Police chief in small Texas town fired and charged for tasing wife.

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shootistpd27

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The police chief in a small Texas town with a population of around 500 was fired and then charged with-get this-aggravated assault-WITH A DEADLY WEAPON-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH. The guy had gotten into a fight with his wife and used his taser gun to tase her. I cannot believe that they charged him with assualt with a deadly weapon. Anyone who knows anything knows that a taser is an example of non-lethal force. That is why so many cops carry them. Taser international reinforces their claims that the taser cannot kill and have gone to court and won every case set out against them. They have never settled. In no way could the guy be guilty of assault with a deadly weapon. Granted I think that the guy should be taken outside and horsewhipped but the charge was rediculous. The definition of a deadly weapon is one that will likely cause death or serious bodily harm. A taser doesnt come close. I have been tased and I know that it sucks but in no way would it be deadly. They have called rifles assault weapons, now tasers are deadly weapons. Hide your sling shots boys, they're comin after them next.
 
Uh, you know that Tasers have killed people, right? A guy died right here in Baltimore not long ago after being Tased by the cops.

Tasers are just as potentially deadly as the rest of the "less lethal" weapon options. Therefore, I think the charge is perfectly legit.
 
If she gets out of hand, don't throw dishes at her or slap her, just tase her. rofl.. Well, he is the chief of police, maybe he thought she was a threat, and just followed through with normal police procedure. Wives can be bad too.. LOLOL
 
They are not dying from the taser themselves and that is why taser international is winning their law suits. The people are dying from the other stuff that they had in their system that causes their hearts to explode. Most departments have policies that you dont tase someone who has a known heart condition. How are you going to know if a bad guy has a heart condition when hes coming at you to tear your head off. If they did what they were told and didnt break the law, they they wouldnt have been tased. Bad hearts, not bad weapons.
 
The wife obviously does not have brothers, or if she does, they weren't raised in Texas. :)
 
Actually, in the case here in Baltimore the man died of exactly that, a heart attack.

I agree though, how was the cop to know?

That doesn't change the fact that the Taser shot ultimately caused his death. Therefore, it is a potentially lethal weapon.

Shootist - I hope you don't think I'm trying to argue with you - but the fact is, this sort of thing (people dying when they weren't "supposed" to) is exactly why these things are now marketed as "less lethal" rather than "non-lethal".
 
Hey, argument is the reason I love this place. Civil arguing that is. I once heard of a man who sneezed and broke his neck once. I read a story the other day of a man who bulged a disc in his back by being bent over and sneezing. There are a million different little things that can kill you. When Dale Earnhart died at Daytona, it looked like he should have made it out alive since I have seen worse wrecks and the drivers survived. The thing is is that its the law of probability. Most of the crooked and evil folks in this world take care of themselves about as good as they take care of their employment and credit history. If the only folks that buck the police are in bad shape, then deaths will occur. But its the totality of the circumstances. Perhaps the guy would not have died if he had been calmly waiting for the bus when a cop tased him unprovoked. But the guy was excited in his fight with police. That is a factor. I have used a taser on a guy before and Im glad that I did because he would have won the fight. If I had my service weapon in hand I would have shot him, and I would have been justified because he had a highpoint 9.
 
Tasing is a deadly serious matter. :fire:

To Tase someone is to place that person into harms way with thier body's nervous system and heart issues if any. It is a potentially lethal way to end someone's life.

It is also a crime to use taser against someone in a inappropriate manner. Like horseplay or for haha's

visit www.taser.com and see for yourself how good these thing can be.

A taser is a weapon, no different than a handgun or other weapon. It does it's job specifically stopping a attacker. It also leaves behind it's own serial numbers and other information as well for LEO's to follow up on. No Taser is allowed to be fully activated until a process is complete or stolen.

We have reloads in case the bad guy who got tased gets up. They are of the Leaded Premium Grade.

It is interesting. Going from kiddie pepper spray to bear spray thence to taser and now into CCW and other weapons for whatever situation that can come up either at home or out in public.
 
Shootist - I hear what you're saying, I guess I just don't entirely agree.

I don't have the specific definitions in front of me, but I'm pretty sure the general definition of "deadly weapon" in most jurisdictions is "any weapon that can reasonably be expected to cause serious injury or death". Which in this case, is entirely accurate. Tasers can be and are lethal, in more than one case.

