Don't tase me, bro!

[germdoc]

Pretty intense video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=8XWijwmvGU4

Forgetting about who the speaker was (who was that boring guy on the podium, anyway?), what do you think of this incident?

The guy was clearly a bit of a crackpot, and was not really cooperating with the police. (He may have a mental disorder.) But, it seems to me the security response was too much. I think tasers are of questionable safety (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroshock_Weapon_Controversy) and should only be used when dealing with *really risky* situations.

I guess the school agreed because several security people were placed on leave, and if this kid has any kind of a good lawyer he will win a fat settlement from UF.

I just don't like the idea that law enforcement or security or whoever can go into auditoriums and start shocking the heck out of people who are just exercising their First Amendment rights, albeit in a silly fashion. It doesn't seem American to me; it makes me think of the phrase "jack-booted thugs". You can rationalize what security did 10 different ways, but that's my gut response.

[Tequila]

I agree that taser use is getting out of control, but I think we need to taser this thread since it's bound to get political very quickly.

[leehljp]

First Amendment Rights and all other Rights come with the responsibility of not abusing that/those rights.

Freedom does not mean that we are free to do anything we want, and it has to be applied individually in context of community to work. With Freedom comes the responsibility and work to preserve that freedom; leave those two out and Freedom is gone. With Freedom gone, so are the Rights!

Same here for this forum; abuse freedoms and rights and a post will be scrutinized closely.

[Uncle Cracker]

I'm just sorry this had to happen at my alma mater...

[ironhat]

Can't we all just get along?

[Stytooner]

We better, else we might get taized.

[BigguyZ]

I agree that tazer use was not appropriate. I've read that tazers are classified as "less lethal", which means that there is still a potential to kill. It should still be used as a last resort weapon, not a handy tool to prevent you from breaking a sweat.

[Alex Franke]

I don't think it's political at all, personally. We're not talking about the speaker, we're talking about the student.

I think if the police felt they were in serious danger, then they had a right to use the taser -- especially if they warned him. He was clearly flailing around and resisting arrest, so maybe they were getting beat up a bit by him.

On the other hand, if the student was in fact on the ground in handcuffs when they used the weapon (which it looked like he might have been), then the police really screwed up.

The student would have made a much stronger statement if he was arrested peacefully and escorted out in the middle of his question. Then he could have said, "I was only trying to ask a question and I got arrested."

The way it transpired though, is more like this: "I just tried to ask a question and the mic was turned off. So I raise my voice and got belligerent, and the police tried to take me off my 'stage.' So I started resisting and failing around and the police tried to arrest me. So I started resisting arrest and then I got tasered."

[LCHIEN]

Just a comment on the news item, not the political background.

If you read other articles about him, the guy is a attention seeker in the worst way. I don't think it was so much political as a way for him to seek the limelight.

There were rules regarding time limits so the other could ask Q's. His time was up, he refused to leave after several warnings, others were waiting. Security was probably the only way to get him to leave the stage, but his agenda was the maximum attention and he was not going to leave without causing a scene no matter what they did. So Taser or not I think there was going to be a scuffle. Tasing in this case protected the officers - and possibly the man - the other choice would be physical violence (ok, not that much more than tasing).

[JR]

Hmm, interesting. It looked like there were four or five uniformed officials there, and they had him down on the floor. Shouldn't they have been able to subdue the perp at that point without resorting to the tazer?

I hate to second-guess them, but it makes one wonder why they felt obliged to use so much force.

JR

[os1kne]

I've never been a big fan of the taser, but I'm warming up to it. I have a brother-in-law that is a cop and what was explained to me was that the taser is being promoted as a means to subdue an unruly person - without resorting to the use of a night-stick/fists/etc. Apparently the taser is much less likely to seriously injure the bad guy and the cop than the other methods.

If the guy was given plenty of warning to shut up and leave and didn't obey -something had to be done. Should they have just beat the crap out of him and dragged him out? That would probably cause more problems, and maybe a riot.

[Black wallnut]

I was not there. The couple of home videos that i've seen only gave part of the story. Loring seems to have more background info than what I've seen or heard, although i have not exactly been following this as many may have been. I do not know exactly how Flordia laws are written but "necessary" when applied to force is likely codified and defined in that code. In my State's code " "Necessary" means that no reasonably effective alternative to the use of force appeared to exist and that the amount of force used was reasonable to effect the lawful purpose intended." RCW 9A.16.010

Being that the student was failing to submit to arrest after commiting a crime in the presence of law Enforcement Officers they used the tools at their disposal to effect a lawful arrest. His only defense is that he did not agree that his arrest was not lawful, a tough one for him to prove. Was the force used excessive? The answer to this question will require understanding the LEO's training and experience. Add to that the totality of the circumstances leading to this arrest and any possible prior knowledge these officers may have had with the suspect. Many seem compelled to rush to judgement whenever LEO's use any amount of force. We give LE tools to perform their jobs in enforceing the laws of our Country, States, and Cities. Public outcry when they use these tools makes me wonder if some would rather we return to the use of batons and choke holds!

[ragswl4]

I was trying to articulate my feelings about this incident but then I saw this video from one of the EDUCATED ones and it really sums up how I feel. She thinks we should all get educated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw8DO0kftXk&NR=1

Geesh!! If she thinks she educated, I must be Albert Einstein the second.

[germdoc]

Without defending this guy one bit or being anti-law enforcement, I would say that the last thing you would want to do to an attention-seeking, mentally unbalanced nut is to tase him in front of hundreds of students with their digicams. Justified or not.

[JeffW]

I don't believe that we can have any judgment on what was done. We are missing many facts as well as only seeing what appears to be a small segment of the video.