Snap Bangs and The Barney Fife's of Bricktown

[SuperScooper]

The Family and I decided for the Fourth of July we would take in the sites of Bricktown and watch the Redhawks play and fireworks around the city from roof of parking garage.

Just for fun, we allowed the kids to purchase snap bangs from one of the vendors. You can purchase these things year round at any joke shop or toy store.



I will admit the kids got a little over zealous and dropped some of them off the roof of the garage. These things are harmless. They are little wads of paper with just enough pop in them to startle someone (no louder than a loud clap of the hands or a snap of the fingers) they have to hit a hard surface to go off. If I dropped one off a 50-story building, it would be like a paper wad striking you. It is impossible to injure someone with them. (If anything, they are annoying at the utmost.) We had a few laughs until we realized that someone was filming us below. Therefore, we told the kids to put the snap bangs away.

A few minutes later, a couple of police officers approached us. The officers where told we where dropping fireworks. We told them what they were, and that we put them away. We informed the kids to keep them in the car until we got home. The police officers left. We then made the decision to throw them away. A few minutes later, we soon realized we had police officers watching us. We where just casually chatting and noticing how they where watching us. The kids were noticing as well and making jokes. (As kids do)

Twenty minutes later, we where surrounded by several officers. They where behaving like Barney Fife on twenty pots of coffee. You would have thought we threatened someone with a gun or something worse. They accused us of continuing to throw fireworks. We told them that they had been thrown away(which they had been) and we where keeping and eye on the kids and no further problems would occur. They did not want to listen to reason and explanation period. They told us we where be argumentative and asked us to leave.

My sister tried reason again and explain they where making a big deal out of nothing and that no more problems would come from our group. The next thing we hear is one them saying “You where given an order.” In other words (Leave or Go to Jail). So we packed up left and vowed to never return to Bricktown.

These officers were rude, disrespectful and their behavior was uncalled for at no time did we do anything to make them feel threatened. They dealt with us as if we were group of gang bangers in Gangland OKC

I have the utmost respect for all police officers. The majority of police officers go on the job everyday to make their piece of the world a safer place. They do their job and show respect to all people regardless if they are criminal or not. I am actually in school with hopes of becoming one someday. I am not saying we where right in letting the kid’s use the snap bangs in the way they did. I am mainly upset at how the situation was handled.

They should have behaved like professionals and treated us with respect. If they are treating locals in this manner, I can only imagine how our visitors are treated. All this work to draw in tourists is useless if our cops are acting like Barney Fife. Not every situation requires the asshole approach. Sometimes you can accomplish great things with a little respect and good solid communication.

On a side note:

Red, White and Boom was much better then Bricktown has ever been. We have decided to move are annual family 4th tradtiton to their next year.

[OkieKAS]

That situation was totally uncalled for. It is unfortunate that the situation was so mishandled and in front of kids.

Once, while at the State Fair of Oklahoma, we were going to see BIGFOOT and the monster trucks at the grandstand. My hubby and I and our three children.

We had purchased the tickets, bought the seats in the box section and our daughter, who was 7, at the time and a child with Autism, was getting very anxious, so much so that she was beginning to get to a state that would impact her health.

The gate was locked and we were told that no one was going to be let in until the show began. (about 30 minutes).

Seeing her becoming more agitated and we knew that once she reached a certain point, that we would have to remove her from the crowd and go home. She loved BIGFOOT and GRAVEDIGGER and all she needed was to be allowed to go to her seat and see them, then she would settle down.

We obtained permission from the Office and they allowed us in the gate to go to our seats. We had no more than reached them, when a cop wearing an OKC police uniform approached us and inappropriately, utilizing a loud voice, demanded that we leave.

We explained the situation (we tried, he refused to allow us to speak). He scared Leslie and she began to cry and become all the more agitated, as he shouted at us.

We explained that she was a child with Autism and the State Fair Board Office allowed us to take her in (we sure didn't climb the 6 foot fence, by all means.

