TWO RIVERS, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – After an outcry from the community, Two Rivers police have decided not to ticket two 11-year-olds for making derogatory comments to each other.
Police say the incident happened last Tuesday near a park. One of the children made comments about the other’s sexual orientation and the other made comments with racial slurs, police say. A Two Rivers resident witnessed the incident.
A police officer wrote a ticket to both children. However, Police Chief Brian Kohlmeier announced Monday that the ticket to the child who made racial slurs would be withdrawn. Kohlmeier says the city’s municipal court determined that, based on the circumstances of the incident and the ages of the children, it did not have jurisdiction.
The ticket to the other child was never issued and has been voided.
Kohlmeier wrote in a statement Monday:
“It should be clear that the children in this case did not treat each other with the dignity and respoect they deserved. I think we all agree, as both a police department and a community, that our hopes are that yet another generation will not grow up with the intolerance that unfortunately has existed throughout this nation for so many generations before. In this very emotionally charged time, officers do their best to ensure that the voices of both sides of the situation are heard. The officer did what they believed was right. Citations may not be appropriate in this case, but as community members, it is our responsibility then to educate our children and instill the tolerance and compassion we all deserve as human beings.”
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