Doekiller says "That isn’t discipline, that is abuse. " That is exactly right. While we always want straight , clearcut answers, in the answer to the question abuse or discipline, there is no clear cut line. When it gets towards the middle the line becomes very blurry sometimes. In this case though, I don't think the line is blurry. Striking about the head is out of line.
Another thing too is that when kids reach a certain age, and again there is no clear line, they respond to punishment like adults and no longer like children. Would you find it an effective punishment if you came into work late and the boss gave you a few smacks across the head?
This was out of line and shows that his officer has problems that will manifest themselves on the job in a very bad way. Time for Miami-Dade to cut their losses and encourage this man to find another career path.
As to the idea that this girl was a POS and deserved what she got, that may be true but she didn't turn into a POS overnight. Two things I hated to hear were "I know they were bad but I couldn't spank them because you would come and arrest me for abuse." and "I'm going to let y'all deal with them, I tried to talk with him but he just won't listen to me". The line I said more than any other in my Youth-Aid days was probably "This is a parenting problem not a police problem".