He flat refused to listen and even placed his hand on his gun and unsnapped the cover! The situation became totally intolerable for the peace of Leslie, and he escorted us back to the gate (which was chained and locked back after the office allowed us through it). He kept berating us in a loud voice all of the way to the gate and even stood there berating us some more for entering when he was told that no one could.

People were milling about waiting for the show to begin and the people were becoming angry because of how he was acting and how they saw Les was. it is not always easy to take out a child with disAbilities, but he just had to keep on and on......with his ranting.

He said I DO NOT care if she (pointing at Leslie) has problems! YOU shouldn't have brought her here, anyway. His ranting and raving lke a lunatic just upset her all the more. She could never tolerate loud voices or angry ones.

By the time he finished his rants, it was past time for the gates to be opened and he made everyone wait until he got through with his spill. I couldn't even confront his behavior because I was too busy trying to calm Les down.

I wanted to actually slap him! My hubby had to hold me back!

Now, I was upset and trying to protect Leslie as well as my other 2 kids. Boys 9 and 12.

He eventually opened back up the gate and allowed all of us to go in. Les calmed down as soon as we got to our seats, again. But I was still upset and we tried to have a good time, irregardless.

After that, I wrote a letter to the OKC police dept, and the Fair Board relating what had happened, and how appalled we were to be treated like that. I related how insensitive their officer was to our family, essentially Leslie and his total disregard for ADA regulations that do allow specialized treatment for people with disAbilities.

The OKC police dept was appalled at the actions of their officer, even though he was actually hired as security for the Fair, he wore this uniform from their dept. He was reprimanded and sent to a class for interaction with those with disAbilities. He had to write a letter of apology to our family and to Leslie, herself, which we accepted in lieu of placing an ADA violation on him.

The Fair Board sent her a letter of apology, too, and a guest card for all events at the State Fair, that would allow her to go to the front of the lines with one caregiver...etc....

Every place that we have been to (amusement parks and etc....already allow this w/o making a major big deal out of it)

Bob Chandler, who is the owner of the BIGFOOT truck was livid and he told OKC that he would never appear there if this didn't get corrected. (After some 20 years later, he still remembers Leslie and often gave her a ride in his truck, letting the kids go to the pit and even today both of the boys are huge fans and last year we drove to St Louis to see him)

Leslie became afraid of every police officer thereafter, and would become extremely agitated when in the presence of an officer in uniform. Upon viewing one, she would just break and run, which proved dangerous many times.

I worked my butt of training and teaching my daughter to relate to society and in one instance he broke her down.

Les has been gone now for 7 years. I should just go look up the officer and slap him, even yet! (I am not an advocate for violence, but he deserved it). After what he did I wouldn't have minded the silver bracelets.

A warning would suffice in this case, with Bricktown. I understand that your actions may have been deemed inappropriate but their actions regarding it were totally inappropriate. In these days and times I know they have to be on the lookout for gangs and terrorists, but every situation should be handled according to cause and effect. Not ignorance. People deserve to be treated as individuals and individual cases, not grouped together like a herd.

With so many news reports on bad cops and such (our Sheriff and some of his posse are facing felony charges in Grady County, now, along with some Chix PD), it worries me that all cops take a bad rap from it, but that is par for the course, they should demand integrity from their peers, as they do the public.

It causes me greater worry that kids are being subjected to this philosophy and even though they are taught to respect an officer, that is not appropriate when and officer does not deem respect. Respect is earned.

I would write a letter to the OKC PD chief and explain this situation. It doesn't make a difference what you did, only in how it was handled that lead to being traumatic for your family, and it involved children. The officer in command should know how to appropriately assess a situation, prior to response.

You don't shoot the suspect when he is face-down and handcuffed, one would think.

[BailJumper]

Actually, I think the cops should have ticketed you for allowing your kids to toss ANYTHING from the top of a parking structure.

I can't imagine a parent allowing and sticking up for their kids littering off a building. Throw in the fact the pop bang could have landed on a infant or caused someone to stumble or otherwise disrupt a pleasant evening. I find more fault in the cops giving you a warning.

