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Home School Group Says Police Used Excessive Force
FOX Carolina WHNS-TV ^ | Friday, February 18, 2005 | FOX Carolina

Posted on 02/23/2005 12:03:16 PM PST by two134711

Some home schoolers say they were having a meeting in Simpsonville Park when an officer started bullying them.

The group of home schoolers included 6 mothers and about 15 to 20 kids, every Wednesday for the past 5 years the group has come to Simpsonville Park to socialize and meet with each other, but they say this past Wednesday was like no other.

One of the mothers in the group, Jan Blanchard says, "We were just sitting there talking..."

"I heard a man yelling take your hands out of your pocket and I turned around and he was yelling at one of the boys in the group,” says another mother Priscilla Adams.

Priscilla’s 14-year-old son, Glenn says, "He started yelling and screaming at this boy for having a knife, then pushed him down."

Priscilla says he then "went for another boy a 16-year-old, yelled at him something about having a knife, he pushed him to the ground."

Simpsonville Police say a call came in that someone in the park had a knife. They say they responded as they would to any call like that, but the officer responding to the call was dressed in plain clothes and did not identify himself at first.

(Excerpt) Read more at fox21.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: donutwatch; excessiveforce; govwatch; homeschool; homeschooling; jackbootedthugs; jackboots; jbts; police; policebrutality
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To: two134711

Nothing like a small mind with a cell phone, unless it is a smaller mind with a badge.


21 posted on 02/23/2005 12:59:21 PM PST by Mark in the Old South (Sister Lucia of Fatima pray for us)
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To: 2banana

I will bet these police officers would not pull this crap on real criminals. This was the intent of the Framers to our US Constitution when they added the Bill of Rights. From what I can tell, these cops violated the spirit of just about each and every one of them. You can bet that CYA will be the only criteria of this investigation.


22 posted on 02/23/2005 12:59:27 PM PST by wmileo
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To: two134711

Many men I know wear a knife in a sheath in their belt. A knife is a tool. Since when is a pocket knife or a hunting knife considered against the law? Is there a specific size it has to be? I know I carry mine in my pocket am I a criminal? Cops are getting nuttier every day. If you go up to one and try to explain the problem while they are off on their tangential rants you may be arrested, Just for trying to explain or asking for an explanation.


23 posted on 02/23/2005 1:00:43 PM PST by sgtbono2002
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To: sport

That is very sad. I am married to a cop and I find some of the generalizations about Police Offices on this post and the earlier one to be out of line.

I am not commenting on this particular case, just the reaction in general to Police Officers.

I am sure I will get ripped apart by this post.


24 posted on 02/23/2005 1:04:07 PM PST by Cathy
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To: two134711

Hmmmmm? Who would know the kid had a knife and call it in ..?? It had to be because the boys were displaying their knives in public.

While I agree it was probably overkill by the police - having been on the other side of the fence - the policeman has no way of knowing what the situation was until he got on the scene. Therefore, he goes in expecting the worst. For all he knew .. the kids were cutting class and loitering in the park with knives.

First of all - the parents should have been in more control of the boys with the knives.

And .. why not avoid the situation all together by contacting the police in the first place and telling them who you are and what you're doing. Then a phone call about knives would have been basically ignored by the police. Just a thought.


25 posted on 02/23/2005 1:06:10 PM PST by CyberAnt (Pres. Bush: "Self-government relies, in the end, on the governing of the self.")
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To: two134711

It seems that a filthy government propagandist teaching in the government reeducation compound called Simpsonville Elementary School (my alma mater) is the instigator in the event.

Teachers (government school stooges) and their charges were using the park at the same time that the Upstate Homeschoolers Unlimited was using the park. I am sure it was obvious to the government worker that there were children around not subject to their control & the decision was made to harass them.

A sheathed knife was seen on a teenage boy and she or he called the police department. The elementary school - police department and park are all located adjacent to one another - in sight of each other.

www.uhucrew.org for more info.


26 posted on 02/23/2005 1:08:19 PM PST by PresbyRev (All truth is God's truth: post tenebras, Lux!)
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To: PresbyRev

http://www.uhucrew.org --- Upstate Homeschoolers Unlimited

http://www.simpsonvillepd.com ---- Simpsonville Department of Jackbooted Thugs

There is a fund being raised for the legal defense of the homeschooling mother now being charged with a felony and the teenage boy with a misdemeanor.

It may do well to let loose some phone calls, letters and emails to the Simpsonville PD to have the charges dropped and the ""officer"" in questioned fired.


27 posted on 02/23/2005 1:10:54 PM PST by PresbyRev (All truth is God's truth: post tenebras, Lux!)
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To: CyberAnt
First of all - the parents should have been in more control of the boys with the knives.

Didn't you ever throw knives and try to stick the in the ground when you were a kid? My dad taught me how to flip it over in the air and make it stick. Our society has gone nuts when kids cannot play with a knife in public. It was part of being a boy where I grew up. Now we have silly citizens calling the police and a grossly excessive police reaction.

28 posted on 02/23/2005 1:17:52 PM PST by ModelBreaker
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To: two134711

All homeschoolers - especially those of us who are members of HSLDA - should contact HSLDA and strongly encourage them to take on this case, whether the arrestees are members or not. Clearly, the officer (was his name Barney Fife?) didn't evaluate the situation correctly and I suspect that, in the final analysis, it's going to cost the City of Simpsonville some major cash.


