Lighten up, people

What happened to our sense of humor? Two high school kids in Texas were taken to jail after running across the field during a football game dressed as a gorilla and a banana. It started as a prank to get the crowd psyched up for the game. But everyone stopped laughing as soon as the school principal hopped the fence, tackled the kids, and turned them over to the cops who were waiting to shackle their hands together.

http://www.wmur.com/video/17545997/index.html

The kids spent 16 hours in jail only to see the charges ultimately dropped after public outcry. Jail, people. Jail. It's this type of overreacting that undermines the credibility of police authority. It's no wonder that many kids distrust and resent the police. While imperfect and subject to human flaws, many cops put themselves on the line every day to make a difference in the community. But crucial to their power is their ability to make decisions on the spot about who to arrest when called to the scene. To do this, they need to be free to use their common sense. When parents and school officials overreact, the result is to make a farce out of the state's authority. Over policing doesn't make us safer-- it makes our society, well . . . less fun. And you know what? It puts all of our individual liberties at risk.

Attorney Rich Taylor