A police officer who gave a 7-year-old boy a ticket for throwing a ball which hit the officer's truck has been suspended, according to a newspaper report.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reported that the suspension letter sent to Cody Chapelle said he had written a citation for third-degree criminal mischief as a result of the incident, which took place on Oct. 16, 2009.
Police Chief Robert White wrote that an investigation found Chapelle's truck had not been damaged, the paper reported.
The ticket was written in an effort to persuade the child's mother to discipline him, White wrote, and this meant that the charge was not appropriate, the Courier-Journal said.
"One of our greatest attributes we have as police officers is common sense," White told the paper Wednesday. He said that Chapelle had "showed absolutely no common sense."
The citation sent a "horrendous message" and was "absolutely absurd," White added, according to the report.
Chapelle was suspended for 15 days, the paper said, adding that his attorney, Mary Sharp, said she planned to appeal against it.
The suspension letter said that the officer had also yelled at the mother and told her she was a bad parent, the Courier-Journal reported. He was disciplined for doing so.
