Everyone agrees that he should've done something. It's the punch option that people don't agree with.

I've seen grown men who are drunk and aggressive with officers being tackled and handcuffed rather than officers engaging in a street fight with them and punching them. Even giving her dumb friend a final warning that she will be tasered (and then tasering her if she doesn't stop being dumb) is more appropriate.

The girl was really dumb for interfering with her friend's interaction with the officer. If she didn't like how her friend was being treated, she should've taken the officer's name and badge #. They already had everything else caught on tape.

However, people in positions of authority are supposed to be ABOVE all the rest. They go based on protocols and policies rather than pure emotion.

This is already a few days old in Seattle, and the overwhelming majority of the public here thinks this officer did nothing wrong (myself included). These girls were fools. All he was trying to do was give them a ticket for jaywalking across a VERY busy street. They became verbally abusive, drawing a crowd, then started getting pushy. You can clearly see in the full video (not some of the edited ones a few TV stations have been showing) that the officers tried to calm the girls, but it was the girls who escalated the situation. When that girl pushed him, knocking him back on his heels, she should've expected the type of response she got. That's what happens when you are aggressive toward a law enforcement officer. How was he to know she wasn't going to grab his gun? She certainly wasn't behaving rationally! He did a good job of stunning her, keeping the situation from escalating.

The Seattle-Tacoma area has had at least six law enforcement officers murdered in the last 6-8 months. Combine that with the fact that the area of Seattle where I've heard this happened is not the friendliest part of town and has gang issues. Combine that with the crowd that had gathered to egg the situation on, and in fact even tried to shield the girls from the cops. Let this be a lesson to young people that you should LISTEN to police, not mouth off to them, and certainly not raise a hand at them.

LOL. Oh, I agree. It's just that PiKA2001's comment about jaywalking immediately brought Barney to mind.

From the first episode of The Andy Griffith Show: "Now she's going to go out and tell her friends how she got away with it, next thing you know people will be jaywalking all over the place and disregarding 'keep-off-the-grass' signs and everything! Why Mayberry is gonna turn into a regular sin town!!"

(Watch it here. I laugh every time.)

By the way, unless you've been to Seattle, you probably don't realize how "obedient" we all are here when it comes to traffic crossings. We'll stand on a deserted corner in the rain, waiting for the "Walk" signal to cross at a light.

Sidenote: This shows that women shouldn't put their hands on a man without consequences being expected.

I believe it. I work with Seattle folks. We were in a meeting in California, and they did not jaywalk period.

As for the punch. Do I feel it was appropriate?

Hmm, I've seen people beat with the Billy club for putting their hands on an officer. I've seen people maced, I've seen people tasered.

The punch was very minor compared to what he could have done.

(Remember it wasn't that long ago everybody was in an uproar about the fan getting tasered.)

HAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

http://www.theroot.com/buzz/seattle-...ho-punched-her

Just a quick update I stumbled across.

She should have been ordered to do something for that. Community service, some time in a detention facility, something. She has to understand that she cannot disrespect authority like that.

I really wonder if this sentiment would be the same if it had been a Black cop who punched a White female.


Overall, despite race, I think both parties were wrong. They took the situation too far.

Hell to the naw and that cop would have hell to pay.

I agree.

If that girl looked like Taylor Swift he would not have laid hands on her either. The young lady should have just stood their and taken the ticket if that's what he was intending to do, but he should not have hit anyone over a jaywalking. Also, apparently in the tape the crowd was VERY respectful and pleaded for things to calm down so the fact that they were there watching wasn't an excuse.

I agree and that's why I don't think he hit her because he had to calm the situation and be concerned about the crowd from coming at him. I still think it was about adrenaline, annoyance, and "do you know who I am bitch?"

She definitely wouldn't shut her ass up and I hope she learned a huge lesson.

I actually to a degree agree with you...what he did was escalate the situation.

Yeah the goal for the officer is to get home alive but I don't agree with not only the punch but he punched a woman.

Once she fought back she was already in the wrong.