UPDATE: Sorry, see below for another portrait of police heroism.
Another Taser killing by police.
This time it was in Florida, and when the police caught an unarmed 19-year-old vandalizing private property they chased him and he, naturally, ran away. Because they couldn't tolerate someone armed with a can of spray paint being at large in the city they did what has become all too common: they shot him with their Taser and killed him.
Early reports demonstrate what we've been saying. While Taser proponents argue that most victims of Taser killings had some previously undetected medical condition that led to the death, the police never know if the person has such a medical condition. In this case the victim was young and apparently healthy, and nobody would have guessed by looking at him, that he was particularly vulnerable.
And now he's dead.
Way to “Protect and Serve”, guys!
It's not fresh news anymore, but the Oregon State Police are investigating an incident where thetroopers tased an eleven year old girl with autism who was walking naked along the side of the highway.
You won't be surprised to learn that the only non-police eyewitness contradicts the official story. I'd love to get a look at the dash cam recording, if there was one.
Any action other than complete compliance at all times to all rules is an immediate death penalty offense. Unless, of course, you’re a murderous, bigoted white guy with a Napoleon complex and a gun – in which case you are entitled to mete out the death penalty to anyone whose looks you don’t like.
We seem to have reached a place where people are being summarily executed by the police for acts of civil disobedience and ‘unruly’ behavior. Haven’t there been a few cases of 8 to 12 year-old kids being tasered for ‘bad behavior’ at school, or even in the home?
It’s a neat trick–kill someone with a tazer, not a gun. If the cops used their guns on all these tazer victims, well…the public outcry would demand policing the police for unruly behavior. And maybe that’s the point:
“Well, they killed that 16 year-old kid last night. Did you see that story?”
“Yeah. But they didn’t shoot him. They only tasered him.”
“But he’s still dead.”
“Yeah. But they didn’t shoot him, man.”
“Oh. I see. Gotcha.”
“Yeah. Get my point, man. They didn’t SHOOT him. Let’s go get a beer.”
“You go ahead. I’ve got to go to this rally.”
That certainly is the question!!
of a guy who decides to walk around with a firearm in plain view in several towns around the country where it is NOT illegal to do so, is probably remotely interesting to this story. Cops come up with a bookload of reasons to detain, confiscate, browbeat and lie to the guy, who is well versed in federal and state decisions that protect his right to NOT be detained or harassed, a point seemingly lost on cops twho are neither educated or frankly give a poop about their responsibility under law. Most make some sort of comment about it being a public safety issue, which has nothing to do with the enforcement or bastardizing existing law. Funniest moment is when the cop takes a handgun from the guy and works the slide to see if it is loaded, while pointing it directly at the citizen.
point being, protect and serve is really morphing into “at my will” comply or else. not a good trend.