Canuckster wrote:
For all you "Tasers are no big deal" guys check the link. Our national police for is being advised to "restrict the use of tasers to only the most serious encounters with people who are combative or pose a risk of “death or grievous bodily harm.”
This report came out of the fact that recently a guy who was no threat at all was tasered and he immediately died. That incident has spawned a huge outcry from the public, and much of the government. Pretty much no one, including the police, is actually backing casual taser use at this point.
The report also notes that "the most powerful asset in a police officer's arsenal is public support. Anything that erodes that support reduces the ability of officers to successfully perform their duties on behalf of the public".
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071212.wtaser1212/BNStory/National/home
I was thinking the same thing. If the taser itself doesn't kill you you may cause serious harm or death on the fall. In the case we're all talking about the dude cracked his head. Sometimes a head injury like that can be a death.
The more I've been reading and thinking about it, the more ridiculous this cop seems to have been. What, honestly did the kid do to warrant that DANGEROUS reaction from the cop? I grew up with a cop father and a federal cop uncle. Shoot I've ridden with my dad on New Years Eve and seen some hairy situations like a man taking his own family hostage with a rifle. Threatening to kill his wife, kid, himself and any cop who stepped into his view.
Now were those cops in danger? You bet! Was I scared out of my head just being in the car a half block away listening to the negotiations and yelling, waiting for shots to erupt. Uh-huh. But even in that case the cops were professional, negotiated him out of the house without his rifle and controlled the man and the situation. They secured him, they didn't beat him or call him a piece of shit or anything amateur like that. They handled their jobs like professionals, despite having their lives on the line.
This crap about cops not knowing when they are going to get shot gives them a reason to throw cooperating citizens around, bark at them and tase them for damn near nothing is completely absurd.
Yes cops have dangerous jobs. Yes they are often put into freaky situations and they have to control situations. And Yes, it is their job to use JUDGEMENT on duty. But they are also obliged to serve and protect the general public, not abuse them. We do not pay their salaries to have them bend over and shit splatter it back in our faces. Where was the judgement in this case, where was the reason. If the kid tried pushing away and fleeing, or calling him a f#xking @sshill I could see the officer using a strong hold and getting him securely on the ground and cuffing him. If the kid was walking at him and the cop said "stop or I will taser you" and the kid kept coming than I'd have to say he asked for it. But that was really not the case. I mean was this a brand new cop or a cop with a brand new taser gun that he was just bursting to try and this kid happened to come across him before the first rabbit?
If I sound pissed it's because I am. Like I said, I have grown up around cops. I have been part of Swat Team parties and training days. And I know what good cops are. I admire and respect them. I also know what bad cops are because I've met them. They come in all shapes, colors and personalities. They are bad for all different reasons. Some take bribes, some are looking to get even with the type of people that had more success or better girls than them, some just can't exercise any restraint. They are NOT the majority, but they ARE the ones who should be made examples of.
We did not set up a system of policing in this country so that we as citizens should fear them at our own social gatherings. We give them a job, we pay them and we give them our respect. We respect their courage and honor. But in this case we gave them a job, we paid them, they hurt one of us for NO APPARENT WARRANTED REASON and they took away our respect both for their courage and their honor. I'm still in shock that there are people on here defending those actions.