Student tasered at John Kerry event - Page 5

Yeah, but you kind of can say to forget about the protest stuff. There's no direct causal relationship between "acted like an ass" and "got tasered". There were three intervening opportunities for him to have prevented the tasering.

On the other hand, once you attempt to murder someone, you've authorized the use of violent force against you. You might get to surrender, you might not. There's a direct causal link right there. Your comparison isn't valid to begin with.

Have 1200 pounds holding you down, then strain to get out from underneath it. You certainly can hurt yourself.

There are several different 'Use of Force Continuums'. Each is laid out by the Organization that uses it. This specific organization may have the tazer a bit lower on theirs. They may have also had specific instructions for protecting Kerry.

Without all of the information available it is impossible to make a credible judgment. Video, by itself, is not the whole situation.

What it comes down to for me is, but for his actions, he would not have been tazered. Fuck ‘em. It’s all grins and giggles until someone loses an eye.

jay f is completely correct about each organization setting the "use of force continuum" standards. And yes this specific organization probably had specific instructions for John Kerry. Even with all of that being true I still feel they could have arrested him without the taser. The arrest report is an interesting read for those that haven't checked it out.

Should've let him hurt himself then. You are an awful libertarian.

If you're going to argue that they were tasering him for his own safety, well, either way he'd have pain inflicted on him, whether he wiggled around the six officers pinning him down or got zapped (which is more dangerous).

What a cop-out.

God-damn some of you people are just weak-willed. Some of the scenarios a laughable. Now Dickson is actually concerned about the safety of the kid? Are you fucking kidding me? It's only slightly better than the idiots trying to say he was a threat to other people in the room. Talk about intellectual dishonesty.

How is it that none of you have a problem with two very large policemen needing 4 other cops to help them hold down a skinny college kid (I love Neal's description of him. Listen to Neal and the kid is a Gracie)? At least two of those cops are fucking big, but they're not trained enough to know how to immobilize someone without electricity? Does anyone have an issue with this, besides me?

Thing is, you people are giving your government permission to use unnecessary force under their own discretion. There are MANY ways to remove a subject from a scene without electrocuting them, but you are all more than willing to live with "Yeah, well they told him to stop". It's pretty fucking sick, actually. I found humor in hearing this idiot scream, but now it's just sad to see the groundswell of support for aggressive policing of non-violent acts of protest.

He was jumping in the air in protest of being escorted out of the building. He wasn't protesting anything before then.

Should the police have a cap on how many of them are allowed to subdue a suspect? Even 2 of them against the guy would have eventually resulted in the "outnumbered" argument. No one told the guy he'd get a "fair fight" from the cops. It's not fucking thunderdome.

In total agreement here. The picture of the cops holding the guy shows that at least two if not three of those cops should have been able to arrest him on their own without electricity much less with five other cops helping.

One cop should be skilled enough to remove a skinny college kid from a room. That's what their training should be, and we shouldn't give them permission to use weapons of force in lieu of such training.

The protest/not protest doesn't matter. I don't care if he's standing in a movie theater shouting just to piss people off, giving police the authority to use such aggressive tactics is asinine.

Agreed again. The training I went through taught us various methods to transport a person from one place to another with out having to taser them. I can only assume, since I've never worked for that particular department, that these officers were taught at least some of these same methods. The fact that none of the methods are seen being used seems to indicate to me that they tased before trying anything else.

Which is it?

Definitely.

He shouldn't have been tasered; I agree. But as others have said much more eloquently, it's hard to be more surprised that he was tasered than I was surprised at his own foolishness. He was being led away calmly by two cops and tried to break free. That's going to end badly.

Oh, they tried several things. You can see them trying different holds, and using the handcuffs, I think they just lost patience and went for the taser.

That's the problem with these non-lethal weapons, why keep going through the trouble of trying to exert force to subdue somebody when you can just zap 'em?

Wait for these to be used now against protesters. I've been teared gassed before, I can only imagine how much fun being electrocuted is going to be.

It doesn't matter whether or not he was protesting. It's not like you're only guaranteed rights in this country if you're protesting something.

As for 'an excuse' to taser, give me a fucking break. I suppose you also think that neighbor lady of yours with the black eye knew what she was getting into when she suggested her husband not go out with the boys last night. I guess it's best to just not give those who wield the power an excuse to use it on you, rather than be mindful of the power we give people who are wildly unqualified to have it.

I seriously doubt they tried "several" things. I think they tried to get him to comply and when he didn't the officer in charge on scene said screw it, tase the guy.

Yeah, once they had him down on the ground and he started struggling again they didn't change tactics at all. You just hear one of the cops saying "just taze him".

Fine. I didn't bring up "aggressive policing of non-violent acts of protest" in relation to this incident.

Idealism is nice, but one of those options will keep you from getting tased today.

Idealism is now "you shouldn't taser non-violent people". What the fuck?

The fact I used protest in a sentence doesn't change my point, Phil. Whether or not you think he was protesting or just being an idiot doesn't matter one iota. It's a bullshit non-sequitur attempt at changing the subject.

You didn't "use protest in a sentence". You called this incident (or at least likened it to) "a non-violent act of protest". Didn't you? I was at work all day and dipping in and out of this thread, but if I misunderstood you, I apologize.

It doesn't fucking matter whether or not it's a protest, that's the whole fucking point. You don't get extra rights by making political points versus being annoying. All it does it make the event funny rather than sad, it doesn't make it right.

The fact of whether or not this was an actual political protest was a side discussion that didn't have anything to do with the action of tazing bro. It doesn't factor into the discussion of over-aggressive and pussified policemen/women.

I know this is probably a terrible time to post it, but I feel like this thread needs a little lightening up.

Bruce would've knocked him the fuck out with a batarang.

My apologies for derailing this thread. I hang my head in shame. Don't tase me bro's.

Pussy cops. Tasers should only be used in a lifethreatning situation. People with heartconditions, pacemakers etc. can easily die from being tasered.

Honestly, that sounds like something I might do if I were a cop.

"Fuck it, just zap him."

Please... that statement that "someone should have tasered him long before this" is just as much of a douchebag statement as anything the kid did. And what the fuck does Kerry do all day, anyway? Get publicity. There's no crime here except for some possible college rent-a-cop brutality.

The cops were practically midgets and the guy was a tall drink of cocksucker, over 6ft, so they really had no choice. If they had try to physically do something they may broken a finger, rib whatever, getting tazzed was harmless.

Besides that, the kid should have presented himself calm and orderly manner and maybe idiot Kerry would have chatted him up. You don't burst into a room and start yelling at a Senator.

Surely you are jesting. Yes the two women are small, but those three guys are by no means midgets. I choose to believe your are joking even if you aren't.

This is getting ridiculous.

This is the craziest part.
All of it is bullshit, but to arrest someone for just being there? WHAT.THE.FUCK?

What hell? I only saw the two chicks. I didn't see the big black guys! Goddamn. cant trust any news today.

The two women I believe start to escort him out and are met by the guys a little later, but still. Look at those guys and tell me they could cuff him.

They could have.

This just in: Rodney King asked for that beating and the cops did nothing wrong. According to the court anyway.

B_Metal gets it.