I'd consider yourself lucky one of those pop bangs didn't piss off some guy on a date, causing him to toss you off the building.

[ultimatesooner]

Actually, I think the cops should have ticketed you for allowing your kids to toss ANYTHING from the top of a parking structure.

I can't imagine a parent allowing and sticking up for their kids littering off a building. Throw in the fact the pop bang could have landed on a infant or caused someone to stumble or otherwise disrupt a pleasant evening. I find more fault in the cops giving you a warning.

I'd consider yourself lucky one of those pop bangs didn't piss off some guy on a date, causing him to toss you off the building.

I agree, anyone throwing anything off of a building where there are pedestrians below is completely unacceptable

[Karried]

I have to agree about throwing things off buildings ..... but in defense of SuperScooper, I would bet that this was an exception to the rule in that the kids probably got excited and carried away by the holiday.

I imagine that the kids wouldn't have thought of dropping things off a building on any other day or event, but this was the Fourth of July - fireworks shooting up in the air and falling to the ground.. I guess most kids would try to imitate that if given the opportunity.

Parades drop confetti and I'm sure the kids see that .. these things are like little spitballs.. basically wadded up paper.

And they did stop the kids after being asked to.

I do think the cops might have been overzealous but given the recent circumstances abroad, I can see that everyone is on edge and extra police are everywhere. They should have taken into account the holiday atmosphere and given you all a break.

[SoonerBent]

Throwing or dropping anything at anyone that makes a noise that even slightly, minutely resembles something exploding is totally unacceptable. I applaud the police officers for doing their job.

[BailJumper]

I think the police response was acceptable and even lenient when you consider there is a small chance of someone getting hurt as a result of the 'prank' and a much higher chance of it creating a potentially physical confrontation.

Also, it would be hard to distinguish pop bangs from fireworks by the sound alone. Plus there were lots of gangs units in the area trying to listen for fights, gun shots, etc.

Personally, I would not have allowed pop bangs to be sold in the area due to the confusion and litering.

[Karried]

there is a small chance of someone getting hurt as a result of the 'prank' and a much higher chance of it creating a potentially physical confrontation.

Yeah, you do have a good point there. One time when I was in my early twenties.. I was walking on the Santa Cruz boardwalk in the evening and I feel something wet falling on me.. I look up and these teeny boppers were spitting from the tram above!

I saw red. I followed them the entire length of the boardwalk with my hubby and never let them out of my sight. I was so mad! And disgusted. They knew I was following them and I could tell they were scared to death..

Good thing there was security because I was ready to jump all over those kids..

When they got off the ride, I was right there and told security that they were spitting on people and he promptly took their wristbands and escorted them from the boardwalk.

[SuperScooper]

It was innocent prank nothing more nothing less. Then again this situation and some of the post here are proof that we have clearly become a tightly wound society. We are so consumed with the fear of being injured or killed we are afraid to have fun of any kind. We cry to the authorities when we are the least bit disturbed. All because we think, we have the right to never be irritated, never be the butt of a joke and to live every moment trouble free.

We all need stop taking ourselves so seriously. Step back before you overreact. Not everyone is out to get us and make our lives miserable. Sometimes a simple request to stop will work. Sometimes you can join in on the fun, get some payback and make some new friends.

[Tim]

So, Scooper...does your line of work involve daily interaction with violent criminals, drunks and the dangerously stupid? There is condition fairly common in police officers and combat veterans called "hypervigilance". Even when you're away from the immediate danger, you are constantly on edge and react almost as if you were in immediate danger. Sure, there are less than stellar officers out there, but to paint them all with the same brush because your kids were doing something illegal is wrong.

[BailJumper]

Sounds like one of those parents that school principals hate - "What? My kid can do no wrong!"

Fact is the kids broke the law while the parents made excuses.

I'm sure the cops had better things they would have rather done, but you obviously did something to get and retain their attention.

