Indiana family seeks justice after son — arrested, expelled from school, handcuffed, and shackled over alleged possession of a marijuana vape pen — takes his own life
… “Every parent says their kid’s a good kid, but Jase was just that – a good kid that we never had a problem with,” Elyce, Jase’s mother, said. “He never seemed unhappy or upset. He just liked his life and he liked everything.”
Elyce said all of that changed on May 20 when Jase took his own life, three days after the 15-year-old was arrested for having a vape pen inside Charlestown High School.
“Jase told us he was handcuffed and shackled. I can only imagine as a kid that cared so much for others to know that – that happened to him, and people could see that,” she said.
Elyce claims she wasn’t notified about the arrest until the school’s resource officer was on the way to Clark County Juvenile Detention Center with Jase.
According to arrest records, Jase’s pen tested positive for marijuana. …
What the child (and that's what someone that age is) is accused of doing was wrong, but no one should be placed under that kind of stress for a mistake of this magnitude.
What the hell is wrong with society nowadays that it's more important to "flex your muscle" than it is to teach and help people grow and learn from their mistakes?
It's worthwhile, helpful, to politely point out when someone — especially someone on our side in this conversation — uses the other side's framing (e.g., possession of pot is "wrong").
Copspeak and the police perspective so thoroughly dominate media coverage, I've sometimes slipped up myself, and always appreciate it when someone calls me on it. :)