TX-13 y/o arrested by school cops for using $2 bill to pay for lunch.

[Anti Federalist]

Little Girl Detained By Police After Trying to Buy School Lunch with Real $2 Bill

https://reason.com/blog/2016/05/04/little-girl-detained-by-police-after-try

She did nothing wrong. But even if she had, a chicken nugget scam is not a matter for the cops.

Robby Soave|May 4, 2016 2:45 pm

There are stupid school discipline stories, and then there's this: a Houston, Texas, public school called the police after a 13-year-old girl attempted to purchase chicken nuggets from the cafeteria using a $2 bill.

The police took the little girl, Danesiah Neal, to the office and told her she could be in "big trouble" for using counterfeit money.

But the $2 bill was real, of course. There aren't very many of them—the government doesn't issue them, anymore—but $2s are out there. They constitute perfectly legal tender.

The police didn't believe it. They called Danesiah's grandmother and insisted the bill was fake, according to ABC 13:

'Did you give Danesiah a $2 bill for lunch?' " the grandmother, Sharon Kay Joseph, recalled being asked. "He told me it was fake."

Finally, the mystery was solved: The $2 bill wasn't a fake at all. It was real.

The bill so old, dating back to 1953, the school's counterfeit pen didn't work on it.

"He brought me my two dollar bill back," Joseph said. He didn't apologize. "He should have and the school should have because they pulled Danesiah out of lunch and she didn't eat lunch that day because they took her money."

That's right: the 13-year-old didn't even receive an apology from the authority figures, even though she was ultimately denied lunch that day, according to her grandmother. Grandma also had this to say: "It was very outrageous for them to do it. There was no need for police involvement. They're charging kids like they're adults now."

This may seem like a small, silly story, but the grandmother has it exactly right: public schools overwhelmingly assume that children's misdeeds represent criminal wrongdoing and should be referred to the police. If little Danesiah had actually been attempting to pass off a fake $2 bill as legal tender, it was the school's job to discipline her, not a matter for the police. And yet law enforcement is routinely brought in to handle the most trivial behavioral disputes in public schools.

Ironically, while K-12 institutions increasingly refer all disciplinary matters to the police, the trend for colleges is the reverse: universities are now encouraged to handle violent sexual crimes themselves, rather than automatically involve the police. These developments could not possibly be any more backward. When there is serious violence in schools, the police should always be called. When kids are just goofing around, let the school—or the parents—take care of it.

 

[timosman]

A tale of customer service, justice and currency as funny as a $2 bill

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2005-03-08/news/0503080089_1_bolesta-pole-baltimore-county

March 08, 2005

PUT YOURSELF in Mike Bolesta's place. On the morning of Feb. 20, he buys a new radio-CD player for his 17-year-old son Christopher's car. He pays the $114 installation charge with 57 crisp new $2 bills, which, when last observed, were still considered legitimate currency in the United States proper. The $2 bills are Bolesta's idea of payment, and his little comic protest, too.

For this, Bolesta, Baltimore County resident, innocent citizen, owner of Capital City Student Tours, finds himself under arrest.

Finds himself, in front of a store full of customers at the Best Buy on York Road in Lutherville, locked into handcuffs and leg irons.

Finds himself transported to the Baltimore County lockup in Cockeysville, where he's handcuffed to a pole for three hours while the U.S. Secret Service is called into the case.

Have a nice day, Mike.

"Humiliating," the 57-year old Bolesta was saying now. "I am 6 feet 5 inches tall, and I felt like 8 inches high. To be handcuffed, to have all those people looking on, to be cuffed to a pole -- and to know you haven't done anything wrong. And me, with a brother, Joe, who spent 33 years on the city police force. It was humiliating."

What we have here, besides humiliation, is a sense of caution resulting in screw-ups all around.

"When I bought the stereo player," Bolesta explains, "the technician said it'd fit perfectly into my son's dashboard. But it didn't. So they called back and said they had another model that would fit perfectly, and it was cheaper. We got a $67 refund, which was fine. As long as it fit, that's all.

"So we go back and pay for it, and they tell us to go around front with our receipt and pick up the difference in the cost. I ask about installation charges. They said, `No installation charge, because of the mix-up. Our mistake, no charge.' Swell.

