Originally Posted by
theddo
Funny story. How is that relevant to the interaction between the Memphis police department and a disabled girl?
Let me say that again: MEMPHIS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
I really don't understand your point of view.
The TSA found a girl who refused secondary screening. She was right by her mom, who was the primary care giver. The cops were called and the TSA stepped down.
At some point the girl and her parents need to understand her disability isn't a get out of jail free card. I would've been very uncomfortable being on the same flight as a girl without the mental capacity to understand the screening process and way of dealing with authority was to assault an armed police officer.
Listen to that. She thought her best way forward was to assault an armed officer of the peace.
If that concept is to difficult I think her mom should drive her instead, because she is dangerous to the rest of the passengers. Why wouldn't she assault the FAs next time because she needs to use the restroom while the plane is in turbulence and being asked to sit back down?
Her mom seem to be the out of her depth, so she doesn't really appear to have any control of the situation.
I'm not sure I completely agree with you.
The girl certainly did resist the cop's attempt to grab her arm and push her somewhere by flinching away and flailing her arms, but it doesn't appear to me that she actually assaulted the cop. I didn't see her throw any obvious punches or slaps. She seemed more like she was continuously jerking her arms to get them out of the cop's grip, while backing away from him.
But even if she did slap at the cop, extrapolating that she might assault an FA next time they told her to take a seat is pure hyperbole. Whatever she did with the cop was in direct response to the cop laying his hands on her. The legality of the cop laying hands on her is somewhat ambiguous without full dialogue of the incident - if she was refusing a lawful order, the cop may have been completely correct in grabbing her - but if an FA grabbed her, that would be assault, and she'd be justified in defending herself against such an assault.
I agree with you that her disability isn't a free pass, but diminished capacity does giver her diminished responsibility for her own actions.