Three weeks ago at a Baptism party in Virginia, Prince William County police tasered the grandfather of the boy being Baptized. Here is a local news report on the incident:
The grandfather was tased multiple times for the crime of being drunk on private property while trying to show his I.D. Tasering has become routine. Cop thinks you're being mouthy: you're tased. If the charges are later dropped, which they often are, the tasing was your punishment for the crime of not being deferential enough. An internal investigation concluded procedures were followed.
A New York mom was tasered in front of her kids because she questioned why she was being ticketed for driving with a cell phone when she didn't have one. She filed suit this week. Take a look at the video:
In this case our "heroic and manly" officer, embarrassed at his own mistake, tries to save face by tasering the mom in front of her crying kids. All charges against her have been dismissed and police are conducting an internal investigation to see if they can find a way to justify what happened.
In Michigan, two teenage boys died this spring in separate incidents. These and many other cases are detailed inside.
In March, 15-year-old Brett Elder died after being tasered by Bay City police who were trying to arrest him. Witnesses say he was handcuffed at the time of the tasering. Police say he was not. One month later, 16-year-old Robert Mitchell was killed by a taser operated by police in Warren, Michigan. He was a passenger in a car pulled over for expired tags and had fled the scene, apparently fearful of police there.
Apparently Warren police use tasers routinely; here is another case from that department:
You've probably seen the case of the 72-year-old woman who was tasered after a traffic stop in Texas but here it is if you haven't:
Couldn't the cop handle this elderly woman without tasering her? If 15 and 16 year olds are dying from being tasered don't you think elderly men and women might be even more likely to die? Here's a case from 3 years ago in Georgia (complete with European mockery):
You think race might have been a factor in that one? Tasered for asking questions while not being white. Here's a case from Florida of a woman who tasered at Best Buy:
Tasering has become the preferred method for handling mouthy suspects. Shoot them and you are guaranteed a lengthy investigation. Beat them enough to leave marks and, again, you're facing a long suspension or reassignment to desk duty, possible lawsuits. But the taser is a great option for the angry cop because:
1. In most cases it doesn't leave unsightly physical damage that a jury might find objectionable.
2. You don't have to use your own body to subdue the suspect. This is perfect for the more cowardly cops. You can inflict pain without any chance of incurring pain.
3. You can be "Judge Dredd." So what if the suspect isn't really guilty of anything. They're guilty of not being deferential and you get to inflict the punishment without the mess of "courts" and "rights" and stuff.
4. Your supervisors think it's just fine.
But it's not a laughing matter. At least 200 people have died by taser. And the trend seemed to really pick up during the Bush administration; the culture of torture and "guilty until proven innocent" coming to your neighborhood.
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