Tossing ANYTHING off a building is just plain stupid. Not realizing you screwed up and set a bad example for your kids is worthy of a long sigh and a head shake.

[oSutrooper]

I'm trying hard not to step in this cause I remember this last night.. Fireworks are illegal no matter what kind they are. Yes they could have just said ok no big deal and moved on or have given u a ticket. The guys that work that area work hard to make sure that all is safe in bricktown. they do a job that most people dont want to.

In your post you stated something about wanting to be an officer. With that kind of attitude your not going to make it.

One last thing, just like myspace and facebook if you apply in OKC this could come back to haunt you, a friend of mine who I work with applied and said something about the PD on a website and they were able to find it and almost didnt hire him for the department.....

[OkieKAS]

What he stated was that after the first initial incident and the warning, they ceased the activity of tossing the small poppers. Granted, I am sure that he now realizes their mistake. And a mistake it was. A simple mistake that was promptly rectified.

He understood the warning and ceased the activity.

The further incident with all of the cops coming and telling them to leave was uncalled for.

Furthermore, there was no proof that they were continuing to disobey an order, and they should not have been asked to leave.

The city of Mustang allowed fireworks to be sold and utilized within their city until 11:00 pm. Here in Chix, fireworks go off for days.

For heaven's sake, where it is written that we can no longer celebrate our independence in an historic manner? One day of the entire year?

It is not like they were lighting fireworks that would result in any harm to anyone. If we are not allowed to have a small celebratory experience, then we are no longer free.

What if these kids had a cap gun or some other type of noise makers? These are entirely acceptable. I doubt that they were tossing them on top of people. As for the litter.........these are smaller than the tip of a finger. Far less more noticeable than a cigarette butt being tossed down, and that is done everywhere, lit cigarettes tossed on the ground and out of car windows.

We are entirely too anal in society. Sure we have to be diligent in the teaching of children, but after all was said and done.....

...exactly what did these kids learn in this situation?

As for the remarks coming back to bite you in the butt if you want to be one of the elite, then, I applaud him wishing to be an officer of the law. If any police dept wants to utilize this incidence against him in the exercising of his freedom to choose his profession, then I hope that he opts for another profession.

It is my belief that he would be a great officer, one that actually can assess a situation and make the appropriate decision.

To request that this family, simply, leave the area, was just too much. Getting rid of the problem instead of appropriately assessing a situation and making a educated decision regarding the actual harm and intent, not to mention, actual proof, will eventually result in the loss of freedom to all of us.

They admitted to doing it in the first place, vowed to cease, apologized....realized their small mistake and set about enjoying the festivities, when the cops came back in unison and had them depart the premises, even as the family denied further activity.

This is the issue.

We can all sit back and pick their wrongful activity apart, but the facts are what they actually did, how it as remedied and then what re-occurred. Not what could have happened.

OMGosh........all of the adults should have been cuffed and hauled off in a paddy wagon and the kids hauled off to DHS. This would have taught them a real lesson! NO EXCUSES!

Next time I see a Santa, the local PD or the FD tossing candy from a parade vehicle, I am going to demand that they stop for it could surely result in harm to anyone that got clocked with a piece.

Now...go tell these kids that they actually got kicked out for participating in the festivities of celebrating being an American by tossing down a few celebratory poppers, while all around them, fireworks lit up the skies.

Explain that.

[Tim]

The simplest explanation I can think of is, you don't like the police based on a negative encounter. That's OK, but you are painting all law enforcement as evil, and that is not OK. I'm not a cop, but I am married to one and know several personally. They are decent,, honest people doing a very difficult job. Sometimes they make mistakes as we all do, but that in no way justifies the angry rhetoric directed at all of them.

[PUGalicious]

It was innocent prank nothing more nothing less. Then again this situation and some of the post here are proof that we have clearly become a tightly wound society.

As well as irresponsible parents...

[PUGalicious]

What he stated was that after the first initial incident and the warning, they ceased the activity of tossing the small poppers. Granted, I am sure that he now realizes their mistake. And a mistake it was. A simple mistake that was promptly rectified.

