Teacher arrested at Education Board meeting.

Warrigal

Warrigal

SF VIP
Location
Sydney, Australia
Have you seen this?

It might seem a minor issue in today's world but I think it is actually very significant.
I'm pretty sure that where I live the teacher would be escorted out of the room, given a caution and allowed to leave under her own steam.
Being thrown to the floor and hand cuffed would be a last resort, to be used only if her behaviour was out of control.

The entire episode other than a short time after she had left the room can be watched here - about 13 minutes in all. The issue was a move to approve a contract for a superintendent that contained a very large pay increase. The teacher questioned the justice of this increase. She was softly spoken but made the mistake of pressing her point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sg8lY-leE8
 

I think the cop was way out of line. The teacher was doing nothing to warrant arrest.

However, I don't agree that she was soft spoken. I found her loud and pretty obnoxious. (Not that that's a reason to arrest her!) It did say that no charges were filed. But still. Since when can't we stand up at public meetings and express our opinions?

I wonder why the cop got involved at all. Was he there all along and got carried away with his own "authority?" Or was he summoned by a member of the school board who just wanted the troublemaker removed?
 
Or was he summoned by a member of the school board who just wanted the troublemaker removed?​
Click to expand...

I got the impression he was summoned. I thought I saw the supt or whoever make a motion for cop to deal with her. I wasn't clear as to why she was arrested.
 

My take.


The woman was eleoquent in her questioning and wasn't getting a response to her question about the pay increase of the superintendent. At about the 7 min mark the cop showed up. Words were exchanged not able to understand what the conversation was about but the woman got up and voluntarily left the room.


Next was noise from outside the room. Whoever was videoing managed to get the woman face down on the hall floor. At that point she really vocal because of the way she was being treated. I think it was smart of her to attract attention to how she was being treated.


Outside the building you can hear her explain she only asked him [the cop] a question and then was put down. I don't know what the question was and I didn't hear the cop deny what she was saying.


All in all the whole situation could have been avoided if the woman would have been given an answer to the question she asked. The meeting was to inform the public and they were not informing.
 
About her being in the hall ...

Since the filming only picked up AFTER she was on the floor, we have no real way of knowing how she got there. She might have been taken down by the constable or she might have flung herself down to look dramatic for YouTube.
 
From the video it was a male voice who alerted people in the meeting that she was being arrested. I very much doubt that this woman was a radical protester who would turn her removal from the meeting into an arrest by throwing herself on the floor.

As soon as the officer went to touch her in the meeting she said "Sir, do not" and immediately complied with his command to leave the room. Prior to that, she had her hand raised to indicate that she wished to continue speaking (not shouting) to the chairman.

She was an inconvenience, not a public menace. The superintendent had not had a raise in 5 years but the teachers had not had one in ten. Meanwhile average class sizes had increased considerably but the performance of the school district had significantly increased. Her point, which had been dismissed earlier, was that the increase was largely due to the school staff, not the superintendent, and that an injustice was occurring.

That is no reason to arrest someone IMO.
 
The good news is that the minor scuffle shines an international light on the fact that the teachers have not had a pay raise in ten years and that the superintendent was being given a significant increase. IMO the leader of a taxpayer funded organizations pay raises, on a percentage basis, should not exceed those of the people under his supervision and control.
 
SifuPhil said:
About her being in the hall ...

Since the filming only picked up AFTER she was on the floor, we have no real way of knowing how she got there. She might have been taken down by the constable or she might have flung herself down to look dramatic for YouTube.
Click to expand...

The woman got up and left without being forced. To time perfectly when to "throw herself on the floor" to look dramatic Pure speculation.

Maybe you didn't notice her size and demeanor. Body language tells a lot.
 

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