Kid’s Are Arrested for NOT Getting Involved in Criminal Activity?

Did you hear about it?  Elementary school aged children were arrested for NOT intervening in a fight!

Murfreesboro, Tennessee: police officers went to Hobgood Elementary school, arrested, handcuffed, and took into custody a few of its students—apparently for failing to break up a fight that took place at a house nearby.  The charge: “Criminal responsibility for another.”  Say what!?

It is said that some of the children that were arrested were simply “innocent bystanders” that were not even near the fight when it took place.

Later, at a community meeting an Officer, Christopher Williams, apologized.  In short, arresting and taking these children into police custody should never have happened.

At the meeting the chief of police also promised an investigation into the matter (1) to determine whether or not the arrests were legal and (2) if so, whether or not such action was in fact necessary.

It sounds to me as if, if it was legal, we’ve got a problem with our laws.  And, if it was determined to be “necessary,” we’ve got a problem with our processes and procedures in the implementation of our laws.

Arresting children for NOT intervening in a fight that is taking place as “criminal responsibility for another”?  We’re talking about 9, 10, 11, 13 year olds.  Please!!

Murfreesboro police remarked that there are always two sides to a story.  Indeed!  Nevertheless, this kind of arrest stretches the imagination to make any reasonable or justifiable sense of it.  It would indeed be interesting to know how the arresting officers justified their action; however, due to the fact that we are dealing with “juveniles” (children not yet even in their teens), details cannot be disclosed.

Last point: these are black families and black children that are involved.  Again, black lives matter.  Is it any wonder that we have explosive tension between black communities and law-enforcement?  Question: Would this kind of arrest have taken place in a white community?  Answer: I doubt it.

Here is the response by the local community pastor, Pastor James McCarroll of First Baptist Church Murfreesboro (who is also black): “It’s hard to see a child arrested when they do something wrong being a child, but it’s even that much harder, and that much more difficult to stomach, a child being handcuffed that has done nothing wrong.” The spirit with which he said this is praiseworthy: “We are not looking for some radical, uncivil response to this; we, as a community, are looking to come to a peaceful, respectful, and communal response.”  Amen!

Would that people from all sides of all issues (especially when “mistakes” are made by those in authority) would have such a spirit as pastor James McCarroll’s.