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A 14-year-old boy walked into a Chicago police station, successfully obtained an assignment, and spent five hours patrolling in a squad car before he was detected. I can't wait to find out how that happened. --Bob

Bob78164 wrote:A 14-year-old boy walked into a Chicago police station, successfully obtained an assignment, and spent five hours patrolling in a squad car before he was detected. I can't wait to find out how that happened. --Bob

I'm relieved to hear that "the boy looked older than fourteen." Otherwise, I would have some serious questions....

My oldest has looked much older than he is for the last three years or so, but his haircut (or lack thereof) would be a dead giveaway he's not a cop.

I suppose it's okay if they had put him in an exit row on a plane when he was 12 (the gate agent thought he was 17, and she had a 16-year-old daughter so it's not like she never saw kids that age), since he was bigger than I was and able to open the door more easily than I could, but I hope no one lets him buy alcohol without checking. He wouldn't try now, but when his friends get a bit older I'll start worrying.......

minimetoo26 wrote:My oldest has looked much older than he is for the last three years or so, but his haircut (or lack thereof) would be a dead giveaway he's not a cop.

I suppose it's okay if they had put him in an exit row on a plane when he was 12 (the gate agent thought he was 17, and she had a 16-year-old daughter so it's not like she never saw kids that age), since he was bigger than I was and able to open the door more easily than I could, but I hope no one lets him buy alcohol without checking. He wouldn't try now, but when his friends get a bit older I'll start worrying.......

Is this a repeat from a different thread, or am I experiencing literary deja vu?

minimetoo26 wrote:My oldest has looked much older than he is for the last three years or so, but his haircut (or lack thereof) would be a dead giveaway he's not a cop.

I suppose it's okay if they had put him in an exit row on a plane when he was 12 (the gate agent thought he was 17, and she had a 16-year-old daughter so it's not like she never saw kids that age), since he was bigger than I was and able to open the door more easily than I could, but I hope no one lets him buy alcohol without checking. He wouldn't try now, but when his friends get a bit older I'll start worrying.......

There's a great local kid who started looking 30 about the time he turned 16. He looked 30 for about 15 years, then started losing his hair in his early 30s. Now he looks his age.

If the local liquor enforcement folkses had ever wanted to run a sting for ID checking, he would have been perfect. He always acted older too.

I this your worries are justified, Mini. Even if he doesn't buy it for himself, it's very difficult to turn down your friends. One young man who was a bit older than his classmates refused to buy them cigarettes when he turned 18 by saying, "I'm not going to help you kill yourself!" That worked for him.

franktangredi wrote:

Bob78164 wrote:A 14-year-old boy walked into a Chicago police station, successfully obtained an assignment, and spent five hours patrolling in a squad car before he was detected. I can't wait to find out how that happened. --Bob

I'm relieved to hear that "the boy looked older than fourteen." Otherwise, I would have some serious questions....

Not hard to imagine someone looking older. Greg "old man" Oden was a good example. In this picture (in the green jersey, the kid in white is 16 and looks it) he is at most 17 and while at Ohio State he looked to be about 35...




Here he is at age 20. Or so he claims. Might have gotten his birth certificate from the Chinese 'cause he sure looks older to me...


I have also known of a few girls who at age 14 who could pass for a tad bit older but that's a whole 'nuther kettle of fish....

Bob78164 wrote:A 14-year-old boy walked into a Chicago police station, successfully obtained an assignment, and spent five hours patrolling in a squad car before he was detected. I can't wait to find out how that happened. --Bob

Yeah, but how many times did he vote in the last election? And he looks old enough that GovBlag could have appointed him senator.

Shades of Calvin Graham (enlisted in the US Navy at 12, after Pearl Harbor), James R. Clark (lied to Draft Board, drafted at 13 in 1943), and of course, Frank Abagnale Jr.!

I'm trying to figure out how anyone (much less a 14-year-old boy) who isn't actually a cop manages to get assigned and spend five hours on patrol before being detected. --Bob

It is amazing to me the different levels of maturity high school boys exhibit. For purposes of this post, I leave it to the physical attributes.

One of the members of the varsity football team could easily be mistaken for a 25 yo. I would serve him a drink w/o asking for an ID. BTW, he has a full ride to Rutgers next year.

Even Son1111 does not look 14. Could he pass for a police officer? Maybe, some rookie cops look awfully young.

No matter any of this though, obviously the duty officer was really negligent. You should know who your officers are.

They have some guys driving patrol cars here that look like they could be in the 10th grade. Maybe they should be checked.

He got an assignment, keys to a car, and it took them five hours to figure it out...

1) If I become a career criminal, I now know where to go;

2) Was this kid's last name "Abignale?"

1) If I become a career criminal, I now know where to go;

He didn't do it to be a criminal -- he did it because he wants to be a cop! If you read the last bit of the article, he had been in a program for young people interested in a law enforcement career (Cop Camp?) and learned the talk and the walk from that. I hope this escapade doesn't screw that for him in the future.

One of our high schools is the Law Enforcement/Public Service and JROTC magent. Leah had quite a few friends who went there. Those kids come up to the VA sometimes and do volunteer work or attend programs -- in uniform. Some of them, if I don't take a close look at their insignia, I would take them for active duty.