Icy response to childs snowball

[Oldbillplod]

Here is some good advice: if you are 13, live in Kent and like throwing snowballs, make sure there is not a police car in the way.

Amy Hodges, from Ashford, may not have known this when she accidentally broke the rear window of a Kent constabulary vehicle with her snowy missile. She has paid the penalty.

She spent four hours in a cell, had her fingerprints taken, was obliged to give a DNA sample, and was given a formal reprimand when officers decided not to proceed with a charge of criminal damage.

Her mother, Theresa, who was in the cell with her, is furious."So my daughter now has a criminal record for throwing a snowball. What is the world coming to?

"She's not a bad girl at all and certainly didn't mean to break the window - she hadn't been aiming at it, just fooling around with friends.

"The officer involved should have established who she was and then contacted us. We would have paid for the damage and punished her ourselves. All this fuss for a snowball? It defies belief. Have they nothing better to do?"

But the Kent police spokesman was unrepentant. "A 13-year-old girl was arrested after a snowball was thrown at a moving car, smashing the rear window," he said.

"We consider this to be a dangerous action which could have had very serious consequences. We chose to reprimand the girl at the police station rather than charging her with criminal damage.

"We felt this was an appropriate way to deal with this incident."

He then put in the metaphorical size 12 police boot. "This might be a nice girl from a fine upstanding family but she broke the law and committed criminal damage. The law is for everyone and we are there to uphold it."

[fetom]

"This might be a nice girl from a fine upstanding family but she broke the law and committed criminal damage. The law is for everyone and we are there to uphold it."

[michiganstud]

The law is for everyone and we are there to uphold it."

I like this part!!!

[Star]

Well, sounds like the lesson was learned and the kid sure won't do that again! I have to side with the Officer. She broke the law...and the window.

[Strijder]

How in the world do you break a rear window of a moving car with a snowball? That must have had one heck of a chunk of ice in it! ;)

[wacodep]

Hence, the difference between enforcing the LETTER of the law versus the SPIRIT of the law, eh?

[Valor55]

It's not about throwing a snowball, it is about destroying property. That's what you get for busting a window out on a car. I think appropriate discretion was used on a 13 year old when formal charges were declined.

Reminds me of a childhood friend on mischief night (Oct 30) who was toilet papering the neighborhood and egging houses. Some older teenagers showed up in a car, chased them down and pushed them around before leaving. A little while later my friend sees the headlights on the car coming back and hurls an egg, dead center splat in the windshield. Red and blues come on. Not the teens, but a cop. They got dragged by the ear lobes back home.

[wacodep]

It's not about throwing a snowball, it is about destroying property.

No argument here. AFAIC, if you do the crime, you need to do the time.

[BlakeStone]

I have to disagree with this one. If I were the officer, I would have stopped the cruiser, picked up a clump of snow, packed it, and pitched a fastball right back at the kid. THAT would be good lesson.

[Coastie 585]

I woulda shot her.

[mxwelch]

I have to disagree with this one. If I were the officer, I would have stopped the cruiser, picked up a clump of snow, packed it, and pitched a fastball right back at the kid. THAT would be good lesson.

Really... Within two months you would've been in court as a defendant in some stupid lawsuit that the mother obviously would initiate. Worse yet you would turned the whole thing into a joke as far as the kid was concerned and the next time she threw one it could've caused an accident and maybe somebody's death.

[mxwelch]

It's pretty obvious from Mom's statements that nothing would have happened to that child at home had the officer just trusted the mother to discipline her. The mother doesn't think she did anything bad at all. More power to the police for making the point and hopefully teaching the kid a lesson that should have been taught at home beforehand.

AMEN!!!

[ChesCopPodz]

Here throwing or otherwise projecting anything at a moving vehicle is a felony. I think they handled it great. Scared the heck out of the girl but without putting charges on her.

[fatboyjim154]

s1 Criminal Damage Act 1971

Destroying or damaging property

(1) A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property, whether belonging to himself or another—

(a) intending to destroy or damage any property or being reckless as to whether any property would be destroyed or damaged; and


(b) intending by the destruction or damage to endanger the life of another or being reckless as to whether the life of another would be thereby endangered;


shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) An offence committed under this section by destroying or damaging property by fire shall be charged as arson.

Sub-section 2(a) says it all really.

Just don't throw **** near someone esle's property.

[mcsap]

Propulsion Of Missiles into an occupied vehicle or onto roadway. PA Crimes Code 2707

Misd 1 or Misd 2 depending on the circumstances of throwing stuff at cars or even onto a road.