"But then, the next day, I get a call at home. They're telling me, `If you don't come in and pay the installation fee, we're calling the police.' Jeez, where did we go from them admitting a mistake to suddenly calling the police? So I say, `Fine, I'll be in tomorrow.' But, overnight, I'm starting to steam a little. It's not the money -- it's the threat. So I thought, I'll count out a few $2 bills."

He has lots and lots of them.

With his Capital City Student Tours, he arranges class trips for school kids around the country traveling to large East Coast cities, including Baltimore. He's been doing this for the last 18 years. He makes all the arrangements: hotels, meals, entertainment. And it's part of his schtick that, when Bolesta hands out meal money to students, he does it in $2 bills, which he picks up from his regular bank, Sun Trust.

"The kids don't see that many $2 bills, so they think this is the greatest thing in the world," Bolesta says. "They don't want to spend 'em. They want to save 'em. I've been doing this since I started the company. So I'm thinking, `I'll stage my little comic protest. I'll pay the $114 with $2 bills.'"

At Best Buy, they may have perceived the protest -- but did not sense the comic aspect of 57 $2 bills.

"I'm just here to pay the bill," Bolesta says he told a cashier. "She looked at the $2 bills and told me, `I don't have to take these if I don't want to.' I said, `If you don't, I'm leaving. I've tried to pay my bill twice. You don't want these bills, you can sue me.' So she took the money. Like she's doing me a favor."

He remembers the cashier marking each bill with a pen. Then other store personnel began to gather, a few of them asking, "Are these real?"

"Of course they are," Bolesta said. "They're legal tender."

A Best Buy manager refused comment last week. But, according to a Baltimore County police arrest report, suspicions were roused when an employee noticed some smearing of ink. So the cops were called in. One officer noticed the bills ran in sequential order.



"I told them, `I'm a tour operator. I've got thousands of these bills. I get them from my bank. You got a problem, call the bank,'" Bolesta says. "I'm sitting there in a chair. The store's full of people watching this. All of a sudden, he's standing me up and handcuffing me behind my back, telling me, `We have to do this until we get it straightened out.'

"Meanwhile, everybody's looking at me. I've lived here 18 years. I'm hoping my kids don't walk in and see this. And I'm saying, `I can't believe you're doing this. I'm paying with legal American money.'"

Bolesta was then taken to the county police lockup in Cockeysville, where he sat handcuffed to a pole and in leg irons while the Secret Service was called in.

"At this point," he says, "I'm a mass murderer."

Finally, Secret Service agent Leigh Turner arrived, examined the bills and said they were legitimate, adding, according to the police report, "Sometimes ink on money can smear."

This will be important news to all concerned.

For Baltimore County police, said spokesman Bill Toohey, "It's a sign that we're all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world."

The other day, one of Bolesta's sons needed a few bucks. Bolesta pulled out his wallet and "whipped out a couple of $2 bills. But my son turned away. He said he doesn't want 'em any more."

He's seen where such money can lead.

 

[TheTexan]

Just use credit cards like a normal person.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Just use credit cards like a normal person.

You are a Good Citizen, comrade.

 

[ChristianAnarchist]

I'm sure she looked like she was up to some criminal actions so even if the $2 was real, it is up to the goons to make sure she is punished because... because.

 

[squarepusher]

this is how blacks are treated like criminals in our country

 

[euphemia]

The bill says "Legal tender for all debts public and private" right on it. Schools and merchants are breaking the law by not accepting them.

 

[Danke]

Make your own $2 bill pad.

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Bill-Pad/

 

[Danke]

All school meals should be provided free for the children. Then this would never be a problem.

 

[phill4paul]

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2005-03-08/news/0503080089_1_bolesta-pole-baltimore-county

For Baltimore County police, said spokesman Bill Toohey, "It's a sign that we're all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world."

It's a sign that you are paranoid to the point of needing to be institutionalized for the safety of the community at large.

 

[euphemia]

I ask the bank for $2 bills. I send them to my daughter to use for Tooth Fairy money for her children. Cool points for Gammie.

 

[donnay]

Some people are just imbeciles.

 

[Saint Vitus]

Who hasn't seen a $2 bill before? It's baffling to think of all these teachers, administrators, lunch ladies, and police none of them have ever seen a $2 bill.

