What happened to punk kid Amy Chance is a perfect distillation of what happens in states where the police are allowed to do their job.
Chance, a 15-year-old, was recently charged with felony criminal mischief for hitting a police car with a metal shovel as an officer was seated inside.
Body cam footage released by the Port St. Lucie Police Department showed Chance approaching the vehicle on Nov. 3 and then repeatedly bashing the hood without provocation before being taken into custody.
NEW: 15-year-old girl charged with felony after attacking a police car with a shovel in Florida
Body camera footage shows Amy Chance smashing a Port St. Lucie police car with a metal shovel during a disturbance call
Officers said Chance struck the hood several times before… pic.twitter.com/SxWPwsAeXx
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) November 11, 2025
“Officers, understandably frustrated that Chance caused over $1,200 in damages to the hood of the car, took her into custody, where she is now charged with a felony for criminal mischief,” the department later reported on social media.
“Regardless of age, resorting to intentional damage of people or property in our city will result in an arrest. With the exceptional training of our officers, Chance was taken into custody without incident,” the report continued.
There are cities across America where the opposite would have happened, and either Chance would have never been arrested in the first place, or the charges would have later been dropped.
Jeremy Story, the chief of the Las Cruces Police Department in New Mexico, knows all about such cities because he lives in one of them.
In a video recently posted to social media, Story pointed to cases like that of Neil Garcia, a career criminal who’s been arrested over 100 times yet still runs the streets because the courts have repeatedly ruled him too “incompetent” to face trial.
“I would argue that he poses a clear danger to the public and the community,” Story said. “And the people he is victimizing are people who are just working and trying to live their lives in the community that we all share.”
“The District Attorney’s Office has petitioned for involuntary commitment and assisted outpatient treatment, but neither was granted by the court. I wish this was an outliner, but it’s not. This is not an exception. This is the rule,” he added.
Las Cruces police chief, Jeremy Story, publicly calls for changes in the legal system after a man with a long criminal history is deemed “incompetent” but not dangerous by New Mexico courts.
MORE: https://t.co/s3rQ8Vgy7O pic.twitter.com/hPQjeCVL2l
— KTSM 9 News (@KTSMtv) October 28, 2025
The city’s lax-on-crime approach is having repercussions.
“In 2024, the city recorded a violent crime rate of roughly 720 per 100,000 residents, nearly double the national average of 398 and significantly higher than the New Mexico state average of 525,” according to the Daily Mail.
“Property crime is also soaring, with 4,882 incidents per 100,000 residents, compared with the state average of 3,600 per 100,000, placing Las Cruces among the top 20 US cities for theft, burglary, and vehicle crime. Violent crime is also climbing, with homicides jumping from 10 in 2023 to 17 in 2024 and aggravated assaults surging,” the report continues.
Shared to Instagram, Story’s video inspired a flood of gratitude from local residents who’re also concerned about the town’s crime epidemic.
“I applaud you for calling out the judges who keep allowing these things to happen,” one resident wrote. “It brings clarity to moments when the community thinks the police aren’t doing their job.”
“People want to complain that ‘the police don’t do anything’ but a lot of times it seems that they just already know the judges won’t do anything about it, so they let things slide,” the resident added.
“Thank you for all you’re doing to make actual change,” another resident wrote. “This is wrong on the Judge’s part. You are 100 percent right. It isn’t an outlier; it is a rule. The repeat offenders are negatively impacting local businesses, schools, our entire community.”
“Shame on the judge for denying alternative resources which could’ve helped that individual and the community in the long run,” a third resident wrote. “It’s refreshing to see a Chief in the light all the time, fighting for his community, and fighting for his officers. You don’t see that anymore!”
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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