The Trespassed Skateboarder
You are the only officer on duty at a strip mall at 21:15. A male, roughly 17, who was formally trespassed from the property two weeks ago for skateboarding, is back in the parking lot with two friends. You approach and tell him he needs to leave. He steps to within arm's length, chest out, and says, "Make me," then swings a backpack off his shoulder in your direction. No weapon is visible. Backup is 8–10 minutes away. Three store employees are watching from about 30 feet. He is not blocking a fire lane, is not touching anyone or any vehicle, and the property is private. He has not been accused of any theft or damage tonight.
1. At each stage - approach, "make me," backpack swing - what force, if any, is justified? Explain your reasoning rather than citing a rule.
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Framework: force must be objectively reasonable given the facts known at that moment, judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, not in hindsight. It must be defensive and proportional, aimed at stopping a threat - never at winning, punishing, or teaching a lesson. Authority on private property comes from the owner, and the amount of physical control you may apply varies by jurisdiction; the safest operating assumption is that you use the least force that resolves the threat.
Stage 1 - approach: presence and words only. Distance is your best tool; you had it and gave it up. A better approach is a two-step-off angle, hands visible, staying outside arm's reach.
Stage 2 - "Make me," chest out: still verbal. This is posturing, not an assault. A person stepping close is a signal to create distance, not to strike. Command clearly - "Back up. You're trespassed, you need to leave now" - and step back as you say it.
Stage 3 - backpack swung toward you: now you must decide what the swing actually was. A backpack swung at a person can be an assault; it can also be a kid flinging his bag off as he turns to walk. Ask: did it travel toward your body, did it make contact, did he close distance behind it, did he reset his feet to swing again? If it is a genuine strike or a genuine attempt, a guided deflection, a step offline, and disengagement are proportionate. A takedown or strike is very hard to justify against a 17-year-old with a bag and no weapon when you have distance available and backup coming.
2. You deflect the bag, he stumbles back, and his friends pull him away toward a car. What must happen in the next 30 minutes?
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The force is over - now the process begins.
- Reassess and disengage. Do not pursue to the car. A retreating subject removes the threat; chasing converts a resolved trespass into a new confrontation with three people and no backup.
- Check for injury - his and yours. Offer medical aid if he appears hurt; if he refuses and leaves, note the refusal. Documenting that you assessed him is often the single fact that separates a defensible use of force from an indefensible one.
- Get him the trespass notice, in writing if possible. If he drives off, note the plate and direction; the notice can be served later. A trespass that is not documented is hard to enforce next week.
- Secure witnesses now. The three employees are your best evidence and their recollections fade in an hour. Get names and a one-line account while the scene is fresh.
- Preserve video. Note the camera numbers and the time window so the footage is not overwritten; do not pull or copy it yourself unless your post orders say you may.
- Notify your supervisor before end of shift, verbally if required by policy, and complete the written use-of-force/incident report the same shift. Facts, times, exact words, distance, what you saw. Report the sequence, not a conclusion like "he attacked me."
- Do not: discuss the force with the friends, post about it, or downplay the deflection in the log because no one was hurt.
3. Two days later the youth's mother calls the mall manager alleging your officer "assaulted her son." What in your documentation matters most, and what should you avoid saying?
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What matters most:
- The proportionality story. Trespass (a non-violent property issue) → verbal commands → distance → a single defensive deflection → disengagement. That arc answers the only question that counts: was the force necessary to stop a threat, and did it stop when the threat stopped?
- Corroboration. Witness names from the night, camera coverage, and the written trespass notice establish that this was an enforcement action, not an altercation.
- The injury assessment record. It shows you treated him as a person, not a problem.
- Consistency. Your end-of-shift report and your statement two days later should match. If they do not, that gap becomes the story.
What to avoid: don't speculate about the mother's motives, don't characterize the youth ("he's a known problem"), don't say "he swung at me" if what you saw was a bag coming off a shoulder, and don't negotiate or explain yourself directly to the caller. Route it: written statement to your supervisor, facts only, no conclusions about whether you were "right." If the matter escalates to police or a complaint, that statement is what your company and any insurer will rely on - write every line as though it will be read aloud.