Sounds like a minor parking lot fight - assault charges? Geez, what is this world coming to? Once upon a time, this would have been handled by administrators and parents and usually ended with one teenager apologizing to the other. I blame the parents... dopes.

well....folks from New Canaan thought the Darien five should go to jail for grafitti....so it makes sense....to them...

I actually think the graffiti incident is more serious than a fight between two teenagers. Funny.. imagine how this would have been handled in different eras.. 1950s: Dad buys you a pair of boxing gloves and shows you how to defend yourself 1970s: Mom and Dad call over to the other boy's parents and everyone has a talk with their sons and it's solved that way 1990s: Mom and Dad are mortified and go to the principle demanding the school district takes care of it 2012: Mom and Dad weep into their pillows about the injustic of their son being hit by another human being and call their lawyers and police. Evolution, eh?

He should have used his car, he would still be free.

Touche Lisa!~!~

"Graffiti incident more serious than a fight between two teenagers"....Graffiti CAN be cleaned up with dollars and cents....an injury to person could last a lifetime.....THAT is why fights are taken serious today. Seems you folks are a bit confused.....hope you're not that confused when you're driving a car.....

i think that everyone should mind their own buisness. this graffitti has nothing to do with a fight at the high school. i am the parent of one of the students that was involved and i agree that maybe he shouldnt have been arrested. having said that, this unfortunate incident did happen and its over. and mr bauer, im not a dope. get the facts straight before you state your opinions. you dont know the story so lets just leave it alone.. thank you..

A simple incident where clearly there was no real injury gets blown out of proportion. It's fine example of the school and PD kicking the can down the road instead of dealing with it on practical level. It seems like a case that did not have to be prosecuted and a waste of police resources.
It's a good lesson though for teens if they find themselves in trouble at school. They should never speak to school administrators without their parents and or attorney present. Miranda rights do not exist in a school setting and anything you say can and will be used against you.
It's counter intuitive but sadly realistic in the world we live in.

Can we all get back to lambasting people for going out for dinner while their husband isn't working or for opening legitimate retail businesses please? What is going on here? Where is Zira?? WHERE. IS. ZIRA?!

Maybe the best advice is don't attack other students and if anything resembling a crime occurs, don't talk without parents or a lawyer.

Remember if 2 people get into a fight, the police may charge BOTH. What the prosecutor will do is anybody's guess.

If you are a parent, demand a truthful accounting from your student. If they were bullying or lie, come down hard.

Patch is for real issues as well as fluff. Sometimes we need one or the other.

I'm very confused by some of your attitudes.
As a graduate of NCHS, I find it horribly disgusting that some of you are publicly denouncing police involvement. A student that is 17 years old KNOWS better than to fight. And if he doesn't, that's just all the more reason for him to get in trouble.

NCHS students have a serious issue with accountability for their actions. They constantly assume that since they aren't 18, they won't get punished for their actions. In the off chance that they do, they assume mommy and daddy will take of it. The disillusionment is absurd.

Fighting takes two. While none of us know ALL of the details, the fact is the second student could have left, or somehow deescalated the situation. I am in no way saying the second student was responsible in whole, but both students need to recognize they have a least a portion of the responsibility for this action.

As a youthful offender, the student is most likely going to get a fine (that I can almost guarentee mommy and daddy will pay), or be asked for community service.

The student broke the law, and hit another human being. It's ludicrous for individuals to bash the police, the school, and the parents for having the instigator charged. I can almost guarantee that if someone hit you, you'd the individual charged.
Stop sheltering and defending students with bad behavior. Because, unfortunately, that only reinforces their misguided idea of invincibility.

A waste of taxpayer money and time. A minor school fight need not involve the police department then lawyers, etc. What will be next, a student arrested for cutting the line in the cafeteria? Where is the NCHS admin in this school matter?