He understood the warning and ceased the activity.

The further incident with all of the cops coming and telling them to leave was uncalled for.

Furthermore, there was no proof that they were continuing to disobey an order, and they should not have been asked to leave.

I'm pretty sure there is A LOT more to this story that's not being told here. How do you know there is no proof that they were continuing to disobey an order? Were you there too? We've heard one side of the incident, and based on what's been said here, there's no doubt in my mind that there are key details missing in the story as relayed above.

[jbrown84]

I'm going to have to go with the view that you are rationalizing this because it's your kids.

I'm sure if you were walking in Flaming Lips Alley and somebody else's kids dropped loud "toys" on you from 60 feet above, you would not be happy.

[redland]

SuperScooper's narrative is a little too much "SuperScooper family all good, cops all bad." On the face of it, dropping objects (any objects) from a building should not be tolerated, and I have a feeling that the police version of this incident would not have the SuperScoopers coming off as so "aw shucks" innocent.

[OkieKAS]

Nope.......I was not present, I just read Scoops entire post.

He stated that they had thrown all the poppers away before the second encounter.

And no, it wasn't my kids. My kids didn't do any fireworks or toys sold as poppers with anyone in the public, we always took them out to the farm.

I doubt that I would have enjoyed anything being tossed on my head, however, no where in his post does it say that they tossed anything on anyone's head.

I just don't get it that his family had to leave the festivities. If they had caught them with more of the poppers in hand or on themselves, then fine, ask them to leave, but they didn't have any more.

I do not know nor do I have any personal relations with anyone on this forum.

I doubt that all cops would read this and think they were all painted with a broad brush.

Scoops admitted to being wrong and remedied the situation before the second encounter.

I am only going by what Scoops published in his original story.

This could have/should have been handled in another manner, solely, due to the kids present and that it was the 4th of July.

[SOONER8693]

BINGO, what redland said.

[SOONER8693]

I was working a beer port just off the 3rd base foul pole that evening. These fireworkd were landing on people in the outfield stands. As soon as it started people that were receiving this good fun from above were looking for police to deal with what was not a fun incident for the people below.

[PUGalicious]

Nope.......I was not present, I just read Scoops entire post.

He stated that they had thrown all the poppers away before the second encounter.

And no, it wasn't my kids. My kids didn't do any fireworks or toys sold as poppers with anyone in the public, we always took them out to the farm.

I doubt that I would have enjoyed anything being tossed on my head, however, no where in his post does it say that they tossed anything on anyone's head.

I just don't get it that his family had to leave the festivities. If they had caught them with more of the poppers in hand or on themselves, then fine, ask them to leave, but they didn't have any more.

I do not know nor do I have any personal relations with anyone on this forum.

I doubt that all cops would read this and think they were all painted with a broad brush.

Scoops admitted to being wrong and remedied the situation before the second encounter.

I am only going by what Scoops published in his original story.

This could have/should have been handled in another manner, solely, due to the kids present and that it was the 4th of July.

But you are basing your conclusions solely on one-sided testimony that represents a partial picture at best. I'm not going to jump on police officers for allegedly handling the matter in an inappropriate way without knowing more about the incident from more than the person who felt wronged. And just because kids were present doesn't mean that law enforcement intervention wasn't necessary.

Based on Scooper's own testimony, it's my opinion their family was 100% in the wrong. What has been defined as an "innocent" prank could be defined by others as rude and disorderly behavior. It has less to do with a "tightly wound society" and more to do with an ill-behaved family.

[CuatrodeMayo]

I think we all can agree that they were wrong to be dropping things from the garage and were confronted and stopped. Problem solved.

Were they in the wrong the second time?

[PUGalicious]

We don't know. We've heard one account — a disgruntled one at that. We haven't heard the account by the officers who decided they needed to do something.

[jbrown84]

AND he's refusing to admit that his kids should not have done it in the first place.