I reserve judgment, here, as well. The fluff-to-fact ratio in this story is too high. I don't care if the kid was training to be a police officer, or a firefighter (what firefighter training exists for 14-yr-olds, anyway?) or a circus clown. That doesn't matter.
The only two things that matters is 1) Was the search legal? How and why school admin decided that his car needed to be searched. According to the story, someone tipped the administration off to an alarming youtube video. and 2) was the knife illegal? It is referred to (by the kid) as being 4". In many places in OH, it would be illegal to have such a knife accessible in your vehicle.
1) I skimmed the kid's youtube videos for anything alarming, and I didn't find anything. Admittedly, I just browsed the video titles, only. I'm not THAT interested. And I'm sure he removed anything that could be controversial, anyway. And does the admin perhaps have authority to search his vehicle, regardless of a reasonable suspicion? This is what lawyers are for, I guess.
2) legality of said knife:
There are limits on the length of a concealed folding knife in OH. In some places it is 4". In some places it is 2.5" He said his knife is 4", which could mean 4.1", therefore illegal. Since he's not only being kicked out of school, but facing criminal charges, it seems to follow that his knife was not only breaking school rules, but it was illegal, altogether.
He mentions other kids being suspended for knives. I wonder if those kids were observing local law, at least, if not school policy. Maybe they were caught with folding knives that were under the legal limit for that area. Perhaps this is a case where a fraction of an inch made the difference?
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< Deleted > I was quite the opposite. All I am saying is that I wouldn't press for an EXCEPTION to the law for this one person, just because he wants to be a firefighter or w/e. If he broke the law, and if the evidence was obtained legally, then it's the law that's messed up. Not the application of said law.
So do I think authorities overreacted? Maybe, but look. You are the police. You are called and given evidence of a possible felony. The law is somewhat grey, but then the suspect ADMITS he has committed a felony. Slam dunk. What else is the prosecutor gonna do with a slam dunk? See, if you look at the gun/knife forums, you will get plenty of good advice for that situation. What he was apparently supposed to do is to say that he is going fishing after school, and suddenly he's legal. Cuz apparently hunting and fishing are two legitimate reasons for carrying a >4" knife in OH. What he did was to admit he carries that around all the time.... because he is training to be a firefighter, and it's for cutting seatbelts. Apparently, the possibility of needing to cut a seatbelt is NOT a sufficient justification for carrying a >4" knife in OH - even if you are in firefighter training.
Yeah, I see the irony. I agree the law is dumb. But - and sorry for the kid, here - if stupid laws are ever going to change, authorities shouldn't be allowed to make on-the-spot judgment calls and exceptions based on limited and mostly superficial information (and innate prejudices). "Ok, in this case a 5" knife is fine. But in this case, it's not." That would be the worst case, and in many states that's pretty much where things are right now.