NationStates Jolt Archive

I still can't believe that anyone thinks that getting hit with water balloons justifies slinging a two pound jagged edged rock with intent to injure someone. Water balloons get you wet. It's annoying but it doesn't give you the right to do serious bodily injury. A two pound rock could very easily kill someone.

Has there been anymore news recently that stated what kind of rock was chucked and its weight and shape? Cause I don't recall reading anything about it being a two pound jagged rock.

Has there been anymore news recently that stated what kind of rock was chucked and its weight and shape? Cause I don't recall reading anything about it being a two pound jagged rock.
There was a story linked on the last page, or maybe the page before that.

What the hell kind of wimpy kids call the cops because someone threw a rock at them?

I used to get rocks, snowballs, mud et c thrown at me when I was in school and I stopped telling the teacher after a while.

Furthermore, if spitting on someone is assault, I'm sure throwing water balloons outside of a water balloon fight is too, it was obviously self defense on her part and the boys should be charged with assault since they made this a police matter when it should really just be a matter between parents and their children.
Actually, someone called an ambulance and said someone threw a big rock and put a one inch gash in someone's head. Since that is an aggravated assault, the poiice showed up.

She made it a police matter when she decided to do serious injury. Otherwise it would have been a matter between the kids and their families.

Throwing water balloons is simple assault. However, it's not something that typically requires an arrest outside of circumstances in which it has a serious possibility of bodily harm (e.g. throwing them at moving cars, etc). If she had called the police rather than throwing a rock then they likely would have showed up and a told the kids to knock it off and given them a warning that worse things would happen if they didn't leave the girl alone.

Actually, someone called an ambulance and said someone threw a big rock and put a one inch gash in someone's head. Since that is an aggravated assault, the poiice showed up.

She made it a police matter when she decided to do serious injury. Otherwise it would have been a matter between the kids and their families.

Throwing water balloons is simple assault. However, it's not something that typically requires an arrest outside of circumstances in which it has a serious possibility of bodily harm (e.g. throwing them at moving cars, etc). If she had called the police rather than throwing a rock then they likely would have showed up and a told the kids to knock it off and given them a warning that worse things would happen if they didn't leave the girl alone.

Maybe she cops this kind of thing all the time and finally she kind of snapped one day. According to news article, she spoke no or little English so it would have been difficult to communicate clearly to the police in the first place.

Maybe she cops this kind of thing all the time and finally she kind of snapped one day. According to news article, she spoke no or little English so it would have been difficult to communicate clearly to the police in the first place.
Frustration is not a justification for a crime. And police dispatchers in a largely hispanic area are generally required to know Spanish.

I'm not saying that what the girl did was not understandable. I'm just saying it was illegal and we can't let sympathy for the perpetrator or disdain for the victime blind us to the fact that a crime has been committed.

Actually, someone called an ambulance and said someone threw a big rock and put a one inch gash in someone's head. Since that is an aggravated assault, the poiice showed up.

She made it a police matter when she decided to do serious injury. Otherwise it would have been a matter between the kids and their families.

Throwing water balloons is simple assault. However, it's not something that typically requires an arrest outside of circumstances in which it has a serious possibility of bodily harm (e.g. throwing them at moving cars, etc). If she had called the police rather than throwing a rock then they likely would have showed up and a told the kids to knock it off and given them a warning that worse things would happen if they didn't leave the girl alone.
You expect the police to step in on a pre teen water balloon fight? Seriously like the cops have nothing better to do then that?

Actually, someone called an ambulance and said someone threw a big rock and put a one inch gash in someone's head. Since that is an aggravated assault, the poiice showed up.

She made it a police matter when she decided to do serious injury. Otherwise it would have been a matter between the kids and their families.

Throwing water balloons is simple assault. However, it's not something that typically requires an arrest outside of circumstances in which it has a serious possibility of bodily harm (e.g. throwing them at moving cars, etc). If she had called the police rather than throwing a rock then they likely would have showed up and a told the kids to knock it off and given them a warning that worse things would happen if they didn't leave the girl alone.
What kind of wimpy kid gets an ambulance called for a one inch cut?

Want to know how many injuries more severe than that I've had as a kid? Want to know how many were inflicted on me by my sisters? Want to know how many emergency room visits I had? It's part of growing up. My bf and his brother used to bareknuckle box and knocked each other out on a number of occasions and didn't go to the emergency room or even tell their parents about it. Hell, they used to fire hockey pucks at each other for practise being in goal.

