Police being called too quick on Taser's trigger

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2973197

Feeling the auras of an oncoming epileptic seizure, Robert Stanley called for help.

But it overcame him before the ambulance arrived, and Stanley, 30, was so disoriented that he fled from paramedics. With some difficulty, they were able to put him on a gurney, strap his lower body down and load him into an ambulance.

Baytown police, however, say Stanley was still unmanageable, so officer Edgar Elizondo had to subdue him with a 50,000-volt shot from a Taser. Though he suffered no lingering injuries in the July 19, 2003, incident, Stanley is now suing Elizondo and the department for excessive use of force — the third such federal lawsuit filed against Baytown over the use of Tasers.

<snip>

In the two other Baytown incidents, officers zapped a woman wearing a restrictive leg brace at least five times and shocked a 59-year-old woman who had called police to check on someone else's welfare, according to court records. The latter incident led to a rare indictment of the officer, who claimed the woman had threatened him with a brick. He was later acquitted.

[vpigrad]

1. But the pigs are having too much fun...

with their torture devices to give them up now!

[DS1]

9. Not all policemen are bad people,

but there certainly a contingent of 'fucking pigs' that exist only for their powertrips. It's a shame the two are so closely linked, because a lot of cops do some really good work.

[vpigrad]

11. It's the bad 99.9% that...

make the 0.1% look bad.

Why defend a group of people who have the job of taking our freedom?

[jdj]

13. My ex-girlfriend got tear-gassed as part of training at boot camp.

These cops need to be tasered as part of their training.

Maybe they should tell them that they have to take a hit for every one they give, deserved or not.

[TheWraith]

23. They usually are.

Problem is, one incident of pain for them doesn't discourage evil fucks from dishing it out on a regular basis. I tend to agree with your assessment--if they're going to get the same, it might encourage the more trigger-happy taser users to restrict usage to when it's actually needed. Or, at the very least, mandatory suspension and investigation if someone uses their taser too much.

[progressivebydesign]

16. Things that you just wrote are EXACTLY why we'll never win again..

.. the republicans are pretty right about us. Out of touch, clueless, and beyond hope.

[purduejake]

17. Whatever. Ever heard of Dieblod?

[Jesus H. Christ]

18. I disagree.

We're losing because some of us are too cowardly to stand up to bullies.

Bullies like these pigs in question.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

21. 12th Warning sign of fascism......

12. Obsession with crime and punishment. Most of these regimes maintained Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison populations. The police were often glorified and had almost unchecked power, leading to rampant abuse. “Normal” and political crime were often merged into trumped-up criminal charges and sometimes used against political opponents of the regime. Fear, and hatred, of criminals or “traitors” was often promoted among the population as an excuse for more police power.

From "Fascism, Anyone?", by Laurence W. Britt
(14 Warning signs of fascism)

[bpilgrim]

2. unfreakinbelievable

they are now tazzering sick patients :puke:

peace

[liberalnurse]

3. I support the use of the Taser......

We use them in the jail. It is customary to have the review of ones health history prior to using the Taser. Believe me, it is used as a last resort....and a valuable tool.

[w4rma]

4. I have no doubt that in *some* places it is used responsibly

But this appears to be treated as a new "toy" in other places under different leadership.

[liberalnurse]

5. I totally agree......

[Jack_DeLeon]

6. a taser is not used as a last resort...

presumably deadly force is the last resort.

Tasers are definately not the last resort.

Their use is definately something far short of the last resort. This is part of the problem though, many police dont know where along the line the proper use of tasers lie.

Rather than getting in and physically restraining anyone police would rather take the easy way out and let the taser do all the work for them.

[BiggJawn]

8. That's just the problem. It's NOT being used as a "Last Resort".

The only difference between a "Taser" and a STOCK PROD is marketing. Well, that, and I think the stock prod doesn't reach 50,000 Volts.

I think cops like Tasers so much because they know they can finish their shift without having to go home and change their uniform. Don't scuffle and wrinkle the polyester, just zap the Perp!

and don't forget, "Every time the Taser zaps, Bernie Kerick's cash register rings..."

[The Magistrate]

19. Part Of The Problem, My Friend

Is that the things are marketted as safe. Non-lethal is equated with does not do much harm, and does no permanant damage in most cases is equated with will not do any damage at all. In fact, of course, they need to be treated like any other dangerous implement, and used only with the full appreciation the act can do real harm, possibly lethal harm, to another human being.

[BiggJawn]

20. "Perfectly harmless, old Chap!"

That was the cry as British soldiers tossed a type of "training grenade" at each other, the WWII version of today's "Flash-Boom". The problem though, was that there was a substantial lead ball in the trigger, and eventually, some poor Tommy got one blown into him. End of training use.

You are correct about the assumption that "Non-lethal" means "Causes no harm". I seem to sense an attitude on the part of police commissioners of "Damn! They didn't tell us THAT could happen when we bought them things!" every time a Perp gets killed by one of their fancy stock-prods.

A beating with a baseball bat could be "Non-Lethal", also, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to submit to one...

I watched "Meet the Fockers" over the weekend. One of the bit characters was a Florida cop with an attitude and a Taser. I didn't find that particular scene too terribly funny.

[bpilgrim]

12. so you support tazering patients?

when they are having a seziour?

gross

peace

[truthisfreedom]

7. electrocution is torture.

plain and simple.

[jdj]

14. I think that part of the reason this is so popular w/ cops is HIV.

pepper-spray doesn't always work, and other forms of restraint can cause abrasions, whereas the taser is safer for the cop, so fuck the tas-ee.

[purduejake]

15. Yea, fuck 'em

Who gives a damn if your grandma suffers a heart attack after being tasered for civil disobedience or yelling at somebody in a grocery store, etc. </sarcasm>

[Robb]

22. Thank goodness we can still have a

...thoughful, rational debate about the merits of these things. :eyes:

Not everybody likes cops. I happen to really, really like mine. And I've (recently) watched pepper spray not work on a tweaked-out 24-year-old woman with a fucking kitchen knife.

Next option would be, shoot her.

Don't hate the taser, don't hate the cops. Change the training, change the society that requires these kinds of weapons to keep good cops from getting killed.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tracer]

24. If the police are supplied with para-military weapons ...

... they will use them.

And the so-called "non-lethal" weapons are hardly that.

Witness the death of a Boston girl by "non-lethal" means after the Red Sox Series win.