True Detective Stories
By Wyatt Earp | July 15, 2008
When you’re in law enforcement, there are days when you really feel like you’re making a difference.
And then there are days like today.
An officer brings up a job today from the high school. Apparently, kids still get locked up during Summer School – maybe he had to repeat “Thuggery 101.” Anyway, I asked the officer what he had, and he said he arrested a student for carrying a weapon on school property.
I said, “Okay, what did the kid have?”
The officer replied, “Two pairs of scissors.”
I’m not really sure what happened next, because I passed out from the brain aneurysm. When I came to, my first thought was, “Um, aren’t you supposed to have scissors in school?!!!”
And then I realized that we’re in the midst of political correctness run amok, and students can only carry scissors with rounded ends that wouldn’t cut dirt. God, I miss those days.
Topics: The Job | 18 Comments »
July 15th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
We must be getting closer to the day. Poor Wyatt is getting testy about things that go snip.
July 15th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
I responded to a high school a number of years ago, where School “Police” was holding a teen for “contraband”. The contraband? A pack of matches. Needless to say, the Detective Division didn’t get that job.
One of the bonuses of working the midnight shift is I don’t deal with schools anymore. I have many stories of disagreements with School Police and administrators. I don’t miss it at all. Public School administrators today often times call the Police to deal with what should be in-house discipline problems. What happened to the days of the 12″ ruler across the knuckles?
Wyatt, I know I’m older than you, but do you remember Sister Emily at CTK (3rd Grade) who carried a Police Baton? Sister Mary Rita? (I still have scars). She never had to summon the police to discipline a student.
July 15th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Earlier this year, my daughter came thisclose to getting expelled from school. For having a two-inch fingernail file.
July 15th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Mope – Yeah, I’m a little sensitive . . . but this is still shenanigans!
Wagonsux – Sister Mary Rita. I just got a chill down my spine. She probably smacked me and Cathy around an equal amount. She didn’t discriminate.
Doghouse – See? That’s frakkin’ ridiculous. It’s like the FAA is running the schools. because everyone knows Islamic extremists can take over a plane with a nail file and a bottle of shampoo.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
What is the difference between and officer and a detective?
July 15th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Maybe the problem was that the students were running with the scissors?
Isn’t running with scissors illegal? My mother always told me that I shouldn’t do it.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Typicalwhitey – Detectives are smarter and much more attractive. Heh. Actually, it’s a promotion. We’re investigators while the officers are the front-line first responders.
DesertSage – You’ll put an eye out, kid!
July 15th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
“What is the difference between and officer and a detective?”
About 40lbs.
July 15th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Wagonsux – Wiseass. Since I lost 40 pounds since January 1st, I’d say we’re about even.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:14 am
If the principals don’t follow what the board of ed. has required them to do by policy, they get into a heap of shite. That said, a lot of these rules are stupid, but having been someone who has seen sharp objects in the hands of kids I wouldn’t want to be around while they were armed with a plastic spoon, I’ll just say that it can be unnerving.
My school is pretty level-headed. We haven’t had stupid stuff like that happen. Again, it really goes back to the policy set forth by the board of ed.
July 16th, 2008 at 8:26 am
RT – And who would think that the People’s Republic of New jersey would institute common sense rules?
July 16th, 2008 at 8:26 am
In Italy we don’t have any of that excessive security nonsense. There’s a laissez faire attitude that permeates the entire society from driving etiquette to school regulations. The older I get, the more I miss those New Jersey State Troopers and those Benedictine nuns.
July 16th, 2008 at 9:44 am
RT..
I understand school principals need to follow their boards’ regulations. However, sometimes the school districts’ policies conflict with police dept.’s policies and law. It is not illegal to carry a pack of matches on school grounds. In that incident, the school staff believed since matched are listed as contraband in their policies, it should therefore be illegal and the child be arrested.
A plastic knife brought to school to be used for lunch may be a school violation, but it is not illegal. A plastic knife has a legitimate purpose. If a plastic knife is a violation of a school (district) policy, then the child should be disciplined by the school. Unless the knife was used in a threat or assault, the police should not be involved. All too often here in Philadelphia, I believe, school administrators wrongly push the responsibility of discipline off onto the police.
July 16th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Just found this blog and wanted to say how great it is to have a copper on board blogging about the world from his perspective. I’ll be back again when I have time.
And if I ever threw up in the back of your squard car, I apologize.
July 16th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
[...] about living in cities that turns people into drooling idiots? Courtesy of Sebastian, here is the latest thing Philadelphia police are doing instead of, you know, arresting criminals. When you’re in law enforcement, there are days when [...]
July 16th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
That’s four scissi, it was a massacre in the making!
I think in Cali your only allowed to buy one scissi a month.
I don’t think my liver could tolerate it if I were in law enforcement. I don’t know how you guys do it.
July 17th, 2008 at 8:00 am
MikeB – You need another Mussolini. That’ll straighten things out!
Wagonsux – You’re exactly right. They cannot punish the kids, so they give them to us to babysit.
Kaveman – It’s okay. Our seats are wash-and-wear!
Ride Fast – Alcohol helps.
July 18th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Hey Wyatt, I need to vent about our counties District Attorney.
Long story short, one of my neighbors is a 25 year old loser with 4 felony convictions already, 3 of them for felon in possesion of a firearm.
The 2nd time he got convicted for FIPOF he served 6 months in jail.
The 3rd time he got convicted for FIPOF he served five months.
Is this some twisted frequent flier program?
Not only that but the 3rd time also had other goodies.
1. The gun he had was stolen.
2. Obliterated serial number.
3. Felon in possesion of body armor(he was wearing it).
4. Unregistered suppressor on the gun.
5. Felon in possesion of ammo.
He gets 5 months???
Do I blame the cops, hell no. The DA needs to wake up though. He’s so busy plea bargaining everything down to nothing so his conviction rate looks good on paper!
I’m mad enough to do something about it but I’m having trouble finding 2000 pounds of dog poo.