When Your Kid makes you Proud

Today started normally enough, kitchen a mess, kids sleeping late, and laundry. Everyone eventually was up to their own thing. Outside with friends. Somewhere.

About 1pm my husband went back to work. Sirah comes in crying that the police were at the football game. The game is a pick up of 4-7, 10 year olds on the lot across the street. I assure her all is fine and she is over doing it. I walk to the back of my yard, intending to just call in my crew but I see that Griffin, my fifteen year old, is in a stoic defensive posture. I am on my way!

I cross the street as my neighbor is just getting the first questions of a plain clothes cop."These your boys?"  There only two now and they are both mine. " Mine" I say. Idries , 10, looks red in the face and a bit scared. The cop, outside his vehicle, carries a badge, gun and tazer on his belt. He tells me that Idries was being beat up by the other boys and when he tried to question Idries (10) Griffin told him that he was fine. Just a football game.  He tried to ask more questions but Griffin told the cop that neither he nor Idries had to answer any questions! YEAH!! I told the officer that Griffin was correct and did not have to answer anything. Our neighbor called over his son (the alleged attacker) , all 60 pounds of him. The man with the gun confirmed this was the one doing the harm. By the way , Idries' best friend at the moment. But this was not the problem. The problem was Griffin's "attitude" and "back talk". His responsibility shown in asserting his rights.

This is our civics lessons in REAL LIFE!

Now, the cop never tried to hold those doing the "beating". He questioned the assault from the car but when his authority was denied he got out. Here is the best part, he called for back up. That's right, when confronting a fifteen year old that knows his fourth and fifth amendment rights and group of ten year old footballers, Pascagoula's finest calls for a squad car back up!

My son called his father when he saw the cop call for back up. The squad car with a uniformed gun toting man showed up and a second gun was at the scene of a kid's football game.Within ten minutes we were both there to back up our son. The officer was quite agitated and said that" Fine! Next time I'll let them get beat up!".

Griffin was never disrespectful. But he demanded his rights. This is what we teach him. It is very hard to do when the person in front of you has the ability to end your life in an instant.

I am very proud of my son!

 

Questions: So why didn't the cop just tell the kids to stop being rough?

Just stopping to say 'what's happening' without the power trip would be enough.

"Hey guys, that looks more like a fight than football!" is usually enough for any commotion. Why not?

The Supreme Court did not specify the exact wording to use when informing a suspect of their rights. However, the Court did create a set of guidelines that must be followed. The ruling states:

“

...The person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be clearly informed that he or she has the right to remain silent, and that anything the person says will be used against that person in court; the person must be clearly informed that he or she has the right to consult with an attorney and to have that attorney present during questioning, and that, if he or she is indigent, an attorney will be provided at no cost to represent her or him."