[youtube]aCnPYSk8iJQ[/youtube]
Does anyone else find this video disturbing?
I know that being a police officer can be frustrating. Having to deal with belligerent drunks all day long isn’t any fun. I sometimes wish I had a way to deliver an electric shock to some of the people I have to deal with. I’m sure that convenience store clerks, bartenders, and other people in the services sector wish they had the power to do the same thing.
But thanks to
In an absolutely perfect world, that power would be used only when the only other option is physical force that could leave the subject injured or dead. But this isn’t a perfect world, and police officers are subject to the same flaws as the rest of us, including impatience, arrogance and a sense of entitlement.
I’ve looked at this video several times, and I’m that this is NOT a case of proper use of the TASER (thankfully, this IS NOT a video of Peoria Police officers).
Less than 60 seconds passed between the time the officer told the woman driver to get out of the car and when she was TASERed. Five seconds passed between the time the officer told the woman to get out of the car and when he pulled out the TASER, pointed it at her and threatened to shoot her with it.
The video clearly shows that the woman WAS getting out of the car, as ordered, albeit she was doing it slowly and was giving the officers a ton of static. At the time she was hit with electric charge, she was standing on her feet outside her car, with one officer standing so close to her that she couldn’t have possible moved any further away from the car without making physical contact with the officer. In fact the only physical contact was initiated by an officer, who had grabbed her by the back of the neck. And the woman was being loud and obnoxious … about being touched.
I think these officers were quick to pull the trigger. There are other skills that could have been used that weren’t. They didn’t even try reasoning with her. The certainly didn’t try being patient, or using humor to diffuse the situation. Their communication with her during the arrest consisted of yelling at her to open the door and get out of the car. Their non-verbal communication seemed designed to provoke an incident. People don’t like being ordered about and threatened, and nothing I saw suggested she deserved to be treated like that. She didn’t initiate force. She wasn’t fleeing the scene. She just took too long to get out of her car than these officers would prefer.
But let’s not pretend that being shot with a TASER is not a painful experience. Forget the pictures we’ve all seen of health police officers and reporters being subjected to TASERs. I am not impressed.
TASER weapons are touted as the “non-lethal weapons of the future.”
These things are not non-lethal. In the field, they are used against people who might have serious health problems — including heart conditions — or who may be under the influence of drugs and alcohol. One year ago, an Arizona newspaper wrote about 167 people who died after being shot with TASERs. In most cases, the deaths were attributed to health problems or drug abuse by the victims. It’s not beyond the realm of reason to suggest that despite these health problems, the majority of these people might be alive today had someone not TASERed them.
It would seem to me that a weapon touted as a non-lethal alternative to the use of firearms is contributing to the deaths of a lot of people.
There are even cases of officers being accused of using these things as instruments of torture. There also cases of departments hiding details about post-TASERing deaths, letting them be blamed on medical reasons. There’s a case of a man who was TASERed for not acting quickly enough to police commands to either remove his hat or leave a Saginaw, Mich., city council meeting.
I’m worried about how the widespread use of TASERs are affecting police interaction with citizens in the field. I want officers to have weapons at their disposal, but I want officers who aren’t quick to deliver power and painful electric shocks to people. I want TASERs used as alternative to shooting subjects with real bullets, not as an alternative to officers having to take a lot of time having to deal with mouthy, disrespectful people. It must be especially tempting, considering how quickly even seemingly normal encounters with people can turn violent.
I would appreciate hearing from members of Peoria’s law enforcement community about the training they receive AND how closely correct procedures are followed in the field.
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
They weren’t quick enough. Your anology is incorrect. the officer clearly told her she was under arrest and to turn around. She did not comply and indicated she wasn’t going to comply by being vocal. I don’t think the officers should have baby sit her and waste time. She is accused of assualt which the officers there relaize she may do it again. So, they tazed her, cuffed her, end of story. Had she complied like a citizen should, she wouldn’t have been shocked. Christ, what do you expect? They stand there and kiss her ass?
I can almost see where this action of tasering maybe justifiable against the woman who was told she is under arrest but refused to comply, but go to http://www.liveleak.com and tell me if the one in the police station with the drunk woman handcuffed and posed no threats is justifiable.
In my opinion all three should be fired and never hold a government job again.
