5 ms·

Dad Arrested for picking up kids from school by foot

39 points by obiefernandez 13y ago

DjangoReinhardt 13y ago
I double-checked the URL to see if it was from the Onion and wasn't sure if I should be surprised or worried that it wasn't. I get the feeling that there's more to the story - probably the dad created a fuss, probably he was being a nuisance and had to be removed by security. Or something like that. When the headlines in the mainstream media start to appear like they could be from the Onion, I know it is time to pack my bags and wait for reality to collapse on to itself.
- msandford 13y ago
  Nuisance is in the eye of the beholder. He knew what his rights are and he was asking for them to be respected. The SRO didn't care what the law said, he thought that the school rules superseded it. They do not.
  - DjangoReinhardt 13y ago
    Hmm, apologies. I somehow forgot to scroll down and did not realize that there was (a lot) more below the scroll. The dad seems calm and collected. The officer seems to be pissed at the fact that his authority is being questioned (superseded even?) by the dad. The entire six-ish minute exchange seems surreal and bizarre, to be honest. Help me understand here, why would there be a rule prohibiting parents from walking their kids to/from school? No pavements? Very busy roads? Precedent of some sort?
    - msandford 13y ago
      Damned if I know. It sounds to me like the non-crime (but definitely "criminal" act) of Pissing Off The Police. It doesn't matter if you're not actually doing anything wrong. If you piss a cop off he can arrest you and figure out SOMETHING to charge you with and at that point you have to fight the charges. It's unfortunate but it happens. This seems like a case of that to me. Is there a rational explanation for why the rules would be the way they are? I have no idea really. It doesn't make any sense to me either.
      - brianpgordon 13y ago
        He just throws out the word "disorderly" out of nowhere like it's a magic word that lets him arrest whomever he wants.
parasight 13y ago
Embarrassing story. What is the background of that policy?
- matthewmcg 13y ago
  The background is the availability heuristic. Parents demand schools adopt security measures to thwart "stereotypical kidnapping" (~120 cases in the U.S. annually) when the gravest dangers children face are riding home in cars (~200k injuries annually) and obesity (20% of all U.S. children).
chatman 13y ago
Extremely shameful. This is tyranny by the standards of any country in the world.
nhance 13y ago
America!
HarryHirsch 13y ago
In normal countries schools are built somewhere central, and the students walk or cycle to school. But in America it's the opposite, they are built on highways on the edge of town, and the students are required to take the bus or have their parents pick them up (by car of course). It's not only that there is no city planning in the US, it's also that the people don't mind, and then you get outcomes like this.
mortyseinfeld 13y ago
This is what happens when you give a bunch of leftist/statists that dominate school systems security power. These statist so-called educators see themselves as quasi-government officials. It's sickening, but this is what people vote for.
- DanBC 13y ago
  Is this parody? I genuinely don't know. Often I feel like I'm reading The Onion, only it's true.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

39 points by obiefernandez 13y ago

I double-checked the URL to see if it was from the Onion and wasn't sure if I should be surprised or worried that it wasn't. I get the feeling that there's more to the story - probably the dad created a fuss, probably he was being a nuisance and had to be removed by security. Or something like that. When the headlines in the mainstream media start to appear like they could be from the Onion, I know it is time to pack my bags and wait for reality to collapse on to itself.

msandford 13y ago
Nuisance is in the eye of the beholder. He knew what his rights are and he was asking for them to be respected. The SRO didn't care what the law said, he thought that the school rules superseded it. They do not.
- DjangoReinhardt 13y ago
  Hmm, apologies. I somehow forgot to scroll down and did not realize that there was (a lot) more below the scroll. The dad seems calm and collected. The officer seems to be pissed at the fact that his authority is being questioned (superseded even?) by the dad. The entire six-ish minute exchange seems surreal and bizarre, to be honest. Help me understand here, why would there be a rule prohibiting parents from walking their kids to/from school? No pavements? Very busy roads? Precedent of some sort?
  - msandford 13y ago
    Damned if I know. It sounds to me like the non-crime (but definitely "criminal" act) of Pissing Off The Police. It doesn't matter if you're not actually doing anything wrong. If you piss a cop off he can arrest you and figure out SOMETHING to charge you with and at that point you have to fight the charges. It's unfortunate but it happens. This seems like a case of that to me. Is there a rational explanation for why the rules would be the way they are? I have no idea really. It doesn't make any sense to me either.
    - brianpgordon 13y ago
      He just throws out the word "disorderly" out of nowhere like it's a magic word that lets him arrest whomever he wants.

parasight 13y ago

Embarrassing story. What is the background of that policy?

matthewmcg 13y ago
The background is the availability heuristic. Parents demand schools adopt security measures to thwart "stereotypical kidnapping" (~120 cases in the U.S. annually) when the gravest dangers children face are riding home in cars (~200k injuries annually) and obesity (20% of all U.S. children).

chatman 13y ago

Extremely shameful. This is tyranny by the standards of any country in the world.

nhance 13y ago

America!

HarryHirsch 13y ago

In normal countries schools are built somewhere central, and the students walk or cycle to school. But in America it's the opposite, they are built on highways on the edge of town, and the students are required to take the bus or have their parents pick them up (by car of course). It's not only that there is no city planning in the US, it's also that the people don't mind, and then you get outcomes like this.

mortyseinfeld 13y ago

This is what happens when you give a bunch of leftist/statists that dominate school systems security power. These statist so-called educators see themselves as quasi-government officials. It's sickening, but this is what people vote for.

DanBC 13y ago
Is this parody? I genuinely don't know. Often I feel like I'm reading The Onion, only it's true.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]