Boot Camp Abuse

Police will investigate whether a crime occurred at a youth boot camp after videos surfaced showing instructors shouting at a boy wearing a tire around his neck and children being told to drink water until some vomited. Investigators will question boot camp operator Kelvin "Sgt. Mac" McFarland.

Prosecutors stated that he handcuffed a truant 14-year-old girl in May and told her family that she would be sent to juvenile detention unless she was enrolled in his camp. She was never enrolled. Another time, several instructors in military-style surround and shout at a boy who is wearing a heavy auto tire. At one point, the boy falls down crying but is ordered to stand again.

Lastly, several girls and boys are repeatedly ordered to drink water from colored plastic bottles. Most vomit and are ordered to keep drinking.

McFarland runs Family First Growth Camp in Pasadena, which like other boot camps uses military-style discipline and exercises with a goal of instilling character and keeping at-risk youngsters away from drugs, alcohol and crime.

"The young men/women who come to us are good kids who have begun to make some poor choices with friends, school, drugs, alcohol, attitude with peers and family members," the website said, adding that through the camp, "these kids seek out, find, then learn to love themselves so they can love their families and start to move in a positive direction."

However, some studies have shown that kids sent to boot camps were no less likely to commit new crimes than those who were placed in juvenile detention or given probation.

"McFarland ran with 28 families, some camp t shirts, and some paperwork," said Keith "Sarge" Gibbs, who runs Sarge's Community Base/Commit II Achieve Boot Camp.

A bill introduced earlier this month by Rep. George Miller, D-Richmond, would require training for boot camp staff. It also would require boot camp instructors to report child abuse and create a federal database where parents can check the credentials of boot camp operators.

(nctimes)

This relates to what we're learning in class because this talks about cruel and unusual punishments, child abuse, and a bill which was being passed to make sure that children who are sent to boot camps are treated correctly. In the bill of rights, it is stated that a court cannot give someone cruel or unusual punishments or give someone an exessive punishments for a minor crime. Child abuse is illegal and the bill was passed for that reason.

this connects to my life because I have seen many cases of "minor child abuse" Some parents either smack their child in public many times for something small and pointless or in the head. most of the children appear to be younger than 4 or 5. This one time, i was going to the store with my mother's friend and we got back into the car. A man in his car pulled up into the parking lot in front of us while he had his child " who was most likely younger than 6" in the front seat. unable to hear what they were saying, i just looked and saw the father smack him right in the head. thye both got out of the car but the little boy began to cry. My mother's friend began to write down their liscence plate number before driving away.

my opinion is that this is a serious case of child abuse and could be taken a step further. if this was only pasedina, then what about the other boot camps? are there others like this, or worse?