Underage Drinking/Posession Question

[mcsap]

I'm just another nobody, but I enjoy playing devil's advocate.

On one side we have a mislead youth and on the other the long, somewhat overbearing arm of the law.

c_how11, while I do not believe you had done anything wrong, I do believe you know of consequences. If your late for school, you get points.. Don't take out the trash, you get grounded..

Now, knowing consequences and our relationship to them, is life... Simply put.
In my own mislead youth I occasionally attended parties in which underage drinking occured... Normally I didn't drink but that's not the point.. When I attended these parties, I faced the possibility that Police may also make an appearance.. To which the most likely consequence would have been my arrest...

c_how11, You knew damn well that you and your friends are not allowed to drink and that you could be busted at any moment... Which ended up being the case... :( Don't cry over spilt milk, It happened, and now the consequence part I was discussing earlier now comes into play.

Now, for the members of Law Enforcement who I am likely to offend.. When it all boils down, the officer in question was just being a prick.

I'm sure worse things occured before during and after the concert, not limited to but including drugs (the smoked, the shot, and the really,really, bad kind), fights, and even worse rape. Any of which would have been a better allocation of Police attention... Should the kids have been drinking, NO! And their blatent disregard for the law got them busted, Hooray, strike one up for the good guys.

However, a less drastic and more reasonable solution would have been to scould them and take their alcohol. Making sure that none of the drinkers were the drivers. A fitting consequence? maybe not, but I'm sure the kids would have enjoyed their concert, well aware of the fact they were very, very lucky to be there. And a little wiser for the next time.

In short I'm asking everyone to see the gray area... The gray area where most people live.

Just because I hang out with the hell raising, demons of the street does not mean that I am one.. :D A book is more than its covers, as I am more than my appearance.. Let actions speak louder than any words.

-C-

If you were not there , how do you really know what happened ? You don't know the officer, and you do not know if the poster is being truthful.

You are either known for who you are or who you hang out with.

Your "solution" assumes innocence. Obviously you are not a LEO and would side with the " hell raising " types. WHile all are presumed innocent until found guilty sounds nice it means that all we do is arrest innocent people all of the time.

[Jynkxxie]

He is correct. Also who was the dummy that decided to go with his drunken frieds to a concert? BTW dude you got ripped cause Dave Matthews BLOWS. No offense to my friends in Canada but only Canadians like Dave Matthews, just like "Germans love David Hasselhoff.

Eh em...Don't talk about my future husband like that please... :p

[Zalaj]

Mcsap,

You are correct I was not there, nor do I know the police officer who conducted the arrests.

However, a very common misconception is that people are only as good as the company they keep... Wrong..

I have several friends in law enforcement, with whom I share a common backround... I am also trying to become a police officer ( sssshhhh Don't tell anyone). Most of the time we just joke about some of the very dangerous and stupid things we see people do... On occasion we do examine the dangers your job bears...

I have nothing but admiration for those in law enforcement, but being of color does give me a special eye with regard to police.

I ride, so of course I don't follow every single traffic law... I watch street racing a lot but never participate ( racing scares the hell outta me), sometimes I do get very stupid on my bike, and i'm sure at some point I will pay the price for that stupidity.. Some policemen in Columbus also ride, and I speak only the truth when I say that they are the craziest sons on two wheels..

For instance a few of my friends took a ride with three cops one night to get gas in deleware... An easy 30 to 45 min trip... They went there and back in 22 mins...

True, the drinker or nondrinker in question could be lying out his ***, I just choose to emphasize that in even the most complicated situations there is always a grey area...

Should people speed? No.
Should people drink and drive? No they should just call jail and make a reservation...
Should people on Motorcycles act with disregard for everyone else on the road? No but often we do...

I don't claim to be right or wrong, nor do I side with Law enforcement or the other guys( which commonly do hang out together ).

As I said before I was just posting my opinion... Playing devil's advocate. :cool:

Regards,
-C-

[tpd_six]

"Tell your parents to get a lawyer, and file a wrongful arrest suite. I am sure that will more than pay for the ticket you are out. I would want to know what the signs and symtoms of your intoxication were. Get a copy of the report! "
------

This would be great advise if you seriously want to inflame the situation and brand yourself to the judge as a resposibility-shifting trouble maker. You have ABSOLUTELY no grounds for a wrongful arrest suit, (unless of course you have video of the cops giving your friends the beer and then arresting you for it, but somehow I doubt that). From what I've gathered he was charged with simple possession, which in this type of situation means being even within reach of the alcohol. No one said he was intoxicated or had even been drinking, or he would have been charged with illegal consumption. The officers have better things to do than spend hours listening to "I dunno's" and "it's not mine's" to sort out whose beer is whose. Officers usually have discretion in the matter of who to arrest, and in this case I wouldn't be surprised if the attitudes of your "friends" played a role in getting everyone in trouble, even if you were cooperative. Like so many have said, it's all who you hang out with. Even if you had taken a breath test which showed zeros you would still be guilty of the possession, which is not difficult at all to prove. The best advise you will get was given my Metallic4, that would be my best suggestion. Take responsibility but be honest about your diminished role in the offense and the judge will likely be very lenient, and I have even seen juvenile courts here let kids off completely in similar situations, or just give some probation time, depending on their past records. When you're 18 your juvenile record doesn't matter much anyway, so take it as a learning experience and avoid similar situations in the future. Shift the blame to the officers or someone else as has been suggested and you will likely face a much stiffer penalty. Good luck-

[mcsap]

It is also a comon misconception among young people that the cops are out to get them. We are out to get those who break the law. More of often than not , the late teen early twenty crowd is in the thick of it. Driving stupid on your bike is exactly that, STUPID. Getting yourself killed or banged up can certainly have an effect on fuuture plans, esp LEO.

Maturity is a great thing, for many it comes too late.

[txinvestigator1]

Zalaj, if one hangs out with the wrong crowd, then one IS the wrong crowd. Very simple concept.