Man calls paramedics, gets tasered by police instead

[Elza]

JohnBT: Think it through, you'll figure it out yourself. It's not difficult.

Attempting to get a point across using condescension and arrogance generally doesn’t get you very far. People tend to resent it and ultimately ignore you.

 

[Powderman]

OK, I think that my original intention--to make some of you think OBJECTIVELY for once--missed the mark entirely. Thus, I will explain.

First though, HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN TASED?

Some of you have mentioned that the officers allegedly "yanking the barbs out" was cruel and unusual.

You don't even feel it. How do I know?

Because as a requirement to be certify with the Taser, I elected to take the ride.

The FULL ride.

Some officers have the leads taped on. Others have them clipped on.

I got capped, with a regular duty issue Taser cartridge, at about 17 feet away. Right in the back. No, it's NOT pleasant.

Now, the explanation. Let's look at the first statement, where the "victim" alleges that he was tased in 3 different locations.

First of all, the Taser discharges TWO leads, both of them being #1 fish hooks. The barbs are small--they do NOT impede withdrawal from skin, just from clothing.

So, how does the guy get THREE hits from TWO leads?

Well, someone might say that he was Tased by three different officers.

Then, he'd have SIX different wounds.

Moreover, anytime you cross electrical leads, strange things happen. The alleged placement of the wounds mean that the bloodthirsty, taser wielding officers held their tasers LESS THAN 6 INCHES APART, STANDING SIDE BY SIDE.

Do I have you thinking yet?

Next, consider the statement of the woman. She said that she heard some "zing" noise.

A "zing" noise?

Tasers do NOT make that kind of noise. Period.

Anyone ever heard an air gun make a "zing" noise? The Taser probes are sent on their way by a compressed nitrogen cartridge. The "pop" is the same as that from a strong air gun--or even close to a suppressed .22.

When the gun is cycling through its charge, it "pops" repeatedly, at a high rate of speed. It does NOT "zing".

Now, let's all sit back and think.

Anyone remember posts where the majority of the people on this board decry the media's bias? Especially against gun owners?

Now, all of a sudden, they can be believed? When did THIS take place? I must have missed it.

Oh, and for some of you that have posted about "telling the police to go away, if you need medical attention", all I have to say is this:

Yeah.......right. Sure you will.

 

[Don Gwinn]

So, does anyone actually have any more information on this case? If not, I'm not really seeing any percentage in leaving this thing open. It veered off the High Road on the first page.

A few things I know from some experience:

1. A diabetic in trouble is not necessarily weak. I've grappled with a few, never one my size. They can be rough, and they don't care about your safety or theirs any more than a drunk if they're in the right state.

2. We actually had a patient attack a police officer and not remember it. I wasn't there for that call, but my partner was and was the one who eventually got the guy calmed down and convinced him to go to the hospital. That was a case with a cop who knew exactly what was happening and was trying to help.

3. The people who are saying he wouldn't have marks on his back from lunging toward an officer are assuming that the officer he moved toward would be the only one tasing him. Not necessarily true.

4. I have zero saves. I know several cops with more than one. Just last month a guy from the next podunk up the road brought a guy back from no breath, no pulse with an AED. If you're actually having an EMS emergency and you tell the cops to go away--well, that may be your right, but it's stupid unless you know the specific individual at your door is a danger. I don't like every cop around here, but I don't like every EMT or paramedic, either.

5. If your wife calls 911, then you stick your head out and tell the cops they aren't needed and they should go away, they're coming in. If you lock the door, they'll force it. Period. That is an EXCELLENT example of probable cause that could be articulated in court.

6. Renatta Frazier was a rookie cop with the Springfield, IL police department when she lost her job and was hung out to dry by the department. Her crime was that she was dispatched to a call in the city and, upon observing that the place was quiet and nothing appeared to be wrong, she left. It turned out that the caller was raped in that very building.
The department made it look like she could have stopped the rape; it turns out she couldn't, but only because it had already happened and was over by the time she pulled up. There was a huge lawsuit, race cards flew like confetti, and we're still dealing with the aftermath today.

7. Sometimes cops, like everyone else, do really stupid things that almost defy explanation. We aren't going to know if that happened in this case or not, but let's just admit it--some cops sometimes do brutal things. It's clearly possible that happened in this case. The only catch is that we don't actually know it did, and a lot of the "evidence" given to prove it has turned out to be suspect.

 

[budney]

Baba Louie has it nailed. Woman said, "Need medical attention"; man said, "We don't need no cops."

Cop thinks, "Someone's hurt, and the man wants cops to go away." Sounds to him like classic case of wife beating. The beater always says, "Everything's under control. We don't need no steenking cops." So he busts in thinking he's saving the girlfriend from an abuser.

Having (incorrectly) identified the man as a potential threat, anything he does short of strict compliance will be interpreted in the worst possible way. So the tazing was almost inevitable at that point.

That doesn't justify the LEO's actions, though. If he thought he'd found a domestic disturbance, he had reason to try and get to the bottom of it, but he escalated way too far too soon. Assuming the accuracy of the news reports posted so far, of course.

I also agree with others that the "diabetic seizure" part doesn't quite add up. If he was having a seizure, it's unlikely he could talk at all--he certainly wouldn't be sticking his head out windows telling cops to go away.

--Len.

 

[Art Eatman]

Don summed iot up pretty well, but the reason I'm closing this is because of the repetiveness of the speculation. Over and over and over and over with the same lack of knowledge of the "true facts" is a waste of bandwidth, regardless of whether or not the cops were right or wrong or the folks in the house were abused or were liars.

Art