 

[Saint Vitus]

Who hasn't seen a $2 bill before? It's baffling to think of all these teachers, administrators, lunch ladies, and police none of them have ever seen a $2 bill. I have several of them in my house.

 

[acptulsa]

Some people are just imbeciles.

Yes. But is that the whole explanation?

So, this cafeteria worker gets a bill unlike any he or she has seen before. It certainly looks impressive, with tons of intraglio scrollwork, an impressive portrait of Jefferson and a fine likeness of an interesting old mansion on the back, and all the right mumbo jumbo in even lettering all around. Does this person say, well, that's a conversation piece worth two dollars, and pocket it, substituting two of his or her own dollars in the till? No--it has become a fad of late to prohibit employees who handle cash from making such substitutions, and from making any personal transactions with customers. And The Pen accused this person of trying to pass counterfeit currency, so the bill cannot be accepted. This cafeteria worker is risking losing that job if he or she does anything other than kicking this problem upstairs. His or her hands are tied.

Now, one would hope that the principal gets involved at this point, because accusing a child of counterfeiting is certainly not something that any rational system would leave to a flunkie. Enter an educated person who presumably has at least a master's degree from some reputable institution of higher learning. Does this person, who is (or should be) an expert in child development, look at all of this fine engraving, all of this scrollwork and perfect lettering and its recognizable portrait (dare we ask if this principal is familiar with Thomas Jefferson and his mansion Monticello?), and say, there is no way this was created by a thirteen year old child? Does this principal use the internet to see if this bill is a denomination that was ever issued by the Treasury, and check to see if they were ever withdrawn from circulation and declared Not Money? Does this person go to the chemistry teacher and ask how The Pen works, The Pen being the sole source of evidence that this child is passing counterfeit money? Does this principal interrupt chemistry class for the five minutes it would take to learn that if a bill sat under a piece of normal, wood pulp paper for sixty years there might be enough traces of that wood pulp clinging to the bill to react with the chemicals in The Pen? Does the principal look at all of that intricate detail, and get visions of the prizes this child could win for that school if he or she actually is talented enough to pull that off at the age of thirteen? No. If this principal, presumably vetted to ensure that the welfare of the children is a fairly high priority in their minds, decides to blow this thing off, to be governed by a sense of proportion concerning this alleged two dollar crime, someone could tell the tale and this principal could later be accused of aiding and abetting a counterfeiter. And if the two dollar bill is no longer around at that point, how could this presumed guilty principal prove his or her innocence? This problem must be kicked upstairs.

'Upstairs' in this case being a junior college Associate Degree holding steroid junkie moron in a uniform. Does this beat cop stop to think that this is a federal crime the child is accused of, and call in the Secret Service? Does this individual stop to think that the child did nothing to deserve a false arrest, and use the car the taxpayers put at his disposal to go to any bank and ask if this bill is legal tender? Does this beat cop think, this child couldn't possibly run a counterfeiting operation alone, it doesn't fit the M.O? Does this beat cop call in a detective to delve into the possibility that this child is the tip of an iceberg, and maybe is more of a useful source of information than a malignant criminal mastermind? Does this cop remember his Associate's Degree classwork, and recall that a normal criminal does not risk decades of his freedom for minor payouts or deliberately call attention to his crimes by making them unusual and likely to draw the sort of attention something as unusual as a two dollar bill would attract? No. This is above his pay grade. Departmental regulations do not say, spare this innocent child a boatload of trauma and find a logical explanation. The regulations say, drag the kid in kicking and screaming, and if they kick too hard make up some more charges to stick them with.

So, have we degenerated to the point where even these college educated people placed in positions of responsibility and trust by the community don't have enough brains, or enough clue about how to use their brains, to prevent this trauma and this tragedy? Do they really not have enough sense of proportion to see that giving a child PTSD over two dollars' worth of greasy fried chicken is unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, even in the logically highly unlikely event that the child is guilty, and spent hours creating this masterpiece him- or herself? No.