What the hell is wrong with people where kids can't even be kids anymore? Geez, it's shit like this that's causing more allergies and an inability for people to work things out reasonably as adults. If you coddle the kids their whole lives, they turn out to be pussies who don't know how to deal with things on their own and who end up overcrowding emergency rooms for stupid things like little cuts on the forehead.

Maybe she cops this kind of thing all the time and finally she kind of snapped one day. According to news article, she spoke no or little English so it would have been difficult to communicate clearly to the police in the first place.
Actually, from what I picked up she spoke english fine, it was her mother who didn't speak english well.

You expect the police to step in on a pre teen water balloon fight? Seriously like the cops have nothing better to do then that?
Well, a lot of people seem to think these kids should have been arrested and taken to jail. To be honest, I think that if the kids were regularly ambushing this girl as people have been speculating then the cops could show up and give them a warning. I know we have the impression that cops are constantly rushing from murder to murder but a lot of a patrol officer's day involves driving around and occasionally solving petty disputes. Obviously you have to realize the potential for escalation of violence if for whatever reason this can't be handled in an amicable fashion by the two sets of parents.

Frustration is not a justification for a crime. And police dispatchers in a largely hispanic area are generally required to know Spanish.

I'm not saying that what the girl did was not understandable. I'm just saying it was illegal and we can't let sympathy for the perpetrator or disdain for the victime blind us to the fact that a crime has been committed.
The kids assaulted her with water balloons. She returned fire with what was probably the nearest available object and all of a sudden, she's this monster?

What the hell is wrong with you?

What kind of wimpy kid gets an ambulance called for a one inch cut?

Want to know how many injuries more severe than that I've had as a kid? Want to know how many were inflicted on me by my sisters? Want to know how many emergency room visits I had? It's part of growing up. My bf and his brother used to bareknuckle box and knocked each other out on a number of occasions and didn't go to the emergency room or even tell their parents about it. Hell, they used to fire hockey pucks at each other for practise being in goal.

What the hell is wrong with people where kids can't even be kids anymore? Geez, it's shit like this that's causing more allergies and an inability for people to work things out reasonably as adults. If you coddle the kids their whole lives, they turn out to be pussies who don't know how to deal with things on their own and who end up overcrowding emergency rooms for stupid things like little cuts on the forehead.

A "one inch gash" is not the same as a cut. We are talking about an open wound requiring stitches. So yeah, you go to the hospital for that.

The kids assaulted her with water balloons. She returned fire with what was probably the nearest available object and all of a sudden, she's this monster?

What the hell is wrong with you?
I didn't say she was a monster. I said she committed a crime. Put a kid in the hospital because she got wet. Hit him with a weapon that could have easily killed him. What is wrong with you?

Well, a lot of people seem to think these kids should have been arrested and taken to jail. To be honest, I think that if the kids were regularly ambushing this girl as people have been speculating then the cops could show up and give them a warning. I know we have the impression that cops are constantly rushing from murder to murder but a lot of a patrol officer's day involves driving around and occasionally solving petty disputes. Obviously you have to realize the potential for escalation of violence if for whatever reason this can't be handled in an amicable fashion by the two sets of parents.
Personally I think they did just fine on their own if the cops did not get involved … they were being KIDS they threw some balloons she got pissed and retaliated I don’t see anything over the top here

Kids should not and can not be held to the same social levels as adults sometimes they act rash … they should be taught not to do that but calling in the cops and arresting her was over the top

She should have been sent home with a stern warning nothing more

Frustration is not a justification for a crime. And police dispatchers in a largely hispanic area are generally required to know Spanish.

I'm not saying that what the girl did was not understandable. I'm just saying it was illegal and we can't let sympathy for the perpetrator or disdain for the victime blind us to the fact that a crime has been committed.

As a child I had a horrible temper and short one as such, but I grown out it now. If I was 11 in the same situation, I would have done the same (for worse or for better). She shouldn't have done it, but like me she might have one of those introverted personalities who sometimes overreact when provoked.

I didn't say she was a monster. I said she committed a crime. Put a kid in the hospital because she got wet. Hit him with a weapon that could have easily killed him. What is wrong with you?
The kid who got put in the hospital initiated the assault.

And really, he shouldn't have gone to the hospital to begin with, he should have gone home, had his mom put some bactine and a bandaid on the cut and learned his damn lesson instead of being rushed to the emergency room for being an idiot and getting what he had coming.

A "one inch gash" is not the same as a cut. We are talking about an open wound requiring stitches. So yeah, you go to the hospital for that.
You don't have to go to the hospital and you generally don't actually need stitches for those sorts of things anyways. Gash or not, a bandaid and disinfectant will take care of it after a while anyways. I mean, you only go to a doctor for cuts if they bleed for a couple days, you don't go because "omg, I got hit with a rock and got a tiny cut, I need stitches" really, unless bone was showing or some shit.

