• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Teens get banned from the mall...

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

M

momof3kiddos

Guest
What is the name of your state? TX

I know that the subject of police questioning minors has been hashed and re-hashed but I told my girlfriend I would ask everyone here if what was done with her 13 year old son and two of his friends was proper. I've read the other threads on this subject but I want to make sure that what I tell her is correct.

Her son and two of his friends were at the mall on a Sunday and the mall closed at 7:00 p.m. The three boys were supposed to go to see a movie at around 7:00 but they decided they didn't want to which left them just hanging out until a parent picked them up at about 9:00 p.m. The three boys went into the parking lot and started pushing shopping carts around. A police officer on a bike rode up and asked what they were doing, etc. etc. Long story short he told them to move along. He kept watching them though and my friend's son came upon a cart that was in the middle of the parking spaces where the cars drive so he pushed it over to the side where the other carts were and they kept walking. The bike cop then goes to them and was screaming and yelling telling them they were destroying property (vandalism) and trespassing. Another female bike cop rode up and asked what the problem was and she was told the boys were committing vandalism, etc. and she asked if they had hit any cars with the carts. When the first cop said 'no' she just shrugged her shoulders and left.

The boys were taken to the police room at the mall and questioned (all the while being told they were smartasses, etc.) They asked if they could call their parents and they were told 'no.' The police officers had the boys sign a piece of paper stating they were banned from the mall for 30 days. After holding the boys for about an hour the police officer(s) finally called the parents and told them to come get their kids. My friend called her son's cell phone and later found out that the police officer had screamed to her son that he couldn't answer the phone and told him to turn it off. When her son said he knew his Mom would worry if he didn't answer the police officer screamed at him to turn the damn phone off and quit being a smartass.

Now that you have the story my question is: Was it right for the police to NOT call the parents as soon as they took them in the room at the mall and was it right for them to have the boys sign papers without their parents there? Thanks for your answers.


:)
 


S

sdstrooper

Guest
The police should have called the parents/guardian or at least made an effort to do so. You're lucky he didn't haul them off to juvenile hall for criminal trespassing (which would have been legal because the mall was closed and they got a warning to leave). The kid pushing the cart wasn't smart either. You should file a complaint against the officer for not contacting the parents because minors aren't suppose to be signing legal documents on their own.
 
B

Boxcarbill

Guest
momof3kiddos said:
What is the name of your state? TX

I know that the subject of police questioning minors has been hashed and re-hashed but I told my girlfriend I would ask everyone here if what was done with her 13 year old son and two of his friends was proper. I've read the other threads on this subject but I want to make sure that what I tell her is correct.

Her son and two of his friends were at the mall on a Sunday and the mall closed at 7:00 p.m. The three boys were supposed to go to see a movie at around 7:00 but they decided they didn't want to which left them just hanging out until a parent picked them up at about 9:00 p.m. The three boys went into the parking lot and started pushing shopping carts around. A police officer on a bike rode up and asked what they were doing, etc. etc. Long story short he told them to move along. He kept watching them though and my friend's son came upon a cart that was in the middle of the parking spaces where the cars drive so he pushed it over to the side where the other carts were and they kept walking. The bike cop then goes to them and was screaming and yelling telling them they were destroying property (vandalism) and trespassing. Another female bike cop rode up and asked what the problem was and she was told the boys were committing vandalism, etc. and she asked if they had hit any cars with the carts. When the first cop said 'no' she just shrugged her shoulders and left.

The boys were taken to the police room at the mall and questioned (all the while being told they were smartasses, etc.) They asked if they could call their parents and they were told 'no.' The police officers had the boys sign a piece of paper stating they were banned from the mall for 30 days. After holding the boys for about an hour the police officer(s) finally called the parents and told them to come get their kids. My friend called her son's cell phone and later found out that the police officer had screamed to her son that he couldn't answer the phone and told him to turn it off. When her son said he knew his Mom would worry if he didn't answer the police officer screamed at him to turn the damn phone off and quit being a smartass.

Now that you have the story my question is: Was it right for the police to NOT call the parents as soon as they took them in the room at the mall and was it right for them to have the boys sign papers without their parents there? Thanks for your answers.


