Cop pulls gun on African American kids building a tree house

[aaaaaa5a]

Police in Georgia forced a group of fifth graders to the ground at gunpoint this week as they attempted to build a tree fort in their own neighborhood.



According to 911 records, Henry County Police were called after a neighbor noticed the children “chopping off tree limbs,” an activity she claimed was hurting the environment and creating “tripping hazards.”

Police arrived on scene to find 11-year-old Omari Grant and his friends playing in a small patch of trees, prompting at least one officer to reportedly draw his firearm and force the boys to the ground.



“I was thinking that I don’t want to be shot today, so I just listened to what they said,” Grant said.



As the children lay face down, the officer allegedly screamed profanities as he forced them to spread their arms and legs. Grant’s mother, Janice Baptiste, detailed her son’s experience in an interview with WSB-TV.

“All he could get out at the time was, ‘Mom, he had a gun in my face, he had a gun in my face,’” Baptiste said. “So my son was of course traumatized by that.”

After the children were searched, Grant was taken back to his home by the officer, who also startled Baptiste with his unstable appearance.

“He just came with such an attitude,” Baptiste said. “His whole physical appearance was one of, ‘I’m Mr. Big and bad.’”

Grant says he is now hesitant to play outside in his own neighborhood, afraid of the very police he always looked up to.

“I learned that they’re supposed to help you, not make you feel scared to even come outside,” Grant said.

Edgar Dillard, whose wife made the 911 call, was reportedly stunned to hear of the neighbor boys’ encounter with police.

“Yeah, that’s pretty shocking to hear that a gun was pulled on a child,” Dillard said.

Baptiste has filed an excessive force complaint with the department, which has now opened an internal investigation. When questioned about the officer’s actions, Sgt. Joey Smith remained relatively tight-lipped.

“If it was justified then we’ll deal with it, if it wasn’t we’ll address it as well,” Smith said.

Despite the investigation, both officers remain on duty.



Full Story (including video) below:
http://mto.mediatakeout.com/external/68555

[noiretextatique]

1. IF it was justified?!

playing while black is now a crime asshole cop should be fired.

[malaise]

2. Living while black is the problem

I'll never understand the hate - it must be guilt.

[noiretextatique]

35. genetic

Says my friend. Perhaps an evolutionary mechanism to avoid taking responsibility.

[wss2001]

3. Think twice before calling police

Unless you see violence or hear gunshots don't call the police...these days calling the police = calling the military and someone could die.

[kmlisle]

12. I agree that calling the police should be the last resort.

What ever happened to neighbors being able to talk to each other and work things out without calling the police on each other?

[Boom Sound 416]

4. You might consider

Editing the headline to add the word 'reportedly'

[malaise]

5. Why?

The text has reportedly

[Boom Sound 416]

6. Because the headline suggest fact

A thing that actually happened.

But actually it's 'reported' because it's unsubstantiated; at least at this point.

[malaise]

7. It is in the text n/t

[uppityperson]

8. "Cop Pulls Gun On Fifth Graders Building Tree Fort" is the headline of the article at the link

[Boom Sound 416]

9. They should change that one too

For the same reason.

[Logical]

20. Have the police denied it? Yes/No?? nt

[Boom Sound 416]

22. Have they been asked? Yes/No??

No. They haven't. That's why it's 'reported'

[Logical]

23. Simple, the people there said he pointed a gun at them. The police have not said they didn't....

until then the paper is reporting what the witnesses said.

Once the police deny it they can list that also.

Get it now?

[Boom Sound 416]

26. Yup.

That's why the press is saying reportedly; as in unconfirmed.

Your logic is flawed

[Logical]

24. And they have been asked......

and said:

"If it was justified then we'll deal with it, if it wasn't we'll address it as well," said Sgt. Joey Smith with the Henry County Police Department.

Do you see a denial?

[Boom Sound 416]

27. ...

The police PIO was asked. Not the on scene officers.

[Logical]

28. Until they deny it I trust the eye witnesses. So should you unless you are a cop! nt

[Boom Sound 416]

29. Wow you completely missed it.

My point and discussion with the OP about the headline (and the linked headline) solely is about perception and misleading characterization

But here you are again (as always) chasing after my words and missing the point.

You're in such a rush to be the smart kid and point out the flaws in a silly guise to be on the 'right' side of an argument.

Here, their isn't even an argument.

I'm not disputing what did or didn't happen. It's about truth.

Get it now.

[Logical]

30. LOL, you are missing the point. You were the only one whining about the title who the OP did not....

even make up. Whine to the publisher of the story! Or shut up!

