Quote :

Man charged with slapping loud kid in Kent theater
BY LEVI PULKKINEN, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Updated 04:42 p.m., Tuesday, May 22, 2012


An Auburn man accused of smacking a loud 10-year-old at a Kent movie theater could face months in jail if convicted of the felony assault charge now filed against him.

King County prosecutors contend 21-year-old Yong Hyun Kim knocked out one of the boy’s teeth after the child and several other youths refused to quiet down and stop throwing popcorn in April.

According to charging documents, Kim admitted to hitting the boy and appeared ashamed when confronted by police with the boy’s age. Kim allegedly said he thought the boy was an adult when he slapped him in the face.

The Associated Press reports the incident occured during a screening of "Titanic" in 3-D.

At 10:40 p.m. on April 11, Kent police were called to the AMC Theater at 426 Ramsay Way following a complaint that a man had attacked a child there.

Officers arrived to find to find the 10-year-old, his mother and several friends in the theater lobby. The boy was bleeding from the nose and missing a tooth.

The boy told police he wasn’t sure why Kim struck him. He said he was seated in the theater when a man with “long hair and … 3D glasses” stepped over a row of seats and confronted him.

According to the boy’s account, Kim said something to the effect of, “You know what, I paid a lot of money to see this movie” and punched him in the face.

For his part, Kim said the boy and others were talking loudly during the movie and throwing popcorn, some of which landed on him and his girlfriend, a Kent detective told the court.

Kim told police he confronted the group about their behavior, to no avail, the detective continued.

“The group laughed at him and did not quiet down,” the detective said in court documents. “Yong (Kim) said he hit one of the subjects in the face with an open hand.”

“I got so mad that it just happened,” Kim told police, according to charging documents.

Kim was arrested and later gave a lengthy statement to police. The detective noted Kim claimed he didn’t know the boy was so young until police informed him.

“When (the arresting officer) asked Yong (Kim) if he was aware that the person he struck was 10 years old … Yong hung his head down and said he thought the person was a grown man,” the detective told the court.

Kim has been charged with second-degree assault, a felony. Kim, who has no criminal record, was briefly jailed and has since been released.

Check the Seattle 911 crime blog for more Seattle crime news. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.

Source:
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Man-charged-with-slapping-loud-kid-in-Kent-theater-3574696.php

I understand what he did (if he's telling the truth about not knowing it was a kid) but I don't condone it. That's what the manager is for. I don't think he would have done this in Florida.

Alan Smithee wrote:

I understand what he did (if he's telling the truth about not knowing it was a kid) but I don't condone it. That's what the manager is for. I don't think he would have done this in Florida.

You're right, Alan, he should've let the manager slap the kid instead.

LOL. That's so fucked up. Some of these kids deserve it though...so I can't feel TOO bad.

Nystyle709 wrote:

LOL. That's so fucked up. Some of these kids deserve it though...so I can't feel TOO bad.

Thumbs WAY WAAAAY up on that one.

Supernova wrote:

You're right, Alan, he should've let the manager slap the kid instead.

Wanna go to the movies?

My question... the mother was there when the police arrived... BUT where was she when her kid was throwing popcorn and getting smacked???

by looking online it appears the movie is PG13.. in my area kids wouldnt get admitted without a parent. And believe it of not... when i was about 22, my bro 21, we tried to get into Friday the 13th and because it was R, my bro was not permitted in the movie!!!! They said that you need a PARENT, not an adult with you... and because I was not old enough to be a parent, they would not let him in. At the time he did not own a car/drive on a regular basis and did not always carry his license!


SO AGAIN!!!! WHERE was this woman??? if my kid was acting up, i would quiet him. If a man jumped over a row of seats to approach my kid... he would have seen something coming at him in 3D and it wouldnt be the big damn iceburg! LOL

wants2laugh wrote:

If a man jumped over a row of seats to approach my kid... he would have seen something coming at him in 3D and it wouldnt be the big damn iceburg! LOL

I call b.s. on him not knowing the age. It was a group of young boys acting up, their behavior gave away their age. I am sure, collectively, they looked like a group of Jr. high kids. That guy just has anger management issues.

I am not condoning the kids acting like idiots, but that is when you go complain to someone to get them kicked out.

RedBedroom wrote:

I call b.s. on him not knowing the age. It was a group of young boys acting up, their behavior gave away their age. I am sure, collectively, they looked like a group of Jr. high kids. That guy just has anger management issues.

I am not condoning the kids acting like idiots, but that is when you go complain to someone to get them kicked out.

Yup... And I do hope this man does get jail time and anger management... maybe he should pay to have the kids tooth replaced as well... the hell he thinking knocking out a 10 year old's tooth!

Sigh..................

He should have slapped the mother of the boy instead.

Bluesmama wrote:

He should have slapped the mother of the boy instead.

I agree in principle but just because the kid was cutting up doesn't necessarily mean his parents aren't doing their job.

ugh... yes it does!!! I mean there is a difference between a quick outburst.. and continued outbursts with throwing popcorn.

I admit i did it at 12yrs.. and it was fun... and we thought we had a right cause we paid to get in too...

but if someone would have gone to management, then we would have behaved... if a parent would have been there--- it would NOT have happened at all!

Alan Smithee wrote:

I agree in principle but just because the kid was cutting up doesn't necessarily mean his parents aren't doing their job.

Just because the mom was there eventually doesn't mean she was there for the movie. So I agree with you that the mom needs to punish the kid but not be directly held to blame for the kid acting like an ass.

like i said... the movie is PG 13--- maybe they should both sue the movie theater for letting the kids in without a parent!

wants2laugh wrote:

like i said... the movie is PG 13--- maybe they should both sue the movie theater for letting the kids in without a parent!

That only works with R and X ratings, PG13 anybody can get into.

REALLY>>> here they wont let the kids in without "adults"--- not necessarily a parent


i mean seriously... she is one of those parents whose kid goes missing from the bathroom while his friends are watching the movie and then will cry on camera "please send my kid home" bitch shouldve been in control

wants2laugh wrote:

REALLY>>> here they wont let the kids in without "adults"--- not necessarily a parent


i mean seriously... she is one of those parents whose kid goes missing from the bathroom while his friends are watching the movie and then will cry on camera "please send my kid home" bitch shouldve been in control

I guess there are just more pedophiles and such then when I was a kid. There was never a problem for my parents to send me off to a movie with a group of friends. Drop us off and pick us up.

Alan Smithee wrote:

I guess there are just more pedophiles and such then when I was a kid. There was never a problem for my parents to send me off to a movie with a group of friends. Drop us off and pick us up.

They were only 10 and it was after 10. I wouldn't have let my son in a theater alone at that age, even with the drop off pick up scenario. #1 reason is safety and #2 reason, fear of them acting up. My son was a young 12 when I allowed him in the theater alone with friends.

I'm not saying this particular woman is mother of the year material. My point is that when a kid acts up it's not automatically the parent's fault.

Alan Smithee wrote:

I'm not saying this particular woman is mother of the year material. My point is that when a kid acts up it's not automatically the parent's fault.

Kids are going to show off when they're away from their parents, especially when they're with friends. Doesn't make what they do ok but parents can't control every moment of their kids lives.