No, they did not, because their positions no longer empower them to use their brains and their good sense, the regulations governing their departments no longer give them the leeway to get to the bottom of a confusing situation, they are not allowed to even let themselves be swayed by the chemical and civic expertise they have right at their fingertips, teaching these things to other children in classrooms right there in the building. Going to the bank to check on the legality of this bill is showing too much initiative, it's using up the time of employees in ways their masters did not anticipate and allow for, it's a decision which has been moved above their pay grade. They are not held responsible for perpetrating miscarriages of justice, or for giving children they are entrusted to protect PTSD. But they are held accountable for using 'resources' in ways not authorized in advance by people who didn't anticipate such a situation, they are held criminally liable if the rumor mill hints that they might have let a criminal escape their clutches, and they are swiftly dealt with if they make an obvious and sensible decision that is reserved for those above their pay grade. They are not authorized to call in the Secret Service, they are not authorized to waste the time of detectives even if this is not a waste of the detectives' time, they are not allowed to think at all.

And then every media editor--every national member of the Watchdog Fourth Estate without which that same, wise Thomas Jefferson said a republic could not function properly, outside of reason.com decides to bury the story. Because if parents knew how completely the principal they trust had their hands tied by these rigid regulations, it would open up one hell of a can of worms all across the nation.

Are they too imbecilic to work out this simple puzzle? Could the school's chemistry teacher really not rinse off this old bill, and let it dry, and then tell this lunch counter worker, take The Pen to it now and see if the mark it leaves is black? Could no one have really figured out that no counterfeiter capable of such fine work would ever waste it on a bill this small, this worthless, and this likely to call undue attention to itself? Of course they could, and probably did. They just couldn't figure out a way to prevent this unjust trauma from being perpetrated on this child, and cover their own asses too.

They are but cogs in a system that is broken, is diseased, is rotten at its very core. The Pen accuses, the child is traumatized. And everyone says, it was unavoidable. And it is unavoidable, too--until we either fix or trash this diseased System.

 

[TheTexan]

this is how blacks are treated like criminals in our country

Oh, she was black? The $2 bill probably came from a drug sale.

This all makes sense now.

 

[Anti Federalist]

Oh fuck me, I have not got enough +rep for this.

Bravo

Yes. But is that the whole explanation?

So, this cafeteria worker gets a bill unlike any he or she has seen before. It certainly looks impressive, with tons of intraglio scrollwork, an impressive portrait of Jefferson and a fine likeness of an interesting old mansion on the back, and all the right mumbo jumbo in even lettering all around. Does this person say, well, that's a conversation piece worth two dollars, and pocket it, substituting two of his or her own dollars in the till? No--it has become a fad of late to prohibit employees who handle cash from making such substitutions, and from making any personal transactions with customers. And The Pen accused this person of trying to pass counterfeit currency, so the bill cannot be accepted. This cafeteria worker is risking losing that job if he or she does anything other than kicking this problem upstairs. His or her hands are tied.

Now, one would hope that the principal gets involved at this point, because accusing a child of counterfeiting is certainly not something that any rational system would leave to a flunkie. Enter an educated person who presumably has at least a master's degree from some reputable institution of higher learning. Does this person, who is (or should be) an expert in child development, look at all of this fine engraving, all of this scrollwork and perfect lettering and its recognizable portrait (dare we ask if this principal is familiar with Thomas Jefferson and his mansion Monticello?), and say, there is no way this was created by a thirteen year old child? Does this principal use the internet to see if this bill is a denomination that was ever issued by the Treasury, and check to see if they were ever withdrawn from circulation and declared Not Money? Does this person go to the chemistry teacher and ask how The Pen works, The Pen being the sole source of evidence that this child is passing counterfeit money? Does this principal interrupt chemistry class for the five minutes it would take to learn that if a bill sat under a piece of normal, wood pulp paper for sixty years there might be enough traces of that wood pulp clinging to the bill to react with the chemicals in The Pen? Does the principal look at all of that intricate detail, and get visions of the prizes this child could win for that school if he or she actually is talented enough to pull that off at the age of thirteen? No. If this principal, presumably vetted to ensure that the welfare of the children is a fairly high priority in their minds, decides to blow this thing off, to be governed by a sense of proportion concerning this alleged two dollar crime, someone could tell the tale and this principal could later be accused of aiding and abetting a counterfeiter. And if the two dollar bill is no longer around at that point, how could this presumed guilty principal prove his or her innocence? This problem must be kicked upstairs.

