Ont. dad arrested after daughter draws picture of gun

[Bonam]

The principal's name is Steve Zack - and last year he had offered Sansone a job at the school counseling students.

Hah, the irony.

[huh]

I think the comments are a symptom of the deluded belief that the right-wing is not as responsible for over-empowering BIG statism as anyone else.

If anything right-wing statism is worse because of the natural tendency of right-wingers to be mean. No one seems happier when politicians are talking about giving the state more power to crack down and get tough on people.

Both sides are equally guilty on different subjects. As for your last point the majority of Canadians, ie the non far left group, feel that for some crimes harsher punishments are in order, they are correct, the far right wants people to go to jail for pot, they are wrong.

Then again the same people who wanted the gun registry also want more rehabilitation and less incarceration, so in other words lets watch generally very harmless people while giving known criminals a second - third - etc chance. Conservatives on the other hand say no, lets focus on the people actually guilty of a crime, and while i disagree, pot is illegal, and hes been for a long time. So it seems to me punishing those who break the law is more consistent than keeping a close eye on legal gun owners.

[GostHacked]

From what I've read, this incident is really making big headlines because the father is putting it out there. As he said, his arrest, in handcuffs, was carried out in view of the parents, teachers, children, whoever happened to be in the area - and he wants everyone to know what happened to him - and why. I say good for him.

This is by far not an isolated incident, but yeah this guy is making a big stink about it and I support him making the big stink about it. His whole family's life have been turned upside down over something really... umm I'll say benign. I used to draw guns un school, also I used to draw Klingon and Federation ships blowing each other up....

[g_bambino]

That, without a doubt, requires intervention...

Yes, the only article I read about this contained that same information. However, why is arrest and strip-search at all a proportionate way to intervene in this situation?

[Guest American Woman]

cybercoma, on 26 February 2012 - 03:43 PM, said: She also, according to police, explained to the teacher that the gun was at her house, that her siblings played with it and that it scared her.

Yeah, right. Sounds like a story put out to try to reduce the ridicule and embarrassment the system is facing over this case.

I thought about that possibility, but I also have to wonder what questions the teacher was asking the little girl - if the teacher had an idea in her mind, and clearly she did, the questions could have been very leading - and very likely to get the responses that she did. If the four year old was caught up in a fantasy - a fantasy of killing bad people and monsters - she likely thought the teacher was 'playing along.' Since killing bad guys and monsters is talking about fears, it stands to reason that she would speak of 'being afraid.' She's four. The whole situation is unbelievable - from start to finish.

[dre]

Im normally super critical of police... if I was in charge they would have 1/2 the power they do now, and there would be a lot less of them.

But seems like theres a lot of moral outrage here before people know a lot of facts. IF this kid expressed to the teacher that people were playing with this gun at home and it scared her, then I dont think its that big a stretch that a teach would report that to the police, and it seems reasonable the cops would check it out. IF that is the case, then this was just a big misunderstanding and all this moral outrage is kneejerk reactionism by people who dont/didnt know any of the facts.

[Guest American Woman]

It was much more than "a misunderstanding." "Checking it out" is one thing. Arresting the father - at the school after being put in handcuffs, charging him with handgun possession, subjecting him to a strip search, showing up at the house to take the kids, the mother knows not where - all goes far, far beyond "checking it out." I think someone should "check out" the teacher, to determine if she handled it correctly or if she added to the 'problem.' And what of the principal - who knew Sansone and had actually offered him a job counseling children a year earlier? Did he handle the situation correctly? And what of the police - were they going beyond their legal authority arresting him on the basis of the "evidence" they had? Of course they are going to say they acted within the law/their obligations - but I think their behavior/actions should be investigated.

[GostHacked]

It was much more than "a misunderstanding." "Checking it out" is one thing. Arresting the father - at the school after being put in handcuffs, charging him with handgun possession, subjecting him to a strip search, showing up at the house to take the kids, the mother knows not where - all goes far, far beyond "checking it out." I think someone should "check out" the teacher, to determine if she handled it correctly or if she added to the 'problem.' And what of the principal - who knew Sansone and had actually offered him a job counseling children a year earlier? Did he handle the situation correctly? And what of the police - were they going beyond their legal authority arresting him on the basis of the "evidence" they had? Of course they are going to say they acted within the law/their obligations - but I think their behavior/actions should be investigated.

Anyone caught in this situation should raise a stink just like this guy. The more people make this kind of publicity about it, the less it should happen (should does not always mean would).

This could be any one of us.

[dre]

It was much more than "a misunderstanding." "Checking it out" is one thing. Arresting the father - at the school after being put in handcuffs, charging him with handgun possession, subjecting him to a strip search, showing up at the house to take the kids, the mother knows not where - all goes far, far beyond "checking it out." I think someone should "check out" the teacher, to determine if she handled it correctly or if she added to the 'problem.' And what of the principal - who knew Sansone and had actually offered him a job counseling children a year earlier? Did he handle the situation correctly? And what of the police - were they going beyond their legal authority arresting him on the basis of the "evidence" they had? Of course they are going to say they acted within the law/their obligations - but I think their behavior/actions should be investigated.

Yeah those are all good points. The misscommunication I referenced was the events that lead to the police being called in the first place.

But yeah... once the police were involved they got up to their usual heavy handed tricks, and the abuse of power Iv come to expect in Canada. Theres no excuse for the things you mentioned... the way this guy was treated.

[cybercoma]

Yes, the only article I read about this contained that same information. However, why is arrest and strip-search at all a proportionate way to intervene in this situation?

It's not at all. When I say intervention, it ought to have started with the teacher or principal contacting the parents to see what's up.

[GostHacked]

It's not at all. When I say intervention, it ought to have started with the teacher or principal contacting the parents to see what's up.

That would have been the correct course of action.

[g_bambino]

It's not at all. When I say intervention, it ought to have started with the teacher or principal contacting the parents to see what's up.

Sure, if the circumstances were right. But, as we all now know, that isn't what happened. The school overreacted by calling child services, child services overreacted by calling the police, and the police overreacted by arresting and strip searching the father.

[Guest Manny]

Seems like a cavity search is standard procedure nowadays, no matter what the offence.