[Boom Sound 416]

31. You are a credit to your screen name

You start to post to me and then whine about me and then tell me to shut up

Awesome

Looking forward to the next one!

[Logical]

32. You are beyond helping! Once again. Write a letter to the editor. nt

[Boom Sound 416]

34. Yet here he have a re-post on DU, right.

A place where we like to get things right. Right?

An opportunity to correct some the problems the media exacerbates, right?

So I posted:

4. You might consider
Editing the headline to add the word 'reportedly'

---

And what do I get from someone called logical. 'Believe the eye witness unless your a cop'.

What do I get from Logical, 'shut up!'

What do I get from Logical "it's in the headline" as if this wasn't a repost also from the local media outlet.

Stellar performance indeed.

Keep dropping your gems of wisdom, but please be careful from that pedestal height.

[LanternWaste]

37. Well, reportedly-- as we have no official statement as of now

"You are a credit to your screen name..."

Well, reportedly-- as we have no official statement as of now. Interesting how we often hold others to a higher standard than we hold ourselves without realizing it.


(insert distinction without a difference here)

[Boom Sound 416]

38. I'm not following you

But interested. Would you clarify?

[AverageJoe90]

10. Somebody needs to fire this idiot cop.

Obviously, there's some deep-seated prejudice he needs to deal with......that is, if he even acknowledges that he's wrong.....which he probably won't.

[JI7]

11. did the neighbor ask the kids to stop or talk to their parents ?

is it really worth calling 911 over ?

[Enthusiast]

13. Aren't you glad we live in post-racial America.

Just imagine how bad it would be if we still lived in racial America.

[aaaaaa5a]

14. It really worries me how often everyone including police

look at any black person and instantly think... "criminal!"


This is especially sad given the profile of the real criminals who plunged this economy into disaster as recently as 2008, and continue to benefit from a rigged system unfair to 99% of us.. both black and white.

[Enthusiast]

18. It is deeply disturbing.

I believe seeing a black person that way was cultivated. But I cannot fathom the motive for such a thing. Unless it is simply blind hatred, some leftover antebellum sentiment. Maybe a fear of someone different.

[uponit7771]

36. It's more hideous than that, it's "there's a black person I can treat them as I wish"... attitude

... with cops.

Many cops have blacks friends of all variances

[tblue37]

42. A recent study showed that cops consistently overestimate the age

of a black child and also that they don't extend to black children the same presumption of age-based innocence that they extend to white children.

In other words, the cop looked at a black 11-year-old at play and probably "saw" (in his prejudiced, paranoid mind) an armed black teenaged "gangster," probably with a long record, including arrests for weapons violations and assaults.

They don't see black children as children at all, and don't consider them presumptively innocent, no matter how young they are. Even in preschool a black child who gets into mischief is likely to be treated as an uncontrollable criminal than as a little kid who is just acting up the way normal kids do when stuck inside and over-controlled. (The relevant study about these points was linked here on DU a couple of weeks ago.)

[seveneyes]

19. Thankfully the kids did not get harmed

Unlike the poor gentleman in Detroit that stopped to check on the welfare of a kid who stepped into traffic.

[Comrade Grumpy]

39. What does the Detroit incident have to do with police treatment of black kids in Georgia?

Answer: nothing.

[seveneyes]

40. It's all about the outrage

Or lack thereof.

[lonestarnot]

15. Why is he still on the job Georgia?

[Iggo]

16. "Grant says he is now hesitant to play outside in his own neighborhood..."

"...afraid of the very police he always looked up to."

Mission Accomplished.

Yay, Cops!

They're the best!

[Ichingcarpenter]

17. The racial makeup of the county

The racial makeup of the county was 55.0% White, 36.9% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 2.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.4% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. 5.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_County,_Georgia

[Logical]

21. True American Heros! n-t

[TransitJohn]

25. Yay, cops!

They're the best.

[closeupready]

33. Trashing thread.

[ProfessorGAC]

41. Not Serious Like This, But A Funny Parallel

Back in the mid-80's my wife and i were living in a old victorian with an option to buy. There was a pleasant enough trailer court on the island just north of the park that was up against our back property line.

Neighbor kid comes and asks if it's ok to make some noise while he built a fort. We said ok.

I go out about 2 hours later and the kid is building the fort by taking the slats out of our fence! Yep, you read that right.

I went out and asked what in the world he thought he was doing. He said "you told me i could build it." I replied that i was ok if he used his own wood and that he needed to nail those boards back to my fence.

He did it and there were no real issues. It's hardly the kind of thing any reasonable person would use as a reason to pull a gun.