assault case riddle

Teacher bangs a student against the wall,

Four cops bang up a kid while he's handcuffed.

Teacher charged with felony, cops charged with misdemeanors.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/casey/7079198.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+houstonchronicle%2Fmetrocasey+%28HoustonChronicle.com+-+Rick+Casey%29

Commentary
Answer to assault case riddle: It's the law
By RICK CASEY
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
June 24, 2010, 9:28PM

Here is the question of the week: Why is it a felony when a teacher assaults a kid and a misdemeanor when police officers do?

Monday, a teacher at a charter school in North Harris County was charged with injury to a child, a 13-year-old boy, a third-degree felony carrying a potential prison sentence of 10 years.

The charter school's superintendent and its principal were charged with failure to report child abuse, a Class A misdemeanor that can result in a maximum of one year in jail.

Two days later, four Houston police officers who allegedly beat a 15-year-old boy after he surrendered and was handcuffed were indicted on charges of "official oppression," a Class A misdemeanor on the same level with the school officials' failure to report the child abuse.

Both incidents were caught on tape. The public has seen the tape of the teacher in which she kicked and punched the child and appeared briefly to bang his head against a wall. The tape of the officers has not been released, but those who have seen it, including the mayor, describe it as very disturbing.

Did the teacher get a felony charge because her assault was more brutal? Actually, the boy she beat suffered bruises but did not require medical treatment.

The boy beaten by the police officers was hospitalized with multiple contusions and a large laceration on his face. (Early reports that his nose was broken were wrong.)

No, there is another reason that the teacher was charged with a felony and the officers with a misdemeanor.

It's the law.

.... (punchline explained) ...

Police are hired to use physical force. Teachers are not.

i think the prosecutor was too soft on the cops. the rest of the article indicates the aggravated assault charges could have been made because the assault was made under cover of authority.

Originally posted by zeeblebot
i think the prosecutor was too soft on the cops. the rest of the article indicates the aggravated assault charges could have been made because the assault was made under cover of authority.

Nevertheless, the police are expected to be involved in some amount of violent confrontation whereas teachers are not, so it is not a good comparison.
In the teacher case it is cut and dry assault. In the police case, the circumstances must be investigated and the question of whether or not it was excessive use of force must be asked. I am not saying cops can do what they like, simply that comparing them to teachers is not helpful in dealing with the issue.

here's the video and recent news article for the teacher incident. it accidently happened a couple of months ago but they just charged her recently.

YouTube

http://www.39online.com/news/local/kiah-teacher-beats-student-charged-story,0,3344009.story

in the cop incident, seven cops were fired, four were charged with felonies, but the video remains private.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/06/houston_police_beating.php