:)
Being banned from the mall for 30 days is not being charged with a criminal offense so the forth amendment is not applicable. What you have here is a cop or security guard who has been out in the hot Texas sun on even hotter asphalt parking lot, riding a bicycle and feeling like an idiot. He encounters teenage boys who probably yanked his chain and with the banana bicycle seat cutting off the blood flow to his scrotum, he interprets the teens and the discomfort of the bicycle seat as a threat to his manhood and so he decides to jerk the kids around a little and have a reason to get in the air-conditioned office. Forget it and move on.
 

stephenk

Senior Member
"The three boys were supposed to go to see a movie at around 7:00 but they decided they didn't want to which left them just hanging out until a parent picked them up at about 9:00 p.m."

But if one of the boys had a cell phone why would they have to wait until 9:00 pm for someone to pick them up? Couldnt they have just called home and said pick us up?
 
B

Boxcarbill

Guest
momof3kiddos said:
What is the name of your state? TX

Her son and two of his friends were at the mall on a Sunday and the mall closed at 7:00 p.m. The three boys were supposed to go to see a movie at around 7:00 but they decided they didn't want to which left them just hanging out until a parent picked them up at about 9:00 p.m. . . . My friend called her son's cell phone and later found out that the police officer had screamed to her son that he couldn't answer the phone and told him to turn it off. When her son said he knew his Mom would worry if he didn't answer the police officer screamed at him to turn the damn phone off and quit being a smartass.
Now that I have answered your question, I would like to ask some questions based upon the facts above from your post. Why would a Mom call her son and why would a son think his Mom would be worried if he didn't answer the phone when, in fact, if he and his friends had gone to the movie as they were supposed to do, he would have turned off his cell phone. That is stated across the screen before the movie begins to turn off cell phones.
 

racer72

Senior Member
I would like to hear the officer's side of the story. I was once a 13 year old boy and if the above happened to me, I would be sure to embelish the tale to deflect some of the potential damage. I still do to this day when I deal with my wife. :D The mall is a privately owned business and they can say who can and cannot visit their property. If the boys violate the no trespass order, they will be arrested and the police will become involved. Legally, the boys parents have no cause for any action.
 
M

momof3kiddos

Guest
Thanks to all of you for your replies. I will address each response individually...

sdstrooper...I thought the same thing about having the minors sign papers. The paper was a Notice Forbidding Trespassing and each boy's picture was attached to the paper and the parents had to sign the paper when they arrived to get their child. You're absolutely right about the fact that the mall was closed and they were told once to move along. My friend's son said he was just moving a cart out of the way of the cars but I told my friend that I was sure the officer took that as defiance.

stephenk...Yes, my friend's son had a cell phone but I guess the boys thought it would be fun to just hang out together instead of going home earlier. You know how kids are.

racer72...I'm sure the boys were making it sound a little more innocent than it really was to their parents. Yes, they were told that if they returned to the mall or any of the surrounding businesses, restaurants or hotels (all considered the same property) they would be arrested for trespassing and taken to juvie. They were told that the owners of the mall can forbid any person to come to their mall for any reason they pleased.

p.s. these weren't 'rent-a-cops' - they were actually city employed police officers so I guess in essence the police WERE involved. Mall policy is that if they get in trouble there again they will be banned for one year. Then if they get in trouble there again they will be banned permanently. Of course they will be arrested if caught there while 'banned.'

Boxcarbill...Thanks for your response. I'll answer your second post first. The reason my friend called her son on his cell phone is because the officer had just called her husband at home to tell him that their son was in the police office at the mall and was caught 'vandalizing.' So her husband called her (she was out getting groceries) and she then called her son just to hear his voice and tell him she was on her way. The officer refused to let the child answer the phone and took the phone from him and turned it off (after the smartass comment.) The son knew the mom was calling because she knew he was in trouble. I agree with you 100% that the boys probably jerked his chain when the one boy pushed a cart out of the way AFTER the officer had told the boys to move along. The boys all said this officer was about 5'4" and the three 13 year olds are all about 5'9" or 5'10". I'm sure this was a good way for the officer to show some authority and try to 'scare' the boys.

Again, thanks to all of you for your answers. My son was supposed to be with them that night but got grounded at the last minute. Thank goodness! My friend is just concerned about not being called immediately instead of after the boys had been in the police office for almost an hour. I'm sure they were getting a pretty good lecture in that time. Plus, she's worried about the signing of the papers because she's not sure the Notice of Forbidding Trespassing is all her son signed. He said he was so scared he doesn't remember. I think the boys have learned their lesson because they LOVE going to the mall and seeing friends and checking out all of the girls so I don't think they'll be doing anything else to get into trouble anytime soon.
;)
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top