A Virginia Beach 11-year-old was sentenced to 30 hours community service Tuesday, and his mother fined, for a violation of city code 21-464.

The technical name for a 21-464 is "playing in the street."

On the ticket, under vehicle, is written "skateboard."

If you think this is patently ridiculous, keeping reading.

The fine for such a heinous act is $15 and court costs are $59. The perpetrator's mother, a single mom owed thousands in back child support and someone to whom $74 is no trifling matter, decided to attend court with her son.

Considering the ticket was issued without a single complaint from residents, considering other children were involved and not ticketed because the policeman decided it was her son who was going to be the example, considering that on any given day in this low-traffic neighborhood there are dozens of skateboarders on the street, she figured it was a good opportunity to show her son that the system works, that judges are wise and to be respected.

Her reward for taking time off work and going to court? In addition to the court costs, the kid got hit with community service. She'd have been better off just paying the fine.

If you think this is patently ridiculous, keeping reading.

In this particular incident, the policeman was in the neighborhood on an unrelated matter. Perhaps he was in a bad mood over that call, perhaps he was trying out for a role on Reno 911. Upon spotting four children skateboarding -- not exactly an uncommon occurrence -- he advised the children, all under the age of 12, that playing in the street was illegal.

So they hopped on their boards and headed to a cul de sac to continue boarding there. The policeman considered this an unacceptable affront to his authority (as opposed to typical pre-teen bonehead thinking about walking first and boarding later) and busted the last kid in line. The kid sentenced Tuesday.

Being an ex-reporter, I know enough to not name a juvenile and to not add enough information to indirectly identify the juvenile. I can say, however, that I personally witnessed the entire affair from half a block away.

The kid, scared out of his wits, was forced to sit inside the squad car bawling his eyes out fearful he was going to be hauled away to jail while his mother tried to talk to the cop. The cop at one point told the kid he could arrest him for disturbing the peace if he didn't stop crying.

I'm sure that's the way they teach community policing at the academy.

If you think this is patently ridiculous, keeping reading.

A few years ago, this criminal, this menace to society, had told Mom a story about some youngsters who got in some sort of minor trouble and how they had outrun the cops. The whole school was buzzing about it. Mom was swift and sure on this one -- you never run from a cop, cops are your friends, they are there to make you safe.

How well do you think that lesson is holding up today?

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