Yesterday, the Boston Herald had a story that I almost covered, but eventually skipped it. It was about a kid going berserk on a school bus, attacking people with a broomstick and beating them until repeated 911 calls summoned the police. The kid , who attends a school for students with behavioral, emotional and leaning needs, was taken into juvenile custody.
It turns out that there was a bit more to the story. This morning, the Boston Herald has a followup: the kid's grandmother is outraged -- outraged -- that the 170-pound kid who beat two adults with a broom handle spent the night in juvenile hall. After all, she says, is that any way to treat a 10-year-old in the fourth grade?
It's a tough call. The cops, apparently, looked at the kid, figured at his size he had to be a teenager, and treated him accordingly. The kid apparently didn't gainsay them, nor did anyone on the scene. It wasn't until later that his true age came out.
While I'm not exactly sanguine about ten-year-olds spending the night in lockup, I think I can make an exception for this delightful collection of snips and snails and puppydog tails. He was arrested two years ago for a similar incident, and his grandmother (no mention of his parents, I note) strikes me as far too eager to excuse and rationalize his assaults, rather than actually dealing with him before he seriously hurts someone.
I dunno what ought to be done with him. But I feel comfortable that the approach his grandmother has been using isn't working, and will eventually end up with someone getting hurt -- or killed.
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Mass. Insanity
Tags: insanity, mass.
Comments (12)
It's Massachusetts -- the s... (Below threshold)1. Posted by George | September 15, 2005 8:12 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
It's Massachusetts -- the state of compassion (and
John Kerry and Ted Kennedy).
1. Posted by George | September 15, 2005 8:12 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 15, 2005 08:12
2. Posted by Mike | September 15, 2005 8:56 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
What does the grandmother think should happen to him? There is no outrage here, if anything, the outrage should be directed at the grandmother's grandstanding. It's not like the kid was with the general population, he was in a juvenille detention center. The kid can get help after his one night at there.
2. Posted by Mike | September 15, 2005 8:56 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 15, 2005 08:56
3. Posted by Rick DeMent | September 15, 2005 9:07 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
170 #'s in the 4th grade? God, what are they putting in the coco puffs these days?
3. Posted by Rick DeMent | September 15, 2005 9:07 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 15, 2005 09:07
4. Posted by DaveD | September 15, 2005 9:11 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Hmmmmm, 10 years old and 170 lbs. I wonder how much of a handful this kid is with his own grandmother. Of course, I guess if he was being taunted severely by other kids, he kind of used himself to his own advantage.
4. Posted by DaveD | September 15, 2005 9:11 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 15, 2005 09:11
5. Posted by Bluewing | September 15, 2005 10:00 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The problem, it appears to me, is in what the term "juvenile" has become as it relates to law enforcement.
5. Posted by Bluewing | September 15, 2005 10:00 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 15, 2005 10:00
6. Posted by LargeBill | September 15, 2005 10:07 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Wow, 170 lbs! I put a 4th grader on a bus a couple hours ago and he only weighs around 60 pounds. I don't want to be the local police when he is full grown. I have little doubt with his family situation (no dad to straighten him out) that he will be a frequent customer of law enforcement.
6. Posted by LargeBill | September 15, 2005 10:07 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 15, 2005 10:07
7. Posted by McGehee | September 15, 2005 11:45 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
God, what are they putting in the coco puffs these days?
Damn good question. Lord have mercy.
Anybody know if Jose Canseco has been seen in that kid's neighborhood?
7. Posted by McGehee | September 15, 2005 11:45 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 15, 2005 11:45
8. Posted by opine6 | September 15, 2005 1:01 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
They'll find the grandmother dead one day, and he'll be at school and shooting up the place.
8. Posted by opine6 | September 15, 2005 1:01 PM |
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Posted on September 15, 2005 13:01
9. Posted by Alex | September 15, 2005 1:05 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Shoot, I don't think I hit 170 until I was in college...
9. Posted by Alex | September 15, 2005 1:05 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 15, 2005 13:05
10. Posted by Banned4Logic | September 15, 2005 1:45 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
In all seriousness, this is a tough situation. We have no idea of the kids mental capacity or state of emotional damage. The grandmother might even be abusing him at home. I don't want to sound like a bleeding heart, because I DO believe that the kid needs to know the ramifications of such actions, and hopefully, though maybe a little harsh for a 10 year old, he learned a lesson here. Sometimes the tougher the punishment the better the outcome. I have a handicapped sister who is prone to fits of rage when she reaches her emotional limit, and I know that I could never discipline her as an adult because she would not understand that type of punishment. Bottom line, maybe the kids belongs in a more structured environment away from "normal" kids. If CPS were doing their job they might make sure that the kid is emotionally and mentalliy all there after this incident.
10. Posted by Banned4Logic | September 15, 2005 1:45 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 15, 2005 13:45
11. Posted by Oh, FTLOG | September 15, 2005 2:38 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
170 pounds at 10 years old? And he did something similar 2 years ago...at age 8?! Can you say "sociopath"?
I don't think it'd be a stretch to ask how he treats animals and if he wets the bed.
11. Posted by Oh, FTLOG | September 15, 2005 2:38 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 15, 2005 14:38
12. Posted by Bob Davis | September 15, 2005 4:19 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I have to say it would scare me to have an out-of-control 10 year-old 170 pounder on my bus. Oh, the humanity. Lockup isn't right, but it's a reasonable mistake in this case - who knew they grew them so big in the blue states? Maybe evolution runs at different rates in different states.
a modest experiment
12. Posted by Bob Davis | September 15, 2005 4:19 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 15, 2005 16:19