Which is why I think the charges in the article you mentioned should stick. We can sit and debate the probability of such a death occuring all we want, but it won't change the bottom line.
 
Yeah, it's not like you can die from the impact of Head MeetsFloor, or anything.

I think thinking like shootist is the reason so many cops are abusing the taser. They see it as a "Listen to me! Do what I say!" button with no consequences.

As we saw from Natasha Richardson's death, anyone can die from falling a very short distance.

Causing someone's muscles to lock up and potentially bounce their heads off of the floor is never less than lethal.
 
The definition is.......A person is guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon when he attempts to cause or purposely or knowingly causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon or other means likely to produce death or serious bodily harm. He had to have KNOWINGLY caused bodily injury and with the training that a cop recieves he would know that a taser does not fullfill the requirements of a deadly weapon.
 
I don't see how a taser is a DEADLY weapon.
Because it has the potential to kill someone?
If he had used a spoon, would that be a deadly weapon.. and don't tell me that a spoon doesn't have the potential to kill someone.
I know.
 
Most departments have as do mine policies that are in place to reduce the likelyhood of that happening. We are not to tase them if they are running to avoid them hitting their head. We are only to tase them in the back if at all possible. We are not tase pregnant women or those who have a known heart defect. They have to be actively aggressive before they can be tased. Not just because they failed to comply. Dont be a cop basher without knowing the facts. There are priks out there who abuse their power but they are crooked. There are more good cops than bad. Its only that the bad cops get in the media, the good ones usually get sent home before retirement for violating underhanded unofficial political guidlines.
 
I don't see how a taser is a DEADLY weapon.
Click to expand...

If it were, the use of the unit during training would never be allowed. To argue that a tazer is a deadly weapon is foolish at best. It may trigger unknown causes to act, but the jolt itself? No.

Maybe it you display an handgun and someone drops dead from the shock a murder charge would be in order? Did the handgun directly cause the death?
 
Causing someone's muscles to lock up and potentially bounce their heads off of the floor is never less than lethal.
Click to expand...

Then why the heck are tasers tagged as less-than-lethal?

Some of you make it sound like a taser is more likely to kill someone than a firearm.
I agree that they ought to be treated with responsibility, and they aren't playthings, but really?

Causing someone's muscles to lock up and potentially bounce their heads off of the floor is never less than lethal.
Click to expand...
And actually, last time I checked, it is less than lethal.. most of the time IIRC.
 
If we did it the way they did prior to Tennessee Vs Garner we would just shoot anyone that ran and we would be ok in court. The more that law enforcement tries to do the right thing the more people bicker about how its done. To all those anti taser folks out there, find a better way to control a resisting crackhead and we will try it. Until then, the taser is the best alternative to deadly force we have. Pepper spray is a joke, it just makes the mad madder causing you to have to increase the level of force used.
 
If she gets out of hand, don't throw dishes at her or slap her, just tase her. rofl.. Well, he is the chief of police, maybe he thought she was a threat, and just followed through with normal police procedure. Wives can be bad too.. LOLOL
Click to expand...

What exactly is funny about domestic abuse? Did I miss something?

The wife obviously does not have brothers, or if she does, they weren't raised in Texas.
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Exactly. If that was my sister, he'd have much bigger problems waiting for him after he got his charges dropped.

I don't have the specific definitions in front of me, but I'm pretty sure the general definition of "deadly weapon" in most jurisdictions is "any weapon that can reasonably be expected to cause serious injury or death". Which in this case, is entirely accurate. Tasers can be and are lethal, in more than one case.

Which is why I think the charges in the article you mentioned should stick.
Click to expand...
I agree. And the way that wife beaters get off so easy these days, it would be nice to see a charge that actually sends him off for a bit. Maybe this is the prosecutor's way of seeing him get more that 10 hours of community service and a restraining order ...
 
Well, I would continue to post ITT, but apparently I live in an alternate reality where head injuries aren't serious bodily injuries.

The logic you guys are using "the electrical shock doesn't cause death, ever, thus, tasers can't be considered lethal" is mind-boggling.
 
The med literature has some cases of folks being tased in the head and having some pretty nasty seizures. Not funny if that happens.
 
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