Thursday, September 20, 2007

Taser Use Appropriate

This is the damnedest story I've ever seen. It just will not die. Three days after University of Florida student Andrew Meyer's impromptu episode of jackass, some continue to decry the "brutality" and the "torture".

Well, since we have all now moved onto the "let's roll out our experts" phase, here's mine.

Geoffrey Alpert, University of South Carolina professor of criminal justice currently conducting a study on the use of tasers for the U.S. Justice Department.
Under those facts, the use of a Taser is totally reasonable...It's technically justifiable, but I don't think it was necessary. They could have subdued him with the group of officers they had...The question is whether he posed a reasonable threat to the officers that had no other way to get him under control.

So we have a national opinion, how about the view of some local law enforcement? Orange County (that's Orlando for you non-Florida folk) Sheriff Capt. David Ogden, an expert in the use of force.
...the Gainesville incident appeared to be a "textbook," justified use. Tasers prevent further injury to officers and suspects. Use of force isn't pretty. Nobody doesn't say the Taser doesn't hurt. But the second it's done, it's done.

So, now do we continue to play the tit-for-tat game until the cows come home or shall we all move on to something a little more important than an at worst questionable use of force to get a single jackass under control?

2 comments:

buzzbrockway said...

grift,

This is indeed a very strange episode. I think the moral of the story (if there is one) is that if a cop asks you to shutup and leave...DO IT!

Rusty said...

Fire Fulmer!

(oh, and I disagree with your moral Buzz...the moral is if the cops ask you to leave, you can choose not to and therefore choose to be arrested or not, but either way don't flail around like a cockroach turned on its back)