Texas kid arrested for bringing an invented clock to school.

[Memento]

It was mistaken for a bomb, and, well...Dallas police interrogated a fourteen-year-old kid who invented his own clock and wanted to show his teacher for five hours, and wouldn't even let him call his parents.

Here's the video:

 

[Mister Sin]

I thought it was illegal to speak to a child without the parents being present and giving consent.

 

[Memento]

I thought it was illegal to speak to a child without the parents being present and giving consent.

I think @jrry32 or someone else who's going into law could have the answer, but I believe it is.

 

[Mister Sin]

Perhaps it's a state by state law.

 

[Stranger]

Obviously the Dallas Police or the Dallas School System do not understand the limits to their Constitutional powers granted to them by the people. Has the government released a statement explaining their behavior?

 

[bluecoconuts]

I think @jrry32 or someone else who's going into law could have the answer, but I believe it is.

It is, a child cannot waive their rights, and they also typically need to have a special council for children under 18 as well.

The teacher and principal should be fired, as well as the officer who said "I figured it was him" when he saw the kid, and possibly others as well.

Good on NASA, Zuckerberg and the president on inviting him to visit him to make sure he maintains his interest in science/engineering instead of being afraid to continue due to racial profiling. I saw the picture, and it was very obvious that it wasn't a bomb, it looked like an ordinary homemade clock, everyone who thought so is an idiot.

 

[Greg Stone]

I'm glad the kid will have some good experiences to partially counter the trauma of unfair, unlawful actions against him by various adult idiots. Hope he sues and collects his college tuition.

 

[ChrisW]

I hope to see this kid on a Ted Talk in about 15 years joking about how he was arrested in middle school for making his own clock.

 

[HometownBoy]

Idiotic jumping the gun on the school's part. Sorry that that had to happen to 14 year old, that's got to be scary.

But hey it's not all bad, that school's going to be paying his and his children's tuition so it's not a bad trade off.

 

[fearsomefour]

Obviously the Dallas Police or the Dallas School System do not understand the limits to their Constitutional powers granted to them by the people. Has the government released a statement explaining their behavior?

Like that even matters at this point.
The Constitution is a fuzzy wuzzy memory.

 

[fearsomefour]

This is the result of horrible, ill conceived, ignorant zero tolerance laws.
Post Columbine (something close to my heart) there was window to make changes to school culture. Unfortunately school districts almost uniformly went with the easiest, lamest option. Zero tolerance. This was pushed, usually by district lawyers, as the best way to protect the school district, county, state ect. Anti bullying non sense falls right in line with this. There are pages of rules with lists of punishments with out someone really being able to define what it is.
We are living in age free from the constraints of common sense and a sense of humor.
There is the spirit of the law and the letter of the law. What we have in many school administrators are cowards who are so paralyzed by fear....fear of offending anyone, of saying or doing something the thought police may take offense to....it leave only the letter of the law.
Worst of all, when teachers or administrators are this profoundly stupid and devoid of vision, act this way it can have real affects. Instead of taking a moment and figuring out what was going on, like the hysterical ninnies they are, they over react. Instead of taking an obviously bright kid and saying, "hey, if you want to bring something to school, this is the process, but, this is great work and we support your education." They instead send a message that you cannot be trusted, that you will be punished even if you did nothing wrong (just like suspending both kids in a fight no matter what the cause was)....the message zero tolerance sends to kids is, you are bad, you cannot be trusted and school sucks.
Way to go educators....way to walk America closer to the edge.
Idiots.

 

[RAMSinLA]

Things sure have changed in the last 40 years. In 6th grade on the last day of school we held a classroom show and tell. I brought my new Remington rifle to show. My teacher couldn't put it down he actually wanted to know where I bought it so he could get one for his son.
No Fear....Fear will destroy our nation.

 

[Mackeyser]

Love how the Chief of Police wants to consider the matter closed.

Um...no. You interrogated a minor without counsel or guardians present. That means the Irving Police Department violated the law, not this kid.

And that means that there is likely litigation on the horizon.

So...sorry Chief. You coulda done it right, educated the school on the law and told the kid to go back to class with a "oh, and nice clock" and called it a day, but....ya didn't. Worse, your officers profiled him.

It's not over. We'll all be reading about your testimony in court about a year from now... idiot.

 

[Mojo Ram]

No Fear....Fear will destroy our nation.

 

[Rynie]

I thought it was illegal to speak to a child without the parents being present and giving consent.

It is. I live in Irving, and the cops here are the worse. His right was definitely violated.

 

[Athos]

All I needed was to see it was Texas, the land where history should be edited to take out all the ugliness of our nation, among other assbackwards political and educational policies they wanna shake up.

Hope the school and PD gets the shit sued out of it and he has an awesome trip to NASA.

 

[Rynie]

All I needed was to see it was Texas, the land where history should be edited to take out all the ugliness of our nation, among other assbackwards political and educational policies they wanna shake up.

Hope the school and PD gets the crap sued out of it and he has an awesome trip to NASA.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Things sure have changed in the last 40 years. In 6th grade on the last day of school we held a classroom show and tell. I brought my new Remington rifle to show. My teacher couldn't put it down he actually wanted to know where I bought it so he could get one for his son.
No Fear....Fear will destroy our nation.

Damn right they have! That is a great story.

The problem with ceding rights for the hope of security is that criminals by definition don't obey the law. Only the law abiding citizens with ever diminishing liberties pay an ever increasing price. Self-imposed tyrany.

 

[Athos]

Even though it doesn't really refer exactly to what's it's quoted as, Franklin still had it right.

Those who would give up an essential liberty to purchase temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security.

 

[Ramhusker]

Even though it doesn't really refer exactly to what's it's quoted as, Franklin still had it right.

Those who would give up an essential liberty to purchase temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security.

Too late. Half our country wants safety first. Slippery slope we stand on now.