Tense Moment Between Officer, Citizens and Skateboarder (Video Included) (BoingBoing)

[Drew Wilson]

In the video [linked], which is making the viral rounds: a San Francisco police officer who IDs himself as "Officer Schwab, (badge number) 2099" arrests a skateboarder identified as Zach Stow, after Stow calls the officer a "fckng dck." Over at metblogs SF, Richard Ault says the officer's understanding of SF skateboarding codes is wrong. An article about the incident is here at the SF Chronicle. My two cents, as someone who is neither a lawyer, nor a skateboarder: taunting a police officer by calling him a "fckng dck" is about as dumb as it gets, but that does not give the officer the right to threaten to break the guy's arms, or arrest him for -- what was it, in the end, failing to carry identification? In any case: viva la video camera.

Source (http://www.boingboing.net/2009/10/01/san-francisco-police.html)

Clearly one of those cases where both parties are in the wrong.

[mountain_rage]

Skateboarding laws have always been one of the most biased enactments. They aren't even required for damage to private property since those would fall under vandalism laws. They're always pushed in by an older generation or people who are intimidated by them, or businesses who do nothing to try and alleviate the problem. In its most basic form, skateboarding is a mode of transport no different than rollerblading. It's no wonder skateboarders hate the establishment. BTW I don't skateboard, I just know how ridiculous some of these laws are, give people some freedom to have fun in life.