1)Officers ordered her from her car several times. She refuses. (at this point, a Taser application or pepper spray can be applied under use of force policy) She is a suspect in a domestic battery case (biting boyfriend on arm) and is obstructing police.
2)She relunctantly gets out the of car and is placed under arrest. The Officer places his hands on her ordering her to put her hands behind her back. She tells him no and actively resists arrest. (A Taser application, pepper spray, or physical control tactics can be applied under the use of force policy)
The Officers were more than patient and reserved in the use of the Taser. And the Taser has saved more lives, injuries to officers AND suspects alike, than any recent tool given to police. Taser International has a web site you should check for statistics. After each application, we are required to report it and the outcome to Taser itself who monitors it’s products usage to see where it succeeds and fails.
“More than patient?”
I repeat: Five seconds from the FIRST request to get out of the car to the TASER weapon being pulled and pointed at the woman.
Nothing in the tone of the reqests to get out of the car suggested patients.
Emtronics I completely agree! I’ve seen both sides of this personally. I have an obnoxious drunk as a mother and my dad is in law enforcement (they have been divorced for about 20 years)
My mom has been arrested a few times for disorderly conduct and during the arrest an assault charge was added because she was so out of control and kicking and biting and generally acting insane. If they would have just tasered her ignorant ass to begin it would have been better for everyone. She might not have assaulted the police, she would have been more compliant, and chances are she would think about it before she starts swinging and kicking cops again. The gal in this video reminds me of my mom for sure.
In my Dad’s case, I’m glad for his sake that he has a taser to use so he isn’t injured wrestling with idiots that aren’t complying. I figure it’s better than him being injured or killed and it’s better than him having to shoot someone. And just for the record, part of his taser training was getting zapped himself.
How about looking for opinions from a real law enforcement agency? That would rule out the Peoria police…we saw how their use of tasers turned out for them…
Tasers are generally a good thing. The problem is that all cops can use them.
Oh well…
I love it.
When cops have to beat the crap out of someone or even shoot them, everyone cries “Where were the tasers?!?”
Now the cops use the tasers, and people cry too…
Cash registers, especially at convenience stores and gas stations, should have them built in. To paralyze robbers.
Billy,
She resisted arrest. Period. If I behaved in a belligerent and idiotic manner such as that, I would fully expect to either be peppered or tased.
Billy,
Tasers are just like guns or any other tool: in the right hands they work well, but in the wrong hands they can be misused.
I find your logic quite baffling: here you seem to be against tasers, but in the past have been quite clear in your feelings toward guns (oh, yes, insert your 2nd Amendment argument here even though that is not my point).
If someone abuses a taser, then that person should be dealt with.
You misstate MY argument, Scott. I am not arguing against the use of TASERs. I am argument against the improper use of TASERs. This video is, in my opinion, an improper use.
She would would probably agree that a taser is better than a baton.
She would also certainly agree that had police been a little bit more patient with a frightened, drunk woman she would have received NO electrical shocks or a baton.
PEOPLE! LOOK at the video. The police were were impatient and seemed intend on goading her into doing something to give them the “right” to TASER her.
Taxi drivers and high school teachers should also have TASERs.
I’m trying to think of other great uses of this disabling tool that even Eric Estrada could not handle, on tv show Armed & Famous.
Bar owners, bouncers, Guardian Angels (what ever happened to the GA in Peoria?)
she don’t look frightened to me, she looks rebellious, mouthy, stubborn, and uncooperative.
IMHO, the police did the right thing. She keeps refusing to get out of the car.
I can’t believe I’m actually defending police force, but they were speaking sternly to a belligerent woman, not goading a poor, defenseless, scared, accidentally drunk lady. They asked her around 20 times to open the door/get out of the car. When she finally did get out, she was combative, and resisted the officer who was attempting to cuff her. Respect the police, do what they say, no problems. Yell, scream, behave like a stupid drunk, resist an officer attempting to remove you from a vehicle, you’re going to get tased.
KEEPS refusing. When she’s shocked, the is STANDING OUTSIDE the CAR! Another officer is standing so close to her, she cannot move any further away. In fact, this officer has grabbed her by the scruff of the neck.
She’s loud and obnoxious, but you’re not supposed to be able to TASER people because of it.
