Incident at Pepsi Center leads to father’s arrest

Buffalo News ^

[ma bell]

Incident at Pepsi Center leads to father’s arrest

A 38-year-old Lockport father was arrested Friday after he dragged a 10- year-old hockey player off the ice at the Pepsi Center because the boy wouldn’t stop firing pucks near the man and his young son, Amherst police said.

The incident started at about 10 a.m. Friday during an open hockeyskills practice at the Amherst Pepsi Center, Police Lt. Rick Walter said.

The 10-year-old boy was on the ice shooting pucks, and Charles M. Schmidl thought the boy’s pucks were coming too close to him and his young son, Walter said. Several pucks came near Schmidl and at least one hit him, police said. Schmidl told police he asked the boy several times to stop, but he refused.

Schmidl then grabbed the boy by his shirt and pulled him off the ice, causing what appeared to be redness around his neck, police said.

Schmidl and the boy’s mother got into an argument, police said, and the mother called police to the Pepsi Center.

Police charged Schmidl with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, and harassment, a violation. He was arraigned Friday in Amherst Town Court and told to return at a later date.

In response to the incident, Pepsi Center staff directed Schmidl and the 10-year-old to stay away from the facility.

[ma bell]

Amazing, a mom that lets her boy shoot his pucks carelessly and a man that is in jeapardy along with his son being hit by flying pucks takes matters into his hands.... Just moving the boy out of the way...

[Doc Savage]

The only redness on that’s little monster’s body should be where the belt strap inflamed is bare ass! Punks on skates!

[I_like_good_things_too]

well, while I understand what the guy did and would probably want to do it (and more) myself, you can’t put your hands on another person’s child like that. He should have moved out of the way and notified personnel. I hope he doesn’t get any sort of punishment. And I’m happy to see that the kid isn’t welcome there again.

[bmwcyle]

I would have looked for the mother first. I like pissing off poor parents.

[Always Right]

Something seems to be missing from the story. Was this guy sitting behing a goal or target or something or was the boy intentionally hitting towards them? If the kid was intentionally hitting at them, I can understand this guys action. If he was just in a bad spot, he should have just moved.

[ma bell]

i disagree...if there is'nt a parent readily nearby/available to be found... you should be able to do that, moving him out of the way... I"m sure the kid was a punk as I'm from that area...rich punk ass hockey kid from Williamsville School District.

Granted if it were my kid, yeah, i'd be mad but if the boy did wrong, he did wrong.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

I agree this is a poorly written article. Where was the man and his son, on the ice? If so there was a hockey practice going on......One kinda has to expect that pucks are going to be flying all around.

Sounds to me like the man really pucked up.

[Freeport]

He shouldn’t have dragged him off the ice... ;-)

He should have dropped the whelps drawers on the ice and spanked the little him! Then given the same to the mother!