1) do the police have to file a report when no crime has been committed? I don't believe so. In fact, their notes are often all the evidence they need to or not to file a report and are admissable as evidence in court (this goes for us too, our notes directly following an event are admissable as evidence).
2) The equipment was returned after the father (an adult) went to the police station
3) A cop who takes the word of a teen or kid shouldn't be on the force. PERIOD kids lie, cops know kids lie
4) A printout of a flyer proves nothing. I could print out a reasonable facsimile of a bachelor's degree but that doesn't mean I have one.
For some reason this reminds me of something as a kid. Either a buddy of mine or my brother cut lawns for spare money and I remember them having a letter from the parents with the serial number of the lawnmower on it giving them permission to have and use it. It was so long ago I can't remember if it was my older brother, one of his friends, or one of mine. That IMO carries a shitload more weight than a flyer......
As for the rest, the treatment of the kid with tourettes, again, that is all hearsay and we only have the kid's version to go by and as we all know: reporters report ONLY the truth......(yeah right, and I've got some land in florida to sell you!).
Topcon: really? give your head a shake. Cops are there to protect and serve EVERYONE not just a select few. Did the kid's have a right to have the equipment in their possession? How did he know? He was protecting the true owner of the equipment (which was NOT the kids). Did they have anything to prove that they were entitled to have the equipment? NO. Is it common to see kids pushing a lawnmower down the street? I haven't seen one in 20 yrs.
Again, what if the stuff WAS stolen? We'd be reading a story about how a stupid cop stopped the thieves and let them go.....then I assume, you'd be saying the same thing: dock his pay, put him on a desk until he learned his job......