Brickbat: Picture This

Manatee County, Florida, Sheriff Rick Wells said a 12-year-old girl broke no laws by recording a school fight. The girl was arrested by one of his deputies, a school resource officer, and charged with felony battery and resisting arrest after the deputy grabbed her in an attempt to get her to give up her phone and erase the video at the direction of school officials. Video from the deputy's bodycam shows school staff telling him the girl broke the law by recording employees breaking up the fight. The deputy expresses skepticism but doesn't appear to contact his supervisor for advice. "He was basically going by what the principal and staff were telling him. He was not sure at this point what they were talking about, but they kept referring to the phone and a recording they wanted from the phone," Wells said. The charges against the girl were dropped, and the sheriff's office has since told deputies not to get involved in enforcing school policies. No word on whether the deputy who arrested the girl will face any discipline.

Comments

[Jenny]

Great post. Articles that have meaningful and insightful comments are more enjoyable, at least to .me

[Davy C]

The deputy should have also charged himself with battery, since he touched her first (while having no grounds to arrest her at that time.)

Also, I think a battery statute which says you're committing battery by simply *touching* someone against their will, like Florida's, is a bit much. And if the person you touch is a police officer, that's a felony. I prefer Wisconsin's statute, where it's not battery unless you inflict bodily harm of SOME sort.

[sarcasmic]

I thought unwanted physical contact was assault, and causing harm was battery.

[MatthewSlyfield]

My understanding is that for jurisdictions separate the two, assult is a threat of physical violence, battery is the actual violence.

[D-Pizzle]

If I raise my fist as if to strike you in a manner that provokes fear in you, that is assault. If I then follow through and actually hit you, that's battery. If, on the other hand, I sneak up from behind and hit you, but you don't see it coming, that is just battery. This is the explanation of the two terms as understood under common law, but the statutory crimes under state law often deviate from the common law definitions.

[sarcasmic]

What I described is the statute in my state.

[sarcasmic]

Threatening is threatening. Shoving and such is assault. Leaving a bruise is battery. At least where I live.

Not like the cops enforce it anyway. Ask them for help and they'll just laugh at you and tell you you deserved it.

[Don't look at me!]

You probably did.

[Jerryskids]

Once again, ignorance of the law is a perfectly cromulent excuse for a police officer, not so much for you. See Heine v North Carolina for further details.

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[Speed]

Charles Oliver wrote, "No word on whether the deputy who arrested the girl will face any discipline."

How about the school officials?

[mad.casual]

My immediate thought as well. "No word on whether the girl who didn't break the law and attacked no one will face any discipline. Also, no word on whether the administrators who did break the law and had an officer attack a student will face any discipline."

[JJANAVYVET]

That is a great question. Many school officials commit crimes in how the handle problems at the school. They do not have a handle on what is allowed or not allowed. Those teacher and administrators MUST be held accountable.

[Chumby]

The best thing you can do for your kids is get them out of government schools.

[TangoDelta]

Did they at least return the phone or was it (not so) civilly forfeited?

[JJANAVYVET]

That is a great question. Many school officials commit crimes in how the handle problems at the school. They do not have a handle on what is allowed or not allowed. Those teacher and administrators MUST be held accountable.

[markm23]

It sounds to me like the school officials and the deputy ought to be prosecuted for their attempt to destroy evidence.

[Livemike]

"No word on whether the deputy who arrested the girl will face any discipline."
Of course they won't. It's far too much to expect officers to know the law about an utterly predictable situation.

[Dogvalor]

I want to know what she recorded. What were they so desperate to hide?

[Chumby]

You may be getting paid to make films, but you’ll never win an Emmy.