The kid who got put in the hospital initiated the assault.

And really, he shouldn't have gone to the hospital to begin with, he should have gone home, had his mom put some bactine and a bandaid on the cut and learned his damn lesson instead of being rushed to the emergency room for being an idiot and getting what he had coming.
Really? That's your medical opinion? Because I was under the impression that you hadn't seen it and that the police and EMT's who made this decision had. But hey, you know best.

He threw a water balloon. Jesus christ. How can you not see the difference between that and a 2 pound jagged rock that put a one inch gash into him. If the kid had been killed (which could have very easily happened) would you say that he "got what he deserved" for getting a girl wet?

Let's review: getting someone wet= obnoxious; purposefully doing bodily harm= a serious offence.

You have to see this from an adult perspective (that of the police) not as a reaction against all the bullies that made you cry when you were a kid.

Also, I've been saying "one inch" gash but now I don't know where I got that. The article says the following.

"Police defended their actions, describing the stone as a "jagged-edged, two-pound river rock" that left Elijah Vang with such a deep gash he needed to have stitches."

You have to see this from an adult perspective (that of the police) not as a reaction against all the bullies that made you cry when you were a kid.
But that’s the whole reason that juveniles ARE NOT held to the same legal standard as adults she WAS reacting just as you say
We can NOT expect her to act as an adult

If it was adults in this situation I would be all for the arrest but she is NOT an adult and cant be expected to behave like one

But that’s the whole reason that juveniles ARE NOT held to the same legal standard as adults she WAS reacting just as you say
We can NOT expect her to act as an adult

If it was adults in this situation I would be all for the arrest but she is NOT an adult and cant be expected to behave like one

Well, you are entitled to your opinion, but I think that this is unacceptable behavior at any age. She wasn't charged as an adult and wasn't punished as an adult. But juvenile crime is still crime and the girl knew what she was doing.

Really? That's your medical opinion? Because I was under the impression that you hadn't seen it and that the police and EMT's who made this decision had. But hey, you know best.

He threw a water balloon. Jesus christ. How can you not see the difference between that and a 2 pound jagged rock that put a one inch gash into him. If the kid had been killed (which could have very easily happened) would you say that he "got what he deserved" for getting a girl wet?

Let's review: getting someone wet= obnoxious; purposefully doing bodily harm= a serious offence.

You have to see this from an adult perspective (that of the police) not as a reaction against all the bullies that made you cry when you were a kid.
He deliberately and premetitatively went after her and her brother with a barrage of water balloons and his friends. She grabbed the nearest thing she could find that would get him to stop. He got hurt, and he earned it.

Well, you are entitled to your opinion, but I think that this is unacceptable behavior at any age. She wasn't charged as an adult and wasn't punished as an adult. But juvenile crime is still crime and the girl knew what she was doing.
The girl was responding to the heckling by grabbing whatever came in reach I perfectly childlike natural reaction

US police pursue girl over stone (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4689459.stm)

An 11-year-old girl who threw a stone at a group of boys pelting her with water balloons is being prosecuted on serious assault charges in California.
Maribel Cuevas was arrested in April in a police operation which involved three police cars and a helicopter.

She has since spent five days in detention, in which she was granted one 30 minute visit by her parents, and has spent a month under house arrest.

Her lawyer accuses the authorities of criminalising childhood behaviour.

"They're treating her like a violent parole offender," Richard Beshwate said. "It's not a felony, it's an 11-year-old acting like an 11-year-old."

The girl is due back in court at the beginning of next month.

Police say they had to investigate as the boy who was hit by the stone she threw suffered a deep gash to his head and needed hospital treatment.

He has reportedly acknowledged to officers that he started the fight in late April.

'Obligation'

The confrontation happened in a poor district of Fresno, in central California, where Maribel Cuevas lives with her Spanish-speaking family.

The girl, who speaks little English, has admitted throwing a stone at a group of boys she says were pestering her with water balloons as she walked down the street.

An ambulance was called, but arrived flanked by three police patrol vehicles. A helicopter meanwhile hovered overhead.

The 11-year-old was then read her rights twice in English before being detained.

"We responded. We determined a felony assault had taken place and the officers took the actions that were necessary," said Fresno Police Sergeant Anthony Martinez.

Another police officer told ABC News that the girl, when asked what she thought would happen if she threw the stone, replied that it would make him "bleed".


