Regarding the police action at M A high school, it's important to recognize that no forceful arrest would have been necessary if the student had simply complied with the police commands as opposed to resisting arrest and claiming something like, "You can't touch me; I'm a minor." Perhaps, the incident could have been avoided if the student had not (allegedly) pushed and spitted upon a school staff member.
If the student had been that physically aggressive, it is the student who would benefit from anger management, conflict resolution, and de-escalation.

And you wonder why no one want to be a cop.

Coddling students who commit acts of violence, hate speech and issue threats is a bad idea. There is a lack of acknowledgement in the evolving narrative that acting immediately on threats is a responsibility of school staff. Sure, it’s great to contact the parents first if time allows, but when a threat is involved, dealing with it is the priority. It would be helpful to know what is required of staff when they are threatened or learn about threats.

"Coddling students who commit acts of violence, hate speech and issue threats is a bad idea. "

Yep. And yet our state legislature is considering just that. Making it more difficult to discipline students with behavior problems.

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As a past M-A student, I can honestly say that the police officers need to get involved. These kids are getting bolder and are becoming more violent. The parents aren’t there so they think their kids are angels or can’t be as bad as they are being told … but they are!

We can’t let these kids think they can’t get treated like adults when they do adult things. How are they supposed to learn if we are protecting them from consequences of their behavior?!?!?!

If you resist arrest, you are going to end up getting hurt because they are trying to secure the subject so no one else gets hurt. It’s really that easy! The student already assaulted someone, who’s to say they won’t again. I’m not sure where people’s logic are nowadays. The color should not matter but this incident has to do with a student and their family crying that they were mistreated when the student caused ALL of this because of their physical actions. Where did they learn to use their hands and say horrible things in the first place? If they are not getting disciplined or taught how to be respectful and not use violence at home, what is the school supposed to do? Just take the abuse. That’s NOT on them and they have every right to call in the police and let them handle it when a student gets violent. Maybe students will learn this way!

I am teaching my kids the way I was taught … RESPECT! Just because you’re mad doesn’t mean you can do whatever the hell you want. And I’m not gonna stick up for my kid just because he’s my kid … no one is perfect and teens think they are untouchable. And I know some students whose parents act like they can get away with anything. Stupid actions = consequences. Maybe they’ll think twice before doing something stupid next time.

"In his speech, Faraji said, "The family of the student wants to make sure that you know that the statement that the police came out with today is categorically false."

Does anyone know what actually happened here? It seems like there is a big gap between the statements from the protesters and the police/school admins.

There are two videos that document almost the entire police portion of this event:

Web Link

tinyurl.com/ma-arrest

In my review of these two videos I see:
- one student who complies with a detention order, is cuffed, interviewed and then released,
- a second student who resists the detention order, tries to flee, falls down while a police officer has a hold on his shirt, is rolled on to his stomach, cuffed and continues to resist
- no harassment by the police
- no brutality by the police
- no attack by the police
- no mistreatment by the police
- no attempt by the police to impede the video taping (the close up shots were clearly the videographer getting shots on police officers' name plates and badge numbers not the police themselves blocking the camera.

I have been told that there is a third video but Parent refuses to post a link to it.

Please watch these videos and post your own interpretations.

Jerry:

look at the videos at the links that Peter posted and I think you will see that what the family has said is total BS. And their position on this actually explains their child's poor behavior. Clearly he hasn't had to face consequences for misbehaving.

Most, if not all, of the officers are wearing body cameras so there will be a great deal more video documentation of this event when that footage is released.

Thanks for posting the videos. My question was more about the incident with the teacher that led up to this.

I agree with @Past M-A Student.

I've tried to teach my kids that it's okay to disagree and argue, even passionately. But to keep arguments "above-board" and try to listen to the other person's point of view. I told them they won't win every argument this way but they will always have their honor and the respect of others.

It all comes down to one things did the student push or not obey a teacher or other school officials request? Did he obey the police officer's request? If he pushed a school employee then the reaction is not overblown it is assault! If he didn't comply with the police officer then the reaction was appropriate. Teachers and school personnel have to be protected too. So if this student did nothing then what happened is unwarranted. The police video is not as important as what evidence the school has to support the school's action to call the police. Easy to get upset to see a student being physically handled by the police but let's not give the student a pass until we have ALL the facts.