Are Cops "Overdoing" Tasers?

This story is about cops who tasered a man who was resisting them, then they beat the hell out of him. What does the media concentrate on? He was "tasered." Did it occur to anyone that maybe, just maybe, he died from the beating they gave him and being tasered was the least of his troubles? People who do not have pre-existing medical conditions or are not being severely beaten do not usually die from being tasered. Especially from the ones usually sold for personal use. But I'd think a man with a known precondition ought not to place himself in a position to be tasered. No, I don't think cops are "overdoing" it. Not yet. Because being "tasered," while painful, is a lot easier on the body than is a severe beating. I would personally rather be tasered by a cop than beaten to death. Notice that even the news media (which is prone to blaming tasers) are even asking if the beating, rather than the taser had anything to do with this man's death. If someone attacks me, I'm going to use my taser (as I have in the past). I'm not worried about killing anybody, just from the tasering. (Globe & Mail, 11/24/07)

Trooper Tasers Driver for Refusing to Sign Ticket

Seems to be a little bit of overreaction and lack of training in how, and WHY to use his taser on a citizen. Refusing to sign a ticket while demanding your rights isn't one of the reasons. Seems to me he could have simply arrested this man and put him in the back seat of his car. As I watched the video, I saw him attempt neither. The man was NOT "threatening" him. He was, in fact, walking away from him. Seems to me this trooper needs a lot more training in how to make a proper judgment call. But then, some policemen think ANY resistance to their demands calls for violence. Fortunately, most don't. This is a good example of the improper use of a taser. Nobody, not even a policeman, should ever use a taser on someone who is not threatening them. Carrying one is not illegal in most states, and using them in self-defense is not, either. But using one in an offensive manner could be construed as a felony assault. Hitting someone with your fist without provocation could also be felonious assault. Put simply, these are not toys, and should never be used in an irresponsible manner. (Salt Lake Tribune, 11/21/07)

How Often Are You Alone?

You don't even think about it, but how often do you arrive at work before anyone else, or leave after everyone else is gone? Do you have to walk through a dark, deserted garage or parking lot to get to your car? When you leave for work in the early morning is it still dark, and with no one around? What would happen if someone decided you were an "easy mark" and attacked you? That happens every day, many times, in every city or town on the map. If it hasn't happened to you yet, it's only a matter of time. I lucked out one night when I stopped to make a phone call (before cell phones) at a lonely and dark roadside pay phone. As I got out of my car, a man approached me and asked for a match (THAT old ploy). I reached for the metal flashlight in my right back pocket. I guess I scared him, He said, "Don't shoot me, man!" Then he ran off, and another man I hadn't even seen ran off in the same direction. They must have thought I was armed. So it has happened to me, although not in the way the bad guys thought. Check out getting a stun gun or pepper spray. It might save your life some lonely night. The "bad guys" are essentially cowards and will run off at the first sign of effective defense. (PDC,)

Foiled Carjacking

One of our customers had just left a restaurant and gotten into his car when a man put a knife through his driver's window demanding he get out of the car. So our customer, who had a 650,000 volt "Runt," hit him for two seconds with a jolt that completely changed his mind about carjacking him (if he was, in fact, capable of thinking for a while). He was gibbering on the ground when cops arrived to arrest him. He will probably rethink his profession when he gets out of prison.

Boston Gun Grab

In Boston, they plan to go to homes where they think a teenager might have a gun and intimidate their way in to look. They SAY that if permission is denied, they will just "go away." But don't count on it. The police are very good at intimidation, and what will happen if they find a gun? They'll "confiscate" it and the kid will just go out and get another one. He'll either steal it or find a gun dealer from whom to buy it out of the trunk of his car in an alley. "In the next two weeks, Boston police officers who are assigned to schools will begin going to homes where they believe teenagers might have guns. The officers will travel in groups of three, dress in plainclothes to avoid attracting negative attention [they think-RT], and ask the teenager's parent or legal guardian for permission to search. If the parents say no, police said, the officers will leave. If officers find a gun, police said, they will not charge the teenager with unlawful gun possession, unless the firearm is linked to a shooting or homicide." That's what they say now. But if the citizens of Boston allow them to get their foot in the door this time, there's no telling what they'll do later. Like the camel that asks to put his nose in the tent because he's cold and winds up fully within the tent in the morning, they'll just "nibble away" at gun rights until ALL gun ownership is illegal except for cops and government agents. If they try that In Denver and come to my house, they'll get "the bum's rush." Let them TRY to intimidate this old man. (Boston Globe, 11/17/07)

Mom Goes After Gunman

"A Fort Collins mother is suing the man who held her son at gunpoint after the man was given a plea agreement she calls 'a slap on the hand.' Cherylynn Barber asked Chief District Court Judge James Hiatt on Thursday to reject the plea agreement offered to Kenrick Illidge, who was charged with felony menacing in the July 17 incident. 'The punishment does not fit the crime,' she told Hiatt. 'I'm furious that no action has been taken against him.' " This is something victims need to do more often. If the criminals knew they'd be saddled with suits by the victims seeking damages for their crimes, maybe they'd do something else for a living. It often isn't enough to have and use a stun gun or pepper spray to "fend off" an attacker because our court system often does "let him off with a wrist-slap" which tells him, "go forth and attack someone else and we won't put you away for a long time." (The Coloradoan, 11/9/07)

I LOVE "Crankshaft!"

In fact, I sometimes "identify" with the Crankshaft character in the comic strip by that name, as a rule, because he doesn't care what people think of him. Mostly when people ask me why I never cook out. But I don't identify with his opinion in the October 24 strip, where he tells a "little old lady" she can probably stop carrying her pepper spray, meaning she's too old and ugly to be worried about being attacked (the kind of thoughtless remark Crankshaft is prone to make). But he's wrong this time. "Old people" are prime targets of young thugs, who think they are "easy targets." The thugs just don't expect an "old person" to be carrying something that can put them down in an instant, such as a pepper spray or even a disguised stun gun. A man who didn't like me shaking my head at his "driving style" once tried to attack this "old man" one day and got the surprise of his life when I shocked him with my "Runt" stun gun that is designed to look like a pager (350,000 volts). He'll think twice before trying to assault the next "old man." Crankshaft.

64-Year-Old Man Fights Off Attacker

"UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Police in Uniondale, N.Y., said a crazed man broke into a home, attacked the owner, beat him with a karaoke machine and bit off his ear. A Nassau County police spokeswoman said doctors were not able to reattach the victim's ear but his injuries were not life threatening. The 64-year-old man attempted to defend himself with a vacuum cleaner hose. Police said the attacker then crouched in the hallway until police arrived. A police official said the attack appeared to be random and that the suspect's behavior suggested drug use. 'This guy just randomly picked this house,' said police Sgt. Anthony Repalone. Luis Hidalgo, also of Uniondale, pleaded not guilty to charges of burglary and assault. He was being held at the Nassau County jail on bail of $250,000 cash or $500,000 bond, prosecutors said." Looks like this 64-year-old man could have benefited from having a stun gun or a pepper spray. Or maybe a Bear Spray. Might have saved him an ear. The story doesn't say how he kept the attacker there until the cops arrived, but I've got to say, "You go, gramps!" (Live Leak, 10/15/07)

Waitress Stops Attacker With Pepper Spray

She had had trouble with him before while working. The boss threw him out when he tried to pinch her bottom. When she went home later, he attempted to attack her in revenge; but he didn't count on her key chain pepper spray. He reached for her and she hit him. He tried again and she gave him a shot of hot lightning. He writhed on the ground while she called the police. Then she went home, unhurt. She told him to stick with what's on the menu in the future.