Thread by @JABell27

Last night there were drones up over our neighborhood & nearby. For whatever reason, there had been a high-speed (100mph) car chase through the county. The car stopped near our development & the occupants ran. Driver was picked up quickly; a 13yo boy w/him got away. 1/

BOLO went out, & it was all over local social media: lock your doors, 13yo Black male in red t-shirt & hoodie w/gun in the area. In addition to the drones, they were talking about bringing out dogs to look for him. Fuck that. Just FUCK THAT. 2/

Whatever he might have done, in addition to riding in a speeding vehicle & PERHAPS possessing a firearm he was probably completely unqualified to use responsibly—he was still a CHILD. Our part of the county is semi-rural. It was below freezing out. 3/

Most 13yo boys have NOTORIOUSLY bad judgment. (I saw some amazing stuff in 15yrs of being a Scout leader.) THEY. ARE. STILL. CHILDREN. I believe that young men should be expected to stand tall, be held accountable, & take responsibility for bad choices & behavior. 4/

I do not believe in hunting down children with drones, dogs, & an armed posse. Feed them, warm them up, talk to them, THEN hold them accountable. I left the doors unlocked until bedtime, & there was leftover lentil soup & rice on the stove. 5/

Fuck this. Fuck American policing. Just fuck it. Who on earth was that child going to hurt, out there in the cold and dark? I really hope he's warm and safe somewhere this morning. 6/end

(FWIW: The typical profile of high-speed chase in this county is a drug dealer from B'more or DC trying to outrun local LE when stopped. The 13yo in question was probably riding shotgun on a delivery—not some wacked-out child soldier out to rob & murder us all in our beds.)

Update: The 13yo was the driver. He & a buddy stole the car in the next county north. He's lucky he didn't kill anyone or get killed—what a knucklehead!—BUT A TEENAGER ON A JOY RIDE DOES *NOT* RATE DRONES AND DOGS AND AN ARMED POSSE. Am still displeased.