In response to Bill Ezpeleta's letter, "Teenagers being denied rights in PTC."

When I was a young teenager (13-15), I felt my rights were frequently denied when I was questioned by the police. I was taken to the police station (in handcuffs, after being caught out of my house after curfew).

After my parents came to pick me up, I complained that I had done nothing wrong, or at least nothing warranting my hands being cuffed. After a few years and a little more growing up I realized that I was wrong to feel as I did. Being out past curfew is against the law. Being in handcuffs was the price I had to pay for that infraction of the law.

When the young man (who was judged in a court of law and lost his license on the same day) moved the car, he was in violation of the law. Why is it the police officers' job to inform him that he couldn't move the car? Didn't he know that you can't drive without a license? Plain and simple, he knew he couldn't drive but he did.

When a juvenile is pulled over with alcohol in the car, sealed or not, that driver is breaking the law. As a driver he/she is responsible. They are operating the vehicle legally, and the driver is responsible to make sure they are not in violation of the law.

I know mistakes are made, but we are a nation of laws. We pay our officers to enforce the law, and not to listen to excuses (that's what a judge does). When it comes to illegal searches, a car can be searched without permission or a warrant.

If you are afraid of possible retribution for speaking up, let me remind you that you don't live in a communist state where you would be sent to boot camp for exercising your first amendment right. Boot camps are for teens that have been punished, not for good kids who have done nothing wrong.

Sir, if you believe that kids are being arrested and taken to boot camp for doing nothing wrong, you are badly mistaken. When offenders have their day in court, they are judged by a person that has earned that position after many years of courtroom experience.

If you feel their rights were "denied," you wasted $1,500 in lawyer fees because that's what he/she is there for. Your children are not being "cheated" by the judicial system; they are being judged and punished for breaking the law. When you listen to enough hearsay and exaggerated stories, the first instinct is to blame the party that caused those feelings. However, in the end, we are left with responsibility for our own actions.

It troubles me to think that parents would excuse the actions of their children and blame the police. The reason we enjoy a low crime rate is because of our fine (and nationally accredited) police department. It is a very diversified department with a great mix of people with different ethnicities and backgrounds. I am proud of our officers and would encourage them to keep up the good work.

P.S. If you have experienced this type of problem with the PCPD, don't drive without a license (not even two feet), don't drive with alcohol in the car if you are under the legal drinking age, and if you're wrong, don't spend $1,800 trying to prove the police were wrong.

Remember that the judge has the final say, and that is what is beautiful about justice.