HUCK digital archive

Huck magazine

Skateboarder arrested in San Francisco

After skater Zach Stowe was arrested in San Francisco, the question is again raised, 'Whose cities do we really live in?'.

Written by
Posted 18:20 GMT on October 2, 2009 Comments (8)
Skateboarder arrested in San Francisco

In HUCK #015, I wrote about how, with increasing regulations and over-zealous law enforcement officers, we need to question whose cities we really live in. On September 28th, skater Zach Stowe was arrested in San Francisco while shooting a video with 2848 Productions.

Though the lead-up is not recorded, it appears that the skaters had somehow modified a drain covering or paving slab and neighbours called the police. When the officer arrived, the camera continued to roll. Zach calling the policeman a 'fucking dick' probably wasn't the best decision of his life, but what happens next is pretty shocking.

Subscribe to HUCK for six issues
Only £20 (UK) / £43 (EU) / £58 (Rest of the World).

Creative Commons LicenseSkateboarder arrested in San Francisco (text) by Olly Zanetti is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Comments (8)

  • I don't know what to make of this. The kid stepped out of line, but he's a kid and he was fucking skateboarding. I don't think anyone needs to be arrested for that. Or calling a police officer a dick.

    Having said that, I've been out riding round London a bit recently. Seen a lot of 5-0 on my travels. Not been bothered once. Not one word.

    Jon - October 2, 2009, 18:40 / Report abuse
  • "I didn't kick him, I only put my foot on his hip because he refused to get in the car"
    What the hell?

    Alejandra - October 3, 2009, 03:24 / Report abuse
  • You know that dick that you went to school with - the one who no-one actually liked but everyone would kind of tolerate for fear of either being beaten the crap out of or being humiliated by? Well guess what? He grew up and joined the police force.

    There should be a vetting process whereby insecure, power-hungry, suppressed, short-man-syndrome bullies do not get accepted into the force.

    Spamalot - October 5, 2009, 11:06 / Report abuse
  • That guy is seriously scary... There's just no way out of a situation like that because the dude upholding the law, as Zach rightly says, is a 'fucking dick'...

    Tim ‘off da radar’ Radar - October 5, 2009, 12:27 / Report abuse
  • "short-man syndrome"? Are you nuts??? The bullies at my school were all bug dudes...... The two biggest bullies at my school were brothers - one is now a cop and the other works in a prison.... Assholes yes- short- no...... it's short people they were picking on!!! This cop does not look short to me...... What do you think happens when "short" people go around picking on big people..... lets get it right.......

    paddy - October 18, 2009, 08:31 / Report abuse
  • @paddy: I think the term short-man syndrome Spamalot used doesn't have to do with someones size but to how little these guys feel with themselves
    I'm a shortie anyway so bullies back in highschool always appeared bigger than they were haha
    and for the record, that guy IS a fucking dick.

    vicky - October 28, 2009, 13:06 / Report abuse
  • @Vicky - yup, you got me in one. You don't have to be short to suffer from short-man syndrome. You just need to carry around a massive chip on your shoulder. The one thing bullies have in common is that horrible combination of insecurity and bitterness. And unfortunately, that pattern seems to repeat itself in the kind of people who strive to work in the police force.

    Spamalot - October 30, 2009, 11:31 / Report abuse
  • calling him a name isnt illegal. threatening to break his arm and then "kicking" him is. zach broke 1 law, the cop broke 2. who should be getting arrested?

    drukin - March 23, 2010, 05:33 / Report abuse

Please note: Your comment may be held in moderation for approval by an administrator to prevent spamming. This usually doesn't take long, please be patient.

Follow HUCK on Twitter

Huck Newsletter Sign up for our updates

Pop your email address in the box below to receive exclusive updates, offers and competitions.

Blog categories

Recent comments

  • Beautiful presentation!!...
Amanda Wech on HUCK Indies is go
  • Nice one Carl! :)...
  • one awesome artist, skater and all round good person represent jenna!...
  • yo...link isn't working to our site. You can see more @ http://www.isiqalo.org/?m=1 Or check our little movie @ http:...
  • hey reynolds is you ever gonna come to albany ny and give autographs or skate....
quameire miller on Andrew Reynolds

Most viewed this month on HUCK

  1. HUCK#029 – Out now Blog: HUCK#029 – Out now
  2. HUCK#029 promo video Blog: HUCK#029 promo video
  3. HUCK Winter Mini-Mag 2011 is here Blog: HUCK Winter Mini-Mag 2011 is here
  4. Rolling Back the Years hits London Blog: Rolling Back the Years hits London
  5. HUCK#030 Digital Edition is here Blog: HUCK#030 Digital Edition is here
  6. M.I.A ‘Bad Girls’ video Blog: M.I.A ‘Bad Girls’ video
  7. ‘Fish Out of Water’ video Blog: ‘Fish Out of Water’ video
  8. ‘Biggest Teahupoo Ever’ video Blog: ‘Biggest Teahupoo Ever’ video
  9. Indie Spotlight: Driftwood Collective Features: Indie Spotlight: Driftwood Collective
  10. HUCK Indies is go Blog: HUCK Indies is go
  11. Torstein Horgmo interview Features: Torstein Horgmo interview
  12. HUCK Indies hits ISPO Blog: HUCK Indies hits ISPO
  13. ‘The Good Times’ newspaper Blog: ‘The Good Times’ newspaper
  14. California surf trip Blog: California surf trip