Tasers and the like scare me because in most cases, they leave no physical trace behind. If any person (not just a police officer) has it in his head that the weapon will cause no lasting damage and leave no mark, I think he is much more likely to overuse it, or use it in circumstances that don’t quite warrant its use.
“Execution” is a loaded word, Lib. It carries an implication of intent* to end in the death of the victim. Being on my work computer, I’m not in a position to view any videos right now, but I suspect that when I do see them, I’m not likely to conclude that any such intent existed in the minds of the officers involved.
Is it a conclusion you have drawn from your viewing of the scenes?
*Not even “reckless disregard” qualifies.
I have serious logic issues with people that defend others that resist arrest. It tends to come up over and over and I have no respect for the viewpoint.
The correct view is simple:
- The police tell you that you are going to be detained.
- You get in the back of the car and go to jail.
Whether you are guilty of anything or not has no relevance whatsoever. That is the proper procedure that anyone has to follow. Arguing, being physically aggressive, or trying to escape has no bearing on the fact that you are going to jail. What happens next is for the judicial system to decide and you could be 100% correct that you did nothing wrong but that is to be worked out later. It is certainly unfortunate but no amount of resisting arrest can change that.
Resisting arrest itself is a serious crime and you could end up dead for, say, smashing a beer bottle, escalating threats, and assaulting an officer during the arrest process. That is the only way it can ever be and the suspect in question has threatened themselves greatly using their own hand. Police sometimes overstep their bounds but their responsibility is to get certain people to the police station no matter what and that could involve mace, batons, tasers or guns. The person resisting arrest is most often the one making that choice for themselves.
The illogical part I see most often is when people don’t make the connection that the person in question is going to jail no matter what and the police have to figure out a way to make that happen as safely as possible while defending themselves. No one can just walk away with a victory by resisting arrest.
USA! USA! USA!
-Joe
Tell that to Gandhi.
Touché, and from one of my favourite movies, too.
I don’t recall that Gandhi ever resisted arrest.
This makes me sick. I agree with the Amnesty International guy, it is torture. These are mostly cases where the “suspect” does not have a weapon, does not present a danger, and is in custody, and they are being shocked with thousands of volts of electricity. Electric shock is one common form of torture, and this is another example of it. These are cases of power-hungry cops abusing their authority, and killing people in the process.
Huh? Tasers frequently leave burns on the victim, some deep enough to cause scarring.
That outline requires the expectation that the police will not beat you to death while you are in custody.
For demographic reason, I have that expectation. I do not blame those who, for demographic reasons, do not share my expectation.
Out of curiosity, have any police officers died from being tasered yet?
Herein lies the problem. Most cops do not have proper training in when tasers use is appropriate or inappropriate. There is no doctrine concerning their use, and through misinformation and a misunderstanding as to just what a taser is and isn’t, many police officers may use them when their use isn’t warranted. Tasers are a less lethal alternative to guns and billy clubs. They are not a non lethal alternative, but many cops think of them as exactly that. “Oh, here I have a tool which will render the subject unable to resist without causing him harm, so I can safely subdue him.” That’s not what a taser is, but that’s how tasers are promoted by many police departments and thought of by many officers. Taser doctrine needs to be developed to make it clear when their use is appropriate, and when it is not.
Yes. And the fact that we know about those cases is an indication that the system is working. It’s like a plane crash… plane crashes make the news because they are so rare.
I view it this way… in the vast majority of cases Taser> baton> gun.
A taser, applied correctly (as is the case probably hundreds if not thousands of times every single day) is a compliance tool that temporarily incapacitates the user with no actual damage save two small nicks where the barbs enterered their person. This is much better than being beaten into submission by a baton, or shot.
Much like tear gas or pepper spray, I believe most officers are tased/shocked as part of their training these days.
Where do you live that cops regularly beat to death folks that have been apprehended?
Sounds uncomfortable.
Bravo! I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Suspects will say “What the hell, I didn’t do anything!” as the police pull dimebags out of their pockets.
Well, sure, but in his case, he turned a corner into an alley and was immediately ordered to get on the ground. I think I’d say pretty much the same thing. And then I guess I’d get tased twice and beaten with batons, like he did, for simply stating a fact.
The point about tasers is that they are being used on people with no weapons and are doing very little to resist arrest. There is surely a better way to get the guy standing near the car to come around right?
Why the hell not clubs and pepper spray. I’ve been pepper sprayed before (not by cops but me and my brother were playing with some when we were little) and yes that shit is uncomfortable as hell, but nowhere near traumatic. Will it stop you in your tracks? Hell yes! But cruel? No…Not really. It’s an extreme irritant. That can’t be said for tasers.
Now why not nightsticks? Seriously, all a cop would have had to do was pull that thing out and pull it back as if he were ready to hit him.
Listen guys, this isn’t about armed suspects. That is a simple answer, then the gun gets pulled out. That’s totally okay with me. It’s about people who aren’t going to kill anyone. A semi-lethal force is being used against people who mean no harm. Speaking Polish is a criminal offense? WTF?
As for eating toothpicks, xtisme, you can take almost any harmless object and make it lethal. This is about people eating toothpicks. A LOT of inedible objects are lethal when swallowed. Anything sharp is bad, I’m sure.
People die from a lot of shit, doesn’t mean we ought to accept this unacceptable behavior. It’s fucked up, plain and simple. And this tasering stuff is happening more and more often. I’m sick of seeing people getting tasered for civil disobedience. That’s fucked up. That’s simply fucked up.
Well that causes questions about the entire U.S. and states government. What do you think is the appropriate action for a person of your demographic that resists reasonable actions from police officers? Do you simply run, bite an officer, or try to steal the weapon of a police officer that has reason to believe that you need to be taken into custody?
This topic gives me further proof that most people don’t have any logic skills whatsoever. I would never claim that the police are always right in the legal sense nor are they infallible. However, once someone is declared under arrest then that is the end of it up to and including death to protect both the officers and the entire system. It seems pretty basic to me that anyone needs to comply and let the judicial system do its work after that.
Any person that resists arrest can expect offensive and defensive reactions from the arresting officers. Lets not forget that the supposed offenders ARE going to jail at that time and any and all measures will assure that. Accidental deaths are unfortunate but they were chosen by the newly deceased. Officers making such an arrest have to carry through with it at all costs. Granted, there are some bad officers but most just want to take the person into custody and take tic for tat measures tat make that happen.
It would be extremely rare for a person to cooperate at being arrested and have any harm to him or her person. 9th grade civics teaches us that the judicial system will take over from there and most people will be treated fairly. Running from a police officer, biting an officer, struggling with handcuffs, trying to grab a gun will not be treated as well. Anyone that dies resisting arrest from a taser deserves it. We all die and that act of stupidity is just as appropriate as any any of the rest of us will have it.