Police subdue a dangerous criminal:
MARTINSVILLE, Ind. — Indiana police say two officers have been placed on administrative suspension after they used a stun gun on an unruly 10-year-old boy at a home day care:
[. . .]
The department says that when the officers arrived the boy was out of control, hitting and kicking and refusing to listen to them. The department says the officers used a stun gun and slapped the boy to subdue him.
The argument for stun guns is that they give police one more less-than-lethal weapon in their arsenal; reducing the level of force used is generally a good thing. The drawback is that they can induce police to use force when they otherwise might have to use some other means of control (like talking). I think the case can still be made for using tasers, but departments that get them should have plenty of training on when and when not to use them.
Comments
Leo:
He MUST have been one UNRULY little you-know-what, if he was THAT hard to handle by those large officers (unless they were MY height, in which case I'd have done something similar to control the situation).
When you've talked yourself blue in the face, and a situation does not DE-escalate to a level of civility for everyone, you (as an officer) have to kick it up a few notches, if, for no other reason, than to get the person's "attention".
And believe me, there more than a few "kids" out there that could USE a 5 second "jolt" to wise them the hell up.
(that's what fathers and spankings used to there for, remember?)
Got to say I agree with Bob and I'm a mom and grandma. That's a lesson the kid will probably remember the next time he thinks about throwing a fit. Of Course, there's probably already a huge lawsuit in the works.
Sounds like a good old fashioned whack up side the head would have sufficed...
Wonder if that taser hurt more than when my brothers' handed me that bare extension cord as a joke?
Well, then, for all of you fans of corporal punishment, this article should please you to no end. And I'm sure that those of you who think that "a good old fashioned whack up side the head", will revel in the fact that 15 of the deaths in 2008 were from head trauma. Hmmph - that'll teach those "UNRULY little you-know-what" kids.