A few days ago I pointed out that there is a certain irony in the fact that criminal anti-bullying laws would mean that the police are in charge of stopping bullying. Here’s another example of how well that might work:
Nineteen-year-old Pullman, Washington, resident Andrew Cain took his own life on Saturday. Now his sister, Alise Smith, is asking for an apology from the local police department who allegedly cyber-bullied the young man just days before his death.
Cain was reportedly wanted for controlled substance charges and failure to appear in court. According to local media, a Latah County, Idaho, Sheriff’s Office deputy assigned to Cain’s case posted a photo of the teenager on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, along with this message:
“We have decided that Andrew Cain is no longer the Wanted Person of the Week… he is the Wanted Person of the Month of June. Congratulations!”
Andrew Cain’s decision to kill himself was his own choice, as his sister points out elsewhere, but I just don’t think the police have an organizational culture that’s going to be effective at deterring bullying.
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