Billy, thats why I am not a police officer. I would taser when someone would not listen. I would offer zaps of unpleasentness to anyone who would try to argue with me. I bet people would start to listen if I was in control. Yeah. Like the shield.
Loud and obnoxious is reason to play lazer tag in my opinion.
The officer standing by the woman has ordered her to hands behind her back several times so he can arrest her. She is resisting, fighting against him trying to pull her arms back. Therefore, she is resisting arrest. I am not generally one to defend any kind of excessive force, but I think the cops are right on this one. It’s easy to sit in front of our computer in our (relatively) safe offices or homes and say the cops didn’t need to shock the woman. It’s not as easy for the cops to be out on the streets of the inner city every day, dealing with people who have no respect for themselves, let alone an officer of the law. She was repeatedly told to do things and didn’t do them. The officer attempting to cuff her was out of position to safely take her to the ground, because of the car. There was a time when the camera was off, and when it came back on, the officer was unlocking the passenger side door. This means that the woman had refused to open the car for the officers when they initially approached her. There are a lot of unknowns that can’t be inferred from the short snippet in the video.
She was not immediately Tasered. She had the Taser’s laser sight pointed at her and threatened to be Tasered if she did not comply. If she complied, she would not have been Tasered at that point. The officer could have done an “arc” display which is a dry firing of the Taser to show and let her hear the Taser crackle as a second warning, but that would have required the officer to remove the Probes leaving him at a disadvantage if she suddenly attacked his partner and he was on the other side of the car. Police are to control the situation and the female was given every chance in the world to comply. I’m not sure why you think she is compliant, but take this female and multiply her attitude times 200 and thats what we deal with every Friday and Saturday night at a certain night club on Jefferson. Maybe a tid more violent though there. It does not matter if she was outside the car. She is under arrest for domestic battery and is actively resisting arrest. She could have been taken to the ground and handcuffed based on her level of defiance, but instead was Tasered and done so successfully. She was then handcuffed and taken into custody. Problem was resolved and no one was hurt.
And by the way, Tasers have an internal chip which are downloaded after every use telling when, how many times and for how long the Taser was applied. Makes it very difficult for officers to abuse them. That information then remains with that Taser until the life of the battery is ended. You could actually go back 2-3 years to see the exact time/date and usage of a Taser if any claims of abuse are made.
I’m not taking a stance either way about whether or not this woman should have been tased. I do, however, need to call out a ridiculous argument that a few people have made here.
Basically, it goes like “If a person is warned that bad things will happen if they do ABC, they do ABC, and the bad things happen, the person has nothing to complain about!” This is complete and utter bull puckey. Ignoring warnings about being tased does not justify the tasing. Particularly disturbing is Em’s comment that a ‘citizen’s’ duty is to obey the police. It is such thinking that has cameras on every streetcorner in London and government-sponsored but unauthorized wiretapping on our side of the pond.
I’m just glad this incident was captured on film (what an antiquated saying!), as should every encounter between police and civilians. Because of that (and many-to-many publishing), we can clearly see that this woman wasn’t much of victim. It’s too bad that every person the cops tase isn’t such a witch.
1. the car had what appeared to be a bullet hole in the windshield.
2. the police gave her numerous directives, she refused to comply.
3. that is the biggest pair of thong panties I have even seen, and that is the real crime.
We are supposed to obey the police when they ask us to step out of a car. In today’s world of pampering and deviant diversity, people think they are “entitled” to doing anything they want.
Yes, if you are warned about doing XYZ, and you do it anyway, like a spoiled child who has never been told “no”, you do deserve the punishment meted out. Absolutely.
If nobody obeyed the police, what good would they be? They have a job to do, and I am firmly on their side in such matters.
So if I say “Get out of the car or I’ll shoot you in the head,” you don’t comply, and I shoot you in the head, you ‘deserved the punishment meted out’? I think not.
Your problem is that you assume the police are always in the right.
It’s okay, the police are great. There is no crime in peoria! they know what theyre doing! they are all upstanding citizens! Nevermind the guy that killed someone on the river! Nevermind the crooked one that got popped on the SouthSide! Never question waht police do! Ahh! What are you people doing! The absentee police chief may be reading this from Milwaukee!