These tasers are being abused these days. Cops use them for any reason now.
You'll have to back that statement up with numbers, not just anecdotes, otherwise it is just as truthful as saying, "people are being incinerated by lighting bolts everywhere nowadays!" just because you have heard of one or two cases on the news.
Tasers are used quite a bit, because they are effective tools and usually save the suspect and the officers from being injured. No, the first one is not a typo, or hyperbole. They are not used "for any reason", though. The reason you hear about them is because they're much more novel and spectacular than mace/OC, but fill a similar niche.
Cops in Florida have even started using them on elderly people for being "verbally beligerent."
Cite? And I want stats, not just an anecdote. I've seen a police car run over a suspect (legitimately), is it correct to say that the police are just plain running people down nowadays?
The problem with Tasers is that police use them in lots of circumstances where they would not otherwise feel free to use force. They are being used by some cops as a means for teaching people a lesson on how to properly address a police officer.
Cite? Otherwise, you're just making stuff up.
If I am unarmed and minding my own business walking down the street and a cop yells, "Put your hands on your head and get down on the ground." I have a RIGHT to ask him why. Some police seem to think that anything they tell anyone to do under any circumstance is a "lawful order," but that is pure crap. The police have to have a REASON for their actions.
Correct, they do, but they do not have to tell you what it is before you comply. Case in point- someone matches the description of an armed robbery suspect. For the sake of argument, we'll say they match it to a tee. Even better, this person
is the armed robbery suspect. Police show up, order him to stop and put his hands on his head.
Should they then be required to play 20 questions with him while he decides whether or not this is a good enough for him to obey? I say no. You might disagree.
If there is no warrant, no probable cause, not charges and no arrest, they had better no be telling me to put my face on the pavement unless they want a harassment suit.
Yes, but they are not required to explain the exact nature of their PC to you
before you decide to comply. If, afterward, you think what they did was BS, I wholeheartedly encourage you to engage in every legal recourse you have, from requesting a supervisor to suing the department or seeking a federal 'color of law' indictment. But understand that the discussion about PC will not be held over the barrel of a gun.
Its about time that we recognize the difference between an officer of the law doing his job and a punk with a badge getting his rocks off by applying perceived authority improperly.
And, upon first approach by the LEO, pray tell, how does one know the difference?
Mike
