to think this should be taken more seriously

[likoko]

My younger brother is on holiday from university and went out with some of this friends last night. On the way back they were apparently making a lot of noise and a passing police car told them to keep the noise down. My brother then aimed a "vitriol of abuse" accrding to his friends at the police woman telling them to keep their voice and was eventually arrested. He was released without charge this morning and most of my family think its hilarious. My sister posted on facebook about how proud she was of him giving it back to the old bill. AIBU to think that swearing at a police officer is not funny and my brother shouldn't be lauded for it.

it's pathetic - YANBU

Yes.

They should've charged him.

Can't stand people who think it's reasonable to hurl abuse at people.

I would have been really bollocked for getting into trouble with the police. I guess not all families feel the same about authority.

Fuck me your bro must be soooo cool giving lip to tha filth

YANBU - This is the kind of thing that happens in my DP's family. When I first met my DP (who is lovely and not like the rest of them) his younger brothers would often do things like this, and I, at first expected his mum to give them a good telling off. But NO, she laughed along.

Icelollycraving- hats how I feel but it seems like I'm in a small minority in my family.

Thats not hats

No problem as long as when he gets mugged/burgled/knifed he doesn't go crying to the police to help him out.

I think a night in the cell is appropriate.

Purely thinking of the police and all the paperwork and faf they'd have to do if they charged everyone who was rude to them.

YANBU.

Your brother is a pathetic little prick.

Your sister is thick.

I don't think he should have been charged (the police and courts have much better things to do) its more the reaction of my family that bothers me.

People give the police a hard time but they are the first people to be called when they need help.

My brother is going through a hard time atm, and for his own mixed up reasons wanted to go to prison/be locked up for the night. So he threw a brick at a police car outside the station.

Instead of arresting him the police could see he was distressed and sat him down and went out of their way to support him. In the end they sent him off with a warm drink in his stomach and lots of advice/numbers for the Samaritans.

Unknown to them he was suicidal that night and I will doubt they realized how much they actually helped him that night.

I've seen kids as young as 8 giving a mouthful of abuse to the police, and their parents were soooo proud

YANBU. Your family sound very childish about this issue. Abuse and aggression are never funny.

YANBU my DH is a PC and this is a daily occurrence.

Respect begins at home and unfortunately many families don't see the police as a force to be respected. But as another poster said, the first port of call when the proverbial hits the fan.

They should be respected but sometimes the way they behave does not deserve respect

Sometimes - oftentimes! - the way the public behave does not deserve respect. I'm not sure anyone is paid enough to take the endless shit meted out to Police, Nurses etc for no other reason that some little gobshite has been dragged up by feckless parents who shouldn't be allowed goldfish, never mind children.

My DS's feet wouldn't touch the ground if I heard he'd hurled abuse at anyone let alone the police. I'd be mortified. There seems to be a huge increase in the number of people who think it's ok to be abusive to figures of authority and I find it disgusting.

Yanbu, how weird of your family to congratulate him on that behaviour!

I've been on marches and protests, worked with offenders, been an appropriate adult and worked in addiction and homelessness. Some Police, very few, are arseholes. I have seen more be kind, reasonable, caring, patient and wonderful.

I have also had jobs where abuse being hurled at me is normal. I wish people would act more like humans and less like twunts.

Yanbu. People that behave like that are twats.

Yanbu at all.

Bein drunk and sticking it to the police is such shameful and ignorant behaviour.

Every officer is an individual, sober person at work - probably with a family and kids of their own at home - dealing with this kind of rubbish rveryl day, having their pay cut and hands tied by bureaucracy. What ever your job is and whoever you work for, no one deserves to be verbally or physically abused at work.

You should speak up and maybe you could change their attitude.

My best friend is a Police Officer and I'm sorry but it's jumped up little pricks trying to look hard, like your brother, that waste time and cost money. She has been physically assaulted on more than one occassion for doing her job.

They don't see the individual, just a uniform.

YANBU!!

It used to be that if the police told a child off, they would go home and moan to their parents and get a clip round the ear from them for their trouble, so by the time they were your brothers age ie old enough to go out drinking, they had more respect. That doesn't happen now.

Fair dos for not giving him a criminal record but they should have billed him for the time wasted and the cell space. No wonder police can't go after burglars and stuff with idiots like these to deal with