police brutality

[simonb]

My son who is 17 was out with friends when a bouncer assaulted him and the police threw my son to the floor and he resisted arrest and a police officer punched and beat him of which was witnessed by his friends. He was taken away in cuffs and charged with assualt against two officers . what can i do and what sentence will he get when goes to court . Should he plead guilty or not.

[factor-fiction]

Was the incident captured on CCTV?

[NazNomad]

Yet again, we await the full story, which no doubt will be revealed during the next 20 posts. ;-)

[sandyRoe]

The account your son gave you may not be the truth. Bouncers generally don't throw people out of places without reason. I find it hard to believe that any police officer would ever assault anyone.

[woofgang]

sadly sandy, i do not....and my nephew is a copper, he is one of the good ones.

[sandyRoe]

When they're on Police, Camera, Action they seem to be paragons of virtue.

[woofgang]

now there's a surprise :-)

[KARL]

Sandy's first response points you in a direction I too would suggest. This is not to say that your son is a compulsive liar but to approach the issues in a balanced manner you need to question every aspect of every story, including (perhaps particularly) avoiding falling into a trap that sits waiting. A 17 year old who acted unwisely/impulsively/badly (was alcohol or anything else involved ?) will need to be honest and brave not to slant the story at all when presenting it to you on return from the police station. He will need guidance and the comfort of a wiser adult but a partial parent is (if anything) a handicap because from situations such as these it is imperative to make good use of the experience in order to mature and not remain trapped in a futile vctimhood (if/when really there was at least some blame involved). If the police acted in an inappropriate manner then, by all means, ensure they face up to it but their error does not absolve an unruly teenager, bouncer or anyone else of his actions.

[KARL]

*victimhood

[eyethenkyew]

Would your son, and his friends who "witnessed" this incident, happen to have been ever so slightly intoxicated at the time?

Was the bouncer also one of those who agreed that he "assaulted" your son? And was the same bouncer also present when the police officer "punched and beat" your son?

As NazNomad has indicated, the "full story" is definitely not contained within your above post - is it?

Given that "Police Brutality" is a very dramatic and emotive expression, it would suggest that the Police have unlawfully, indiscriminately, and unjustly chosen to deliberately inflict physical assault and injury upon your son, according to you, right under the noses of all sorts of witnesses including friends of your son. Not very wise, eh?

"what can i do" you say? Well, I'd sit your son down, ensuring that he is sober, get him to look you in the eye, and to repeat the allegations he has made above - unless he possibly has changed his version of events? I should also try to contact the solicitor he had access to at the police station during his interview following his arrest and find out what his/her opinion of what happened is? After all, the solicitor would also be in possession of the police's side of the story, also perhaps that of the bouncer(s), and maybe even any other prosecution, or even defence, witnesses. It may give you a much clearer idea of what actually did lead to your son's arrest etc.

Good luck.