12 year old NY girl, handcuffed & taken to police station for doodling on desk

[Liberal_in_LA]

Girl, 12, arrested in New York for doodling on school desk

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City junior high student has been arrested for doodling on her desk with a marker.

Twelve-year-old Alexa Gonzalez scribbled "Lex was here 2/1/10" on her desk Monday at Junior High School 190 in Queens. She also wrote "I love my friends Abby and Faith." The girl says the doodles could have been erased.

Moraima Tamacho says her daughter was released several hours after she was taken in handcuffs to a police station.

Education department spokesman David Cantor said the incident shouldn't have happened, and that common sense should prevail.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-02-05-girl-arrested-doodling_N.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno

[midnight]

1. The strategy is clearly to shift the need for law enforcement to patrol the

school halls... Time to furlough that school officials job...

[BarbaRosa]

2. "that common sense should prevail"

OK, anytime now. The change would be welcome.

[Jefferson23]

3. Another case proving zero tolerance is about zero thinking.

Just what we want to teach our children.

Fucking idiots.

[Fumesucker]

5. Citizens who think are dangerous to the powers that be..

Which is why those powers go to such lengths to discourage thought on the part of citizens.

[Jefferson23]

7. There is the authoritarian root here, yes. But I do believe zero

tolerance has taken hold in large part to shield public schools from liability. Pathetic excuse imo.

[zonkers]

4. Ha! Bet she won't do this again. Yeah overkill but I do hate when kids destroy and deface for no

reason at all.

[The Straight Story]

6. Homeschooling and charter schools will keep growing as schools get more idiotic (nt)

[Hannah Bell]

16. as if homeschool & charters don't have equally idiotic aspects.

[blueamy66]

8. Thank God they got that criminal off of the streets.

I can rest easy now.

[Jackpine Radical]

10. Aw, she's probly already back on the streets defacing things by now.

We need some laws with real TEETH in them. She needs to skip reform school and go straight to PRISON for something like that.

[blueamy66]

14. No doubt.

That will teach her.

Think we may have to parole someone else to make room though....

[tuckessee]

9. Now we see why many people home school.

What kind of sick environment would allow this?

I can see Barney Fife doing this but would've expected better from thinking people in the real world.

[lefty2000]

11. Not Much Info

The link leads to an account which provides no additional information. One would like to have more background before making a judgment on this incident.

[Orsino]

13. "Mistakes were made."

Whatever happened between the doodling and the assignment of community service hours must remain a mystery until the lawsuit.

[Orsino]

12. Doodling on desks can lead to passing notes in study hall. n/t

[michreject]

15. It's a good thing she didn't draw a picture of a gun

She would have been chained to a wall, upside down, facing in and whipped.