THE ZERO TOLERANCE MENTALITY, PART 4,260 IN A LONG SERIES: Adam
Hernandez, 15, a freshman at Shorewood (Wisc.) High School, was
arrested, handcuffed, and booked on a charge of theft after a friend
let him have his lunch. The friend was part of a free lunch program,
and Hernandez wasn't, so eating the $2.60 chicken nugget meal was
"stealing," school officials said, and they called police. But Police
Chief David Banaszynski finally decided to drop the charges just before
the boy went to trial; the school principal agreed with the decision.
"It shouldn't have gone this far," Banaszynski said. "There are other
means and methods to handle this kind of situation." When asked whether
his officers should have made the arrest in the first place,
Banaszynski said the arrest was perhaps "a bit over the top," but
"there's more than one side of the story." (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
...Right: there's the ridiculous side, and then there's the outrageous
side. |