29 posted on 02/23/2005 1:18:00 PM PST by ManHunter (You can run, but you'll only die tired...)
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To: PresbyRev

Thank you for the info. That the mother is being charged with a felony is absolutely ridiculous. Hopefully public some sanity will be found in this situation.


30 posted on 02/23/2005 1:19:42 PM PST by two134711
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To: Cathy
The problem is that there are to many examples of a massive display of force as shown in the photos of the infamous 'drug shakedown' displayed above devoid of proportionality or even basic common sense. I know that while I was taught that police officers are your friend as a child I have firmly instructed both my daughter and grand daughter to not have voluntary interaction with law enforcement personnel. To cooperate and obey instructions when directly approached but say absolutely nothing more than exactly what is required. I don't think I am the only American who no longer thinks of police agencies as benign towards the law abiding. The plethora of personal conduct laws the politicians have saddled us with make all of us some sort of lawbreaker (and not infrequently a felon) every week if all of our actions were scrutinized. Law enforcement our friends, not really.
31 posted on 02/23/2005 1:20:12 PM PST by robowombat
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To: CyberAnt
why not avoid the situation all together by contacting the police in the first place and telling them who you are and what you're doing. Then a phone call about knives would have been basically ignored by the police.

Maybe your right, but the second paragraph of the story says, "The group of home schoolers included 6 mothers and about 15 to 20 kids, every Wednesday for the past 5 years the group has come to Simpsonville Park to socialize and meet with each other..."

Even if the parents had a responsibility to inform the police they were going to be using the park (which I doubt), after meeting there regularly for five years I can see why it may not have occurred to anyone.

32 posted on 02/23/2005 1:22:04 PM PST by delacoert (imperat animus corpori, et paretur statim: imperat animus sibi, et resistitur. -AUGUSTINI)
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To: two134711

BTTT


33 posted on 02/23/2005 1:22:12 PM PST by spodefly (Yo, homey ... Is that my briefcase?)
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To: ActionNewsBill

Hey, he couldn't take any chances. It might have been one of those "streetsweeper" knives set to full-auto.

/sarcasm


34 posted on 02/23/2005 1:22:14 PM PST by Larry Lucido
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To: PresbyRev
...There were other children and adults present in the park that day. A local elementary school was being remodeled. Teachers and children from the school were using the city park for their recess time because their playground was full of temporary school buildings.

A teacher saw Tim’s knife and called the Simpsonville City Police Department. Why the teacher called is unknown; Tim had never taken the knife out of its sheath, nor had he spoken with anyone at the park that day outside of his group of UHU friends. ...

A public school teacher called to cause trouble. The NEA at work again - after all they are not your children - they belong to them.

35 posted on 02/23/2005 1:26:01 PM PST by DaveyB (Ever see the homeschool national monument ? It's called Mt Rushmore)
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To: Cathy

Hi Cathy. We are sure you are married to a very nice man. He may even be a good cop. He would be a rarity these days. I think too many, if not most, cops think they have to perform "up" to Hollywood standards these days.


36 posted on 02/23/2005 1:26:39 PM PST by Agamemnon
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To: sonofagun
Police Chief Reese says officers do not have to identify themselves immediately and that the officer was wearing a badge and a gun.

Normally I'd say there's probably more to this than meets the eye, but I think the above says it all.

Actually I don't think it say's it all by any means.......

Sure it say's he was wearing the badge and the gun. I'm wearing underwear...but you CAN'T see them..!!!

Where exactly was he wearing his badge and gun? Was the gun in a shoulder holster, under a jacket? Was the gun strapped to his ankle? Was the badge clipped to his belt...under a jacket? Was the badge tangling around his neck?

FWIW-

37 posted on 02/23/2005 1:31:07 PM PST by Osage Orange (Hillary Clinton's so crooked...you can't tell from her tracks whether she's coming or going....)
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To: sgtbono2002
Yes, there is a specific size limit. Each state has slightly different laws. In most of them that I have looked up the blade limit is between 4 and 5 inches.
I highly doubt the kid was carrying one bigger than that. Even if he was this is was excursive force. Depending on the state it might be ok to carry a lager knife when not concealed. In most it is also ok to carry a larger one when camping/fishing/hunting.


http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/sta-law.htm
38 posted on 02/23/2005 1:31:52 PM PST by TalonDJ
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To: two134711

Let's see how long it takes for all the "cops are always right and never make mistakes" sheeple to come around this thread.

You know who I mean, the JBT boot-lickers.

Oh, my bad. They're prolly already here.

What imbeciles these cops in this case are. I hope someone like O'Reilly holds them up to the whole country for some well-deserved ridicule, and the voters in this town remember this the next time the PD comes begging for more money in a tax levy or something.


39 posted on 02/23/2005 1:32:25 PM PST by Chef Dajuan (this ain't rocket science, you know. so use your knob! -emeril lagasse)
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To: Cathy

I am sure he is a great man. Do him a favor and warn him throwing down kids in the park wearing plain clothes with their parents watching is a good way to get shot. Repeatedly.


40 posted on 02/23/2005 1:34:23 PM PST by TalonDJ
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