There's just too much wrong with this

[astrozombie]

The following article has a video on it's home page. I have to admit that I did not want to watch it.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/05/justice/florida-school-bus-beating/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

(CNN) -- The windmilling fists and stomping feet rain down blows on the 13-year-old boy.

Trapped on the floor between the bus seats, he cries out as he receives fierce punch after vicious kick from the three bigger, older youths.

As the relentless assault unfolds, the driver of the Florida school bus alerts the dispatcher, pleading for aid.

But he doesn't physically step in to help.

The bus driver, at least according to his school's policy, did nothing wrong.
Bus beating: 'Where are the parents?'
Could driver have stopped bus beating?

'Get somebody here quick'

The attack took place July 9 in Pinellas County, Florida. But the horrific cell phone video -- and the surveillance video -- came out only recently.

As the boy is pummeled, the bus driver John Moody yells at the assailants to leave the boy alone.

He also asks dispatchers to send help.

"You gotta get somebody here quick, quick, quick, quick," he says. "They're about to beat this boy to death over here."

"Please get somebody here quick. There's still doing it," he adds. "There's nothing I can do."

Moody, 64, says he was too afraid to step in.

"The three boys just jumped on him and started pounding on him. And I did all can," he told CNN affiliate WFLA. "I was looking. It was like I was in shock. I was petrified."

Could your child be a bully?

Not required to intervene

The ferocity of the attack left the 13-year-old with two black eyes and a broken arm.

"There was clearly an opportunity for him to intervene and or check on the welfare of the children or the child in this case and he didn't make any effort to do so," Chief Robert Vincent of Gulfport Police Department told the affiliate.

According to Pinellas County school policy, the bus driver isn't required to intervene, only to call dispatch.

He can step in, if he feels it's safe.

Other counties actually forbid drivers from physically stopping fights.

In 2012: New York teen says bullies beat and blinded him

No basis for charges

Prosecutors say they have no grounds on which to charge him.

"It wasn't like he was looking out the window cleaning his fingernails or something like that," said Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett, according to CNN affiliate WFLA.

Police said Moody could have given first aid to the victim after the attackers jumped off the bus.

But Bartlett said the 13-year-old didn't hang around.

"The kid gets up and skedaddles out the door," he said.

Outrageous moments caught on camera

'I wanted to help him'

The three 15-year-old boys have been arrested on aggravated assault charges.

Police say the youths attacked the 13-year-old after he told officials at their dropout prevention school that one of them had tried to sell him drugs.

Moody, who retired two weeks after the attack, says he's still haunted by it and has had sleepless nights.

"I wanted to help him so bad," he said. "I wanted to help him."

There's just so many things wrong with this incident that it's impossible to discuss them all in one post but a glaring issue is that some people think the bus driver is at fault for not doing enough. A police officer can certainly be accused of such but a bus driver?

After reading the comments from the general public on various "news" sites, you can tell that there is about an even split between people who think the bus driver is to be blamed for not stepping in and those who think he did what it is expected. He is a 64 year old man and he was admittedly too afraid to physically intervene. I can't blame him. Kids today mature physically much faster and even the healthiest of 64 year old men are not normally a match for three young brutes.

There was a time when 100% of the blame would have been placed on the assailants. In today's society, who can ever be sure that stopping an attack won't make you the criminal for using physical means to stop violent aggressors?

It's really not a black and white issue like it used to be. There used to be no doubt that helping someone in need was always the right thing to do in view of the law. The article even discusses that there where no applicable charges that could be filed against the man for not doing enough. However, I'm certain that had he physically intervened, there would be a number of charges that could be applied against him.

Had the injured child been hurt any worse, I'm sure they would charge him with something.

 

[Palinurus]

Hi astrozombie,

As it so happened, when I encountered your post I just finished reading an old topic (2008/09) in which something similar was discussed with a videoed violent robbery in a bus as the starting point. I thought it wise to reference it here as a comparison point of sorts in order to provide some broader context and perspective, maybe.

Video here (skip it if you don't want to watch): _http://www.alterinfo.net/Agression-dans-un-bus-RATP-video-integrale_a31426.html?com#com_795534

Discussion about it starts here: http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,9491.msg87112.html#msg87112

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[astrozombie]

Thanks for the link. :)

But I have to admit, that it opens another can of worms. I was only seeing the STS aspect and consequences when the larger picture is where is the chance for STO.

IMO, it can be argued that the driver had a responsibility to the rest of the students on the bus and anything that he does that might cause him to become incapacitated may be a disservice to them.

 

[Palinurus]

What may be expected or even demanded from a bus driver or similar officials would depend on legislation, local customs, proper training and so on, I would think.

If I'm not mistaken, aggression in all sorts and formats and in all types of situations seems to be on the rise everywhere around the globe -- a symptom of growing unbalance among populations, to say the least.

Where I live (The Netherlands) all officials who work in direct contact with either the general public or specific subsections of same can receive additional training in crowd control or contact manners or 'handing' skills or whatever on request, paid for by their employers and in working hours. Increasingly, following these trainings is becoming a mandatory requirement before even to be allowed starting with the job. It has developed into quite an industry all by itself lately, these specialized forms of training. It seems to be a growing market for all I know.

As for the general public itself, the bystanders and their reactions: those who engage themselves in any positive way during these type of situations have always been the rare exceptions I believe -- few and far between with mixed results at best and usually with severe damage risks, including death. Over here, in recent years we have had a growing list of failed interventions with fatal results for the few who tried to placate or pacify brawls and fights and the like. That's not an incentive for others to try likewise, to put it mildly.