many if not most or all states, deliberately throwing a missile (including a snowball) at a vehicle driving down the road or throwing a missile across the roadway is illegal. In VA, either is a felony. For a very good reason; if the driver panics or otherwise loses control of the car, you've got a very dangerous situation...

 

[Big Don]

Sissy

 

[Carol]

D.C. police have said they are investigating the incident. Assistant Chief Pete Newsham, who leads the department's investigative services bureau, has said the detective in question "was armed but never pulls his weapon." Photos and videos posted online appear to contradict that, though none show the detective pointing his gun at anyone.

Uh huh. And this fellow is likely in charge of the investigation as to whether the detective overreacted?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/20/AR2009122000881.html

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/...-cops-overreact-to-snowball-fight-14th-and-u/

 

[Bob Hubbard]

If a civilian's car was hit by a snow ball, and that civilian then pulled over, got out, drew a weapon and pointed it at the kids tossing snowballs, what would happen?

Was the detectives life in any danger? Was he on duty? Was he in his jurisdiction? etc.

 

[Carol]

Was the gun a reasonable response? Probably not, though a lot depends on exactly what neighborhood. There's a huge crowd on the scene there, and it was clearly effecting traffic. Which was already a huge mess at the time...

It was in Cardozo, 14th and U.

IIRC decent neighborhood, but a helluva busy intersection in good weather...

 

[Archangel M]

On a totally different subject on the gun drawing thing. If someone hit you with a snowball...out of the blue and you didn't know them, didn't like being struck, and then were struck again. I would charge them if you were willing to sign the charges.

 

[Gordon Nore]

You guys are way too strict.

At my school, when you throw a snow ball, you get a snow ball letter. After three letters, you get a phone call home and a stern talking-to.

 

[Andy Moynihan]

You guys are way too strict.

At my school, when you throw a snow ball, you get a snow ball letter. After three letters, you get a phone call home and a stern talking-to.

WOW. You guys are way too lenient. At the schools I went to, you couldn't even make snowballs at ALL. Throwing one was a suspension( this all came on the heels of a kid taking a "soaker" in the temple and dying, or so the story was made up to tell us).

 

[thardey]

WOW. You guys are way too lenient. At the schools I went to, you couldn't even make snowballs at ALL. Throwing one was a suspension( this all came on the heels of a kid taking a "soaker" in the temple and dying, or so the story was made up to tell us).

At my school, the teachers used to ask us to make snowballs for them. Now there's a zero tolerance policy against them.

One kid accidentally held two ice cubes together in his hand. He got suspended for "assembling frozen materials."

 

[Archangel M]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAgQKJuriIo&feature=player_embedded

Personally. I don't know why the Detective chose to draw his gun, and quite frankly, I don't care.

Now that I've watched this. What I see is a crowd of people shouting "**** you pigs" and antagonizing the police for no reason other than they're disaffected college kids that think its cool.

IMO. Get warrants for each camera there and ID everybody who threw a snowball at a car and charge them with criminal mischief. Then ID'd the guy throwing the snow ball that struck the detective in the face and charge him with battery on a law enforcement officer.

**** the police?

Stupid college kids?

 

[xJOHNx]

It's a snowball.

 

[seasoned]

It's a snowball.

It's a snowball as you say, among friends, but it is intrusive, over the line, and against the law in some cases when used toward strangers. We look at this situation and say we have all had snowball fights as kids. Well when I was a kid it was fun to have, one but it was between us.

 

[Carol]

Well...no, its not *a* snowball.

Its, like, 200 of them. Or more.

 

[Archangel M]

It's a snowball.

Tell ya what. Ill paste you in the face with one out of the blue..as a complete stranger..and we will see what you think of it then.

 

[Sukerkin]

I wasn't there and I don't know the man involved so it might be entirely the case of an instinctive response from him because he felt threatened. However, it was also entirely the wrong thing for anyone to do, let alone a policeman.

 

[Joab]

It seems to me that the plain clothes cop used very bad judgement. How were the kids supposed to know his car was a police car and that he was a police officer when the car looked like a pov and the cop wore no uniform? If he thought the situation was out of hand, why didn't he walk out and initially pull his badge and talk to them, or call for back up with squad cars and uniformed police officers? If I were the kids I would think it was some nut who was out to shoot everybody! Such bad judgement should be investigated, the cop should likely be assigned desk duty until the investigation is over.

 

[Sukerkin]

It also occurs to me that, once the matter dies down in the public gaze and assuming that the incident is brushed over officially, the chap is going to take an awful lot of ribbing from his colleagues .

That is quite possibly unfair given the size of the crowd and his surmisable sense of threat but it is human nature. "Hey, aren't you the guy who pulled your gun on a kid with a snowball!?" :lol:.

 

[Archangel M]

If I were the kids I would think it was some nut who was out to shoot everybody!

And then throw a snowball at him?

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Shooting an angry gun waving person who's coming at you waving a gun and swearing and threatening you is usually self defense.

Unless it's a cop, then it's a crime.

How would the uniformed police who responded have handled it if they did NOT recognize the gun waver as one of their own?
If a civilian had been the one waving the gun, wouldn't he be sitting in a lock up somewhere, maybe tased or sprayed as a result and facing a dozen or 2 charged for unlawful this and unlawful that?

Is waving a gun in response to a snow ball fight an acceptable action?
Was his life in danger?
Is it acceptable for a cop but not a civilian to draw a gun whenever they feel angry?

Crowds anger is understandable. Friendly get together disrupted by a gun waving idiot with a 9-11 call to the cops having to be made only to find out that the idiot is a cop. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence in local law enforcement.

Situation needs to be investigated, and if any LEO's violated procedure or the law, dealt with, as should happen to anyone else who is found to be in error in this situation.