New York Politician calls police on 13-year olds for illegal bake sale

[Priran]

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/3...9874189218.jpg

And really guy? You needed hindsight to know it was unreasonable to call the cops on some 13-year-olds for selling baked goods?

[kuronosan]

The guy who called the cops was right? He was a politician. He could have just said "Hey guys, just to let you know you need a permit to sell in this area and that someone might call the cops".

He could have, oh I dunno, tried reasoning with them first since they are only 13?

Valuable lesson learned but it was still a douchebag thing to do for someone who clearly knows better.

[Angelicus]

He could have, oh I dunno, tried reasoning with them first since they are only 13?

You can reason with modern 13 y/olds ? Most would just give you lip and tell you to eff off.

Yeah it comes of as douchey, but they should have done some better research, if they wanted to do stuff like that. Dunno about the US, but a UK council (dunno if it comes under the H&S Ecex or some other branch) would have been all over that if it had been reported. Don't underestimate the need for proper food hygine when serving to the public.

[Acturus]

The one think you have to remember is that he was not selling cupcakes. They were terrorcakes.

Hey, fuck you buddy, those were FREEDOMCAKES!

[zoobernut]

I don't see how this is over reacting. It is the cops job to deal with stuff like this. Maybe the guy wanted to avoid a confrontation. Not all police visits end in beatings, tazerings, riots etc. It is reasonable to expect that they should have a permit if they are in the park and it is reasonable to contact the authority figure that is in charge of enforcing said laws.

I would agree if the cops fined them or arrested them or kicked their shins and smashed their booth and stomped on the cupcakes but this whole thing seems pretty reasonable to me.

[Cyn]

This just in - having a bake sale is now dangerous. If you make brownies, the terrorists win.

Pretty sure you misinterpreted the part you bolded there chief.

[kuronosan]

Huh? I was being sarcastic dude. I can appreciate the dangers involved in the situation. I just think there was a bit of an overreaction to the situation. I understand that assholes are now being churned out at younger ages, but they should have used better judgment in dealing with the kids. No arrests or fines were churned out, so that's cool, but I still think it could have been handled differently.

I'm actually in agreement that this will teach them a valuable lesson they will need if they are serious. I even said as such.

[zoobernut]

How would you have it handled differently? The police are not always evil and they don't always show up guns blazing. In fact a big part of their job is enforcing small matters like this so there is no escalation if one citizen starts telling another what to do and how to act.

I think this was handled appropriately. Someone saw something that concerned them, and instead of risking starting shit or making the situation worse they called the cops (you can call the cops on non emergency issues with other numbers besides 911) and the cops showed up and explained the situation to the kids and asked them to leave. They even let the kids keep the money they had made up to that point.


Please explain how that is over reacting and if it is how would you have handled it in a more appropriate way?

"The police are trained to deal with these sorts of issues," he told The Journal News.

He even explained that he probably could have just talked to the kids but then explained why he asked the cops to handle the situation.

[kuronosan]

Honestly? I'm sorry dude, I don't know how I would have handled it differently. Maybe it was the only idea that would deal with it quickly before it became a potential problem.

I think calling the police on children is a little bit of a cop out, although to agree with your point it can be said that the kids probably would have told him "bugger off old man".

[Valisk]

I think calling the police on children is a little bit of a cop out, although to agree with your point it can be said that the kids probably would have told him "bugger off old man".

I think you're putting too much emphasis on "children" and not enough on the actual act. Whether is was children or adults, I think the politician handled it properly to avoid direct confrontation.

[Shuvo]

Kids were probably brats and pissed off the guy