Brickbats
Two Sarasota County, Florida, sheriff's deputies seemed miffed when Charles Ross jumped over a picnic table they were sitting on. But when they noticed he was recording them they got really angry. Threatening to ruin his day, they pulled him to the ground, handcuffed him, and arrested him for breach of the peace and disorderly conduct.
Three years ago, an Arkansas court found police officer Coleman Brackney guilty of negligent homicide in the shooting death of James Ahern. Brackney spent one month in jail and was fired from the Bella Vista police department. But he later got the conviction expunged, and a state board ruled that he could once again serve as a police officer. The Sulphur Springs City Council recently hired Brackney as their new police chief.
Houston police ticketed James Kelly for "disturbing the contents of a garbage can." Kelly, who is homeless, said he was only looking for something to eat.
Port St. Lucie, Florida, police have charged Daneta McPherson with harassing a 5-year-old special-needs student. Video captured McPherson, a school bus aide with the St. Lucie County school system, screaming at the boy, grabbing him, and forcing him into a seat, causing his head to slam into a bus window. Police say five separate incidents were captured on video.
Officials at Wamsutta Middle School in Massachusetts suspended Morgan LaPlaume for one day after they caught her with a butter knife. The girl was using the knife to cut a pear, but officials say the school has a zero-tolerance policy.
In Massachusetts, Ipswich Middle School Principal David Fabrizio says he will end the school's annual Honors Night. "The Honors Night, which can be a great sense of pride for the recipients' families, can also be devastating to a child who has worked extremely hard in a difficult class but who, despite growth, has not been able to maintain a high grade-point average," Fabrizio wrote in a letter to parents.
A village council in Bihar, India, has banned women from using cellphones, saying they promote extramarital sex and lead young people to elope. The Sunderbari council will fine single women $180 and married women $36.60 if they are caught using one.
Kitchen staff at England's Castle View School have been ordered to stop cutting flapjacks (what Americans call granola bars) into triangles. The order came after a flapjack thrown by a student hit another student in the face. Staff must now cut the flapjacks into squares or rectangles. Although officials say triangular flapjacks are a safety risk, others note that square flapjacks have more points and edges.
Charles Oliver