'Upstairs' in this case being a junior college Associate Degree holding steroid junkie moron in a uniform. Does this beat cop stop to think that this is a federal crime the child is accused of, and call in the Secret Service? Does this individual stop to think that the child did nothing to deserve a false arrest, and use the car the taxpayers put at his disposal to go to any bank and ask if this bill is legal tender? Does this beat cop think, this child couldn't possibly run a counterfeiting operation alone, it doesn't fit the M.O? Does this beat cop call in a detective to delve into the possibility that this child is the tip of an iceberg, and maybe is more of a useful source of information than a malignant criminal mastermind? Does this cop remember his Associate's Degree classwork, and recall that a normal criminal does not risk decades of his freedom for minor payouts or deliberately call attention to his crimes by making them unusual and likely to draw the sort of attention something as unusual as a two dollar bill would attract? No. This is above his pay grade. Departmental regulations do not say, spare this innocent child a boatload of trauma and find a logical explanation. The regulations say, drag the kid in kicking and screaming, and if they kick too hard make up some more charges to stick them with.

So, have we degenerated to the point where even these college educated people placed in positions of responsibility and trust by the community don't have enough brains, or enough clue about how to use their brains, to prevent this trauma and this tragedy? Do they really not have enough sense of proportion to see that giving a child PTSD over two dollars' worth of greasy fried chicken is unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, even in the logically highly unlikely event that the child is guilty, and spent hours creating this masterpiece him- or herself? No.

No, they did not, because their positions no longer empower them to use their brains and their good sense, the regulations governing their departments no longer give them the leeway to get to the bottom of a confusing situation, they are not allowed to even let themselves be swayed by the chemical and civic expertise they have right at their fingertips, teaching these things to other children in classrooms right there in the building. Going to the bank to check on the legality of this bill is showing too much initiative, it's using up the time of employees in ways their masters did not anticipate and allow for, it's a decision which has been moved above their pay grade. They are not held responsible for perpetrating miscarriages of justice, or for giving children they are entrusted to protect PTSD. But they are held accountable for using 'resources' in ways not authorized in advance by people who didn't anticipate such a situation, they are held criminally liable if the rumor mill hints that they might have let a criminal escape their clutches, and they are swiftly dealt with if they make an obvious and sensible decision that is reserved for those above their pay grade. They are not authorized to call in the Secret Service, they are not authorized to waste the time of detectives even if this is not a waste of the detectives' time, they are not allowed to think at all.

And then every media editor--every national member of the Watchdog Fourth Estate without which that same, wise Thomas Jefferson said a republic could not function properly, outside of reason.com decides to bury the story. Because if parents knew how completely the principal they trust had their hands tied by these rigid regulations, it would open up one hell of a can of worms all across the nation.

Are they too imbecilic to work out this simple puzzle? Could the school's chemistry teacher really not rinse off this old bill, and let it dry, and then tell this lunch counter worker, take The Pen to it now and see if the mark it leaves is black? Could no one have really figured out that no counterfeiter capable of such fine work would ever waste it on a bill this small, this worthless, and this likely to call undue attention to itself? Of course they could, and probably did. They just couldn't figure out a way to prevent this unjust trauma from being perpetrated on this child, and cover their own asses too.

They are but cogs in a system that is broken, is diseased, is rotten at its very core. The Pen accuses, the child is traumatized. And everyone says, it was unavoidable. And it is unavoidable, too--until we either fix or trash this diseased System.

 

[Anti Federalist]

They are but cogs in a system that is broken, is diseased, is rotten at its very core. The Pen accuses, the child is traumatized. And everyone says, it was unavoidable. And it is unavoidable, too--until we either fix or trash this diseased System.

 

[FindLiberty]

...ah we finally spotted the true fake hidden in this story.

It's the whole diseased system that's fake,
including the "certifications" of all these so-called "authorities".

What a bunch or maroons...

 

[acptulsa]

Meanwhile, down the hall in the Civics classroom, the history teacher is leading the class in laughing at the minor Nazi officials for thinking that 'I was just following orders' would be an adequate defense for the crime of victimizing the innocent for daring to be different. And not only telling them that it can't happen here, in the land of personal responsibility, but making them repeat that it can't happen here if they want to pass the class.