KMH, you make my point. The police could charge both students, the prosecutor could indict both students and it could get messy for all.
That is why everybody should have no illusions about what is happening. If the judge gives out fines and community service, that's within the power of the judge and that is what the legal system is all about.
I have been hit in my life and I never had anybody charged. If you walk away while someone is pounding on you, you will get pounded in the back of the head, which is technically a rabbitt punch and potentially damaging.
There is no mentioning of sheltering in my comments. If my son got charged, I would hire a lawyer. Do you think I'd risk my son's life to imprisonment, sexual assault or AIDS/HIV without defending him?
I WOULD deal with him, make no mistake. He would NEVER forget the incident.

Given the Patch info, we don’t know who did what or how much. Frankly, I don’t think much of a law which doesn’t allow you to defend yourself.
KMH, you don’t seem to have much familiarity with people who were stomped, now have a steel plate in their head or ended up with dentures to replace all the teeth which were knocked out.
I am not assuming that a prisoner automatically gets AIDS/HIV from being imprisoned but there is a significant probability of rape and consequent AIDS/HIV infection.
Your attitude shows you are not familiar with crime and punishment matters. Jail is not a tea party or an electronic game, it is real life. Watch some “Beyond Scared Straight” episodes to see what it is like. Here’s a link.
“http://www.aetv.com/beyond-scared-straight”
Why do you think that because parents can spend a bunch of money they are powerless? If my son were a hopeless case after I got him out of trouble, I could delay or remove college funding. When I said he would NEVER forget it, I meant it. I know what my own father – whom I dearly loved – would do and it makes a difference. He worked too hard to waste his money on me if I were a bum.
This is a schoolyard fight, though, so we have to avoid overreacting to the situation.
I am telling you what I think the judicial system is all about and I am saying what I think is responsible parental behavior. You may change your mind after you get better informed. You might be a better parent later.

HIGH SCHOOL -- 1959 vs. 2009

Scenario 1:
Joe goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck's gun rack.
1959 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Joe's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Joe.
2009 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Joe hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers..

Scenario 2:
Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.
1959 - Crowd gathers. Johnny wins.. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2009 - Police called and SWAT team arrives -- they arrest both Johnny and Mark. They are both charged with assault and both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario 3:
Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disrupts other students.
1959 - Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by the Principal. He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again..
2009 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. He becomes a zombie. He is then tested for ADD. The school gets extra money from the state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario 4:
Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1959 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and becomes a successful businessman.
2009 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse.. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. The state psychologist is told by Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.

Scenario 5:
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1959 - Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock.
2009 - The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. His car is then searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario 6:
Pedro fails high school English.
1959 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.
2009 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against the state school system and Pedro'sEnglish teacher. English is then banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario 7:
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed.
1959 - Ants die.
2009 - ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called. Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. The FBI investigates his parents -- and all siblings are removed from their home and all computers are confiscated. Johnny's dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario 8:
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1959 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing...
2009 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

J Bauer, most of the time your arguments are well-thought out. If you want to think my knowledge comes from TV or other media, it's a free country. You mean well, but if KMH now thinks my comments are unrealistic, and some sort of fantasy, and does not learn the realities, that would be a shame. The court can hold defendants responsible even if they are ignorant of the law so it’s better to be informed and even better to avoid the crime.
I could have suggested another educational route for KMH but I don't think a trip to East Main Street in Bridgeport at 1 in the morning would be worth the risk.
When I see some of the comments that suggest students should "act like men and come forward", it worries me. It is basically STUPID to subject yourself voluntarily to the criminal justice system. It's like paying taxes. You pay what you owe but no more. You try to change the laws if you can but observe them while they are on the books.
The crime rate in New Canaan is virtually zero. You can check out the FBI crime reports for municipal entities anywhere in the US and you will see how low it is. This is not a place where most people are familiar with violent crime. Maybe you have seen it in your life, but most here have not.
If there are attorneys who practice criminal law and read Patch, maybe one will comment. The jails are too full already.

Since marijuana under 1/2 an ounce is decriminalized, why is it always reported? If you include a weed ticket, you should include all tickets, fair is fair.

Siwanoy, all of my examples with Moe, Larry and Curly are hypothetical. There is no reference to any actual incident reported in Patch. If there are NCHS students or citizens named Moe, Larry or Curley, any reference to them is purely coincidental.