Sigh...

[Scottler]

Imagine you're at the mall.  You're just a nice Christian boy, there to buy ice cream for the orphans you mentor in the little bit of free time you can find, since you spend the majority of your time bottle feeding puppies and giving them to disable schoolchildren....when all of a sudden, ZAAAAP.  Cops come and taze you for no reason whatsoever.  

Groups call on police to stop taser use
Updated: 4/5/2005 8:41 PM
By: Sean O'Grady

Fifty-thousand volts can be an attention getter. But 15-year-old Stephen Bishop and his mother Joanne claim he didn't deserve the attention nor the bruises that he said he got from a police taser.

Joanne Bishop said, "He was bleeding from the chest. His back was all swollen from these tasers. It was horrible."

On March 11, Stephen Bishop and a friend were hanging out at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland. Police said they were loitering and asked the boys to leave.

Stephen said, "My friend reached over to get his book and the cop told him not to. But the cop grabbed his arm when he reached to go get it, and he shoved him into the table, put cuffs on him, and then proceeded to taser him in the leg."

Guilderland police said every officer who uses a taser has been fully trained in their operation.

Lt. Curtis Cox said, "They are used anywhere where an officer needs the use of a tool that assists them in taking someone into custody, and specifically a combative person, someone that is resisting arrest, someone that the officer needs to gain compliance over in an attempt to do that without receiving injury to the suspect."

Stephen Bishop and his friend were arrested the day of the incident and charged with obstruction, resisting arrest and assault. Despite the charges, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Law and Justice said police use of tasers was unwarranted.

Melanie Trimble of the NYCLU said, "Even if their behavior had escalated, it still didn't rise to the level of threatening the life of the police officers, nor did it threaten their physical safety."

Former prosecutor Paul DerOhannessian has studied statistics nationwide on taser use.

He said, "One study found that in 36 percent of the use of taser guns, they were used because of verbal non-compliance. Only 6 percent indicated they were used to deal with deadly physical force."

DerOhannessian said that many police departments across the country are redefining their use of tasers.

[Dan]

Cops the world over seem to have a penchant for over reacting - the school teacher air-rifle thing we just had over here springs to mine... Wonder what Brad (Deputy) thinks? He should know!  ;D

[Scottler]

Oh please, do you really honestly think that the cop is to blame here?  I mean think about it...I'm not saying that all kids of that age are trouble makers, but let's just think.

What do you suppose the odds are that some cop just flipped out and tazed the kid for no reason?

Now what do you suppose the odds are that this kid was being a moron and the cop HAD to taze him?

I don't blame the cop at all.  I wish they'd taze more of these idiots.  They're the reason I don't go to the mall at all!

[Dan]

That point of view is probably induced because I'm 15 and your nearer the cops age!  ;)
I geuss it must be the old thing of not getting the whole story - I agree, it is incredibly unlikely that he was tazed without cause... But is it realy a good weapon to be having around? I've never seen one.

[Scottler]

I think it's a fantastic weapon. Finally this gives the police a means of subduing someone without shooting them or hitting them with their nightstick...it's not something to be taken lightly.  But if you're acting like an idiot, you deserve what you get.  

The most important thing to remember is this-you're not going to have to worry about it if you're behaving appropriately.

[TacitBlue]

If the cop didnt have a tazer what do you think he would have done to the kid? probably would have beat him with his night stick or something.

[Omag 2.0]

Shocking!  ;D

[Scottler]

He probably would have maced him.  I've worked with that particular police department in the past, and I know that almost ten years ago, they carried spray.  But I dont' know if they still do or not.  It may have been replaced by the tazers.

I doubt very highly that he would have been beaten or shot.  

But again, if he's behaving appropriately, he would have gone to the mall, done his business, and gone home incident free...

[Hagar]

[quote]That point of view is probably induced because I'm 15 and your nearer the cops age!

[Scottler]

Hagar, according to the police department, the kid was out of control.  He has been charged with (among other things) resisting arrest.  The police department has reviewed the mall security camera recordings of the incident, and they've cleared the officer completely.

Another thing to keep in mind is that in the last two weeks, there have been two major altercations at this same mall involving groups of teens fighting with each other.  It's a growing problem.

My contention is that I don't care how old or how young you are.  If you're acting so out of control that an officer even THINKS about tazing you, you probably need it.  I'd rather see a 15 year old with some burns on his chest than a police officer with a slug in his head.

[Hagar]

You obviously know more about this than me Scott but there's no mention of any weapon in that article. It says that the one that got tasered was reaching for a book, which I assume was in full view so why did they stop him from getting it? It's quite possible he would have then done what they wanted. I can see how that would give the impression he was being victimised. This is how it would appear if the same thing happened to me.
Knowing how overbearing some police officers can be it's quite possible the kid wouldn't have been out of control if they'd approached it differently. There's two sides to every story.

[Scottler]

Absolutely I see your point, Hagar.  But we need to keep in mind that we won't know what COULD have happened had the officer not tazed the kid.

However, that's a big part of the reason he SHOULD have been tazed.  If he reaches for something after specifically being told not to, the officer needs to protect himself, and those around him.  We don't know what the kid was reaching for, and neither does the officer.  I'd rather him err on the side of safety than assume the kid is reaching for a book and find out it's a pistol.

A few weeks ago another local mall had a man walk in and fire 60 rounds out of an assault rifle.  You know that's in the back of their minds most of the day after that...

[Anti-Societys Snake]

To the one who asked about the mace. They can't not carry mace. They use it to subdue dogs. All mail men are required to cary mace. in the us atleast

[Scottler]

lol I assure you that in New York, police officers (and other people) are authorized to carry mace.  In the afforementioned job, I used to work with a mace instructor...in NYS if you want to carry mace, you need to be licensed.  In order to get the license, you need to be sprayed.

Admittedly, I'm not differentiating between mace and pepper spray...to me they're all the same though there are technical differences...

[Hagar]

I can't really comment on this as the culture difference is too great. Until recently no police officer in the UK would immediately suspect he was at risk of being shot by anyone, let alone a 15 year-old boy. He might have been knifed but that would still be very unusual. Unfortunately from what I read, firearms are becoming a popular accessory for young kids now but still only in certain areas. What worries me is that we will soon be in the same situation here.

Before my first visit to the US I was warned never to reach into a pocket if approached by the police. I took this seriously as I didn't want to end up being shot when reaching for my drivers licence. I'm not used to that sort of thing & don't want to get used to it.