Wheelchair-Bound Woman Dies After Being Shocked With Taser 10 Times

[lildog]

hey..how about having gooncops ask the person first.."are u pregnant?..."are you on meds? drugs?"
"do you have a heart condition?"

Kola, sometimes the couple seconds it would take to ask such a question is the difference between life and death for that cop.  And what if the suspect just responds with "screw you"?

Now I'm not defending what happened to this woman in the wheelchair but I can tell you sometimes you need to do what it takes to protect yourself first and that goes for police as well.

Let me share a story that happened to me directly.  I was working for a store in upstate NY in a bad part of town.  We had a guy who time and time again would come in and scoop arms full of stuff into a backpack then leave.  At one point the security guard chased him into the parking lot but he got away.  Another time the security guard knew what was coming so he had me and another stock boy wait outside.  He told us to put our bodies against the door and not let the guy out.  My friend and I waited outside and before we knew it there goes the security guard flying threw the window and a 6 foot plus angry black guy screaming that he was going to kill us as he pushed on the door.  I'm a little 16 year old punk and my friend wasn't much bigger then I was so we were scared.  The store manager came running out and jumped on the guy which at that point my friend and I opened the door and piled on top as well.  The security guard likewise got up (covered in blood at that point) and also tried to hold the guy down.  He continued swinging and kicking at all 4 of us.  It wasn't until the police showed up and made it clear to this guy that they had guns that he stopped fighting.  And personally I don't think he would have given up had it not been for the fear that something worse then a punch or kick could be done to him.

[mvpel]

I believe tasers are advantagous when used appropriately...BUT tasers are not being used appropriately. (was the Kerry incident a dangerous or life threatening situation for 7 plus fucking cops?) hardly!!

Then we agree on at least one point - Tasers are advantageous when used appropriately.  And I'm sure that you agree that as a method of "pain compliance," as the cops put it, are usually safer and less likely to result in lasting injury than joint locks or baton strikes.

When utilizing a pain compliance technique, you must control the application according to the level of resistance. If the suspect starts to comply, release the tension slightly to encourage full compliance. If he resists, apply more pressure until compliance is achieved. This is the essence of pain compliance methodology.

Like I've said before, forcing uncooperative people to comply with their demands through the threat of or the infliction of pain is simply what police do, because that's what they've been trained to do.

And we also agree that officials should punish the cops who use Tasers inappropriately, and then lie about it afterwards.  One piece of good news I just saw was that the cop who threatened Darrow with perjury in MS has been fired, for example, though that didn't involve a Taser it's probably lucky for the town's cash flow that this particular gooncop didn't have one handy.

But the fact that some cops are goons, liars, and thugs doesn't mean that all cops should be fired on the spot, and I would submit that the fact that some cops use Tasers inappropriately doesn't mean that all Tasers should be recalled immediately.

While there's been about 100 incidents where a suspect has died after being Tasered, there's many more incidents where the suspect is alive when he'd otherwise be dead if the situation had ramped up the Use of Force Continuum to deadly force.  Because like I said, when a cop decides to go hands-on, they are going to bring the situation to a conclusion as surely as the sun rises in the east.

So like I said, stop focusing on the tool and start focusing on the under-trained ignorant goons who are abusing their tools, whatever they might be - Taser, baton, pepper spray, or physical pain compliance methods.