A Texas police officer let a teenager do push-ups as a punishment for smoking weed instead of carting him off to jail.
Officer Eric Ball, identified by the Arlington Police, came across the teen when he was working off-duty as security at the Tinseltown Cinemark, reports WFAA.
A person informed him that there was someone outside smoking weed. When Ball went outside to investigate, he saw the teen finishing up the rest of the cigarette.
“Marijuana gives a distinct odor. He knew what the teen was up to,” Lt. Chris Cook with Arlington Police said.
Ball said that the teen was facing a misdemeanor citation and fines for having drug paraphernalia for smoking the weed.
“You out here in front of the door smoking weed. What are you thinking? That was dumb,” Ball said. “So you’re going to go to jail for something dumb.”
Ball decided to offer the teen a second chance. Either the teen could go to jail or do 200 push-ups, Ball proposed.
Another woman caught the exchange on camera and posted it on social media. She took the video to show that police officers aren’t always bad.
“We think the police is so bad. They’re not all bad,” the woman said in the video.
The boy’s mother thought the punishment wasn’t harsh enough; she suggested 1,000 push-ups instead of 200, according to Ball.
Ball said he was was inspired to give the teen a second chance because of lessons his mentor had imparted to him.
“The officer who was my mentor, he looked out for me,” Ball explained. “So I just wanted to do it as a learning tool.”
Ball added that he wanted the teenager to change from the interaction.
“It’s easy to arrest folks. But it’s harder to change someone,” Ball said.
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