FYI I'm not downvoting you.

Apparently I was a lot smarter (common sense wise) than a lot of people because I really never got into trouble or did any of this stuff besides trying to be too funny. Physically? I've just gotten taller and fatter. And I don't know what that had to do with anything.

What exactly are they doing? It looks like they just got out of school. You sound judgmental here.

If someone is trespassing on your lawn, going out and confronting them is something people would do. Another thing is call the cops but they'll either show up in thirty minutes, show up and then talk with parents who say "my kids weren't doing anything," or show up late and then say "well if it happens again let us know." The cops can't do anything if they aren't around.

We don't have context into how this started but I doubt he was trespassing, likely just standing on his grass next to the sidewalk.

Assaulting would be punching him or hitting him. This was an officer holding the kid back from getting away. Lawful detention (possibly) according to which side you believe.

Agreed but the guy was yanking him around by the collar and arms.

The fact is, he is an officer. And because they are held to a higher standard people have more trust when they say the reason he was detained. A normal man wouldn't have that trust and that's why it would turn out differently. The president can nuke another country but I can't because he has more information and a higher responsibility for example. If I nuked another country I would be in a lot more trouble.

He was off-duty, not in uniform, and did not show identification. How can you differentiate him from a civilian? Also I do not believe that the general population will blindly trust a police officer's reasoning.