A teen caught smoking marijuana was ordered to do 200 push-ups in order to escape prison time.
A Texas law enforcement officer found a rather unusual method to deal with an adolescent whom he caught smoking marijuana outside an Arlington movie theater.
The protagonist of this savory tale is Eric Ball, a law enforcement officer working at the Arlington Police Department. According to Lieutenant Christ Cook, Arlington PD’s spokesperson, officer Ball was off-duty the night the incident occurred.
While in the neighborhood, someone told the officer that a young man was smoking marijuana behind the movie theater. When the officers arrive, he found a 17-years old discarding his cigarette and getting ready to enter the movie theater.
Officer Ball approached the young man and said that he knew what he was smoking, as marijuana has a distinct smell. What followed was indeed surprising. Instead of arresting the young man for consuming illicit substances, the Texas officer ordered him to do 200 push-ups.
He said that it was either that or a trip down to the station. Officer Ball argued that the individual made no attempts to defend himself against the officer’s claims and complied with his orders. Reluctantly, the teen began to do the push-ups in order to escape a prison sentence.
The officer’s unusual way to deal with the teen made him the star of every social media channel. The teen’s ‘performance’ was recorded by some individuals who were in the area. Moreover, the persons recording the whole event as well as those who have seen the social media posts applauded the officer’s unique approach.
So, instead of having to spend time behind bars, the young man is free to roam like a bird, albeit with a pair of sore arms from doing all those push-ups.
When questioned about the case, the Texas officer said that he was inspired by his days on the playing field. It would seem that officer Ball was quite the football star back in High School. He said that during the team’s training sessions, the coach would use the ‘drop and give me fifty’ method to keep the athletes in shape and to discipline them.
The officer declared that the method he used to discipline the boy is far more efficient than putting him behind bars. After the boy was done, he ran back inside the cinema to meet with his mother. Ball followed him, told the women what her son has done, and left the boy off the hook with a warning.
Jovially, the boy’s mother said that if she found the boy before the officer, she would have ordered him to do more push-ups.
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