Un-freaking-believable. :mad:


How like the media to leave out some important facts like the rock she threw weighed TWO POUNDS which could have killed the boy if it hit him right. If the rock would have hit the boy any lower he would have lost his eye.

He deliberately and premetitatively went after her and her brother with a barrage of water balloons and his friends. She grabbed the nearest thing she could find that would get him to stop. He got hurt, and he earned it.
He threw water balloons AND his friends? That kid is hardcore.

She escalated the violence. I'm not sure what impression you have, but if you escalate from a mean but harmless prank to violence, you are guilty of a crime. That goes for anybody. You are judging this on emotion and sympathy instead of the law. I repeat myself, she did serious injury (despite your protestations to the contrary, nobody who actually KNOWS has so far disputed that the kid needed stitches) in retaliation for getting wet. If the "closest thing nearby" had been a knife, would it be ok for her to have stabbed him?

How like the media to leave out some important facts like the rock she threw weighed TWO POUNDS which could have killed the boy if it hit him right. If the rock would have hit the boy any lower he would have lost his eye.
And she could have slipped on a surface made wet on the water and brained herself

And she could have slipped on a surface made wet on the water and brained herself

Maybe but she didn't now did she? She however DID injure that boy. That cut looked nasty in the pictures. She is just damn lucky that the boys parents decided not to press charges.

Note: I am not trying to get into an argument with anyone. What the girl did was wrong period. She didn't have to pick up that rock. All the had to do was run home and go inside the house. End of story.

completely over the top, true. please don't judge the entire U.S. by stupid incidents like this. we're not all stupid over here.

Nope. Just california. California is very very idiotic.

It paint's a different picture when you see the one she threw.
you have seen the stone?

Wars World']Alright, after wading through this topic, here's my view point.

The boys that were pelting her and her brother were assaulting her. Why? Who knows. Maybe they're racist, maybe they don't like her because of some stupid reason, maybe because they're just plain jackasses. Those water balloons can hurt at the right speed and angle, so they CAN be used as dangerous weapons. Not life-threatening, but quite dangerous.

So, the girl has the right to defend herself. She does so. What's she going to use? Fight water with water? No. Those water balloons will explode on impact, rendering them useless. There's nothing available but a rock. Now remember, this is an eleven year old. She's being attacked, and is undoubtedly angry and embarrassed. Humans do not react well to being attacked, child, teen, or adult. So what's the first thing that comes to her mind? Simple, a natural instinct called "revenge". So she throws the rock. She gets lucky and makes the boy bleed.

Cops show up. Now, I do not protest the forces involved(except the helicopter...). It was a dangerous area, and the police will NOT take chances. However, I DO protest her being treated like a criminal. She used self-defense. There was nothing available for defense but a rock. Therefore, she used the rock.

Again. She's an eleven year old. More importantly, she's human. Humans resort to violence when attacked, their minds cloud with rage, and they revert to their natural instinct; do whatever it takes to survive and stop the attack.

Now, do I think she should escape punishment? Hell no. She needs to be taught that she did not need to do that, and that she could've killed the boy. However, the boys ALSO deserve to be punished, because they assaulted her with clearly malicious intent, and provoked her into retaliating. Both parties involved should be given the same punishment; the girl because she retaliated with a life threatening weapon, but also the boys for provoking her and assaulting her for "fun" or whatever crap excuse they come up with.

Summary: The girl did what she needed to do. Defend herself with whatever she had. The boy deserved it and should be punished like her. The police should be commended for responding quickly and efficiently, taking no chances(though the helicopter was overkill...) in such a dangerous area, but that they should not treat her like a murderer.
Exellent.
You should be appointed Judge.

... he would have lost his eye.Water balloons can be very dangerous...

I hope the stupid boys learned their lesson.

If they didnt ....she should use a bigger stone next time they assault her.

.. a mean but harmless prank ...assault is..assault is assault...

no matter how you twist the words...Its still assault.

assault is..assault is assault...

no matter how you twist the words...Its still assault.
unless it's aggravated assault, like, say, hitting someone in the face with a big rock.

unless it's aggravated assault, like, say, hitting someone in the face with a big rock.
In self defense, it is not some sort of coordinated attack, like attacking some girl walking down the street with multiple water balloons

you have seen the stone?


Its Called pictures.

assault is..assault is assault...

no matter how you twist the words...Its still assault.

Damn right! I once decapitated this guy who gave me a titty-twister. MF had it coming. Not a court in the land would have convicted me.... but I fled the scene cause I didn't wanna get screwed by some liberal judge.