Did this lady deserve this? Why are police so quick to tase citizens?

Question

Here is a video clip of a woman being tasered by the police.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/video/taser_video3a.html

I think police tasers should be used only in deadly situations. Right now the police can use tasers on citizens for minor reasons. Putting 50,000 volts of electricity through a person over a minor reason is ridiculous. Tasers need to be banned from police agencies.

Answer 1

There is a much longer version of this on youtube. She shouldn't have taken a swing at the cop.

Answer 2

It was too much for me to watch the whole thing; I had to stop before it was finished. They were really cruel to that lady. Even though she didn't get out of the car they should not have used the taser on her like that. The problem was he approached her too forcefully, and I think that intimidated her and that's probably why she was afraid to get out of the car in the first place. This is an example in which the police are worse than the criminals. It's a shame but it's situations like these that make people fear all policemen.

Answer 3

I am a white male, and i was taught from a very early age not to mouth off to the police. In an interview this woman stated that one of the first things she said to the officer was that he was a racist. Why was this stop initiated? May it have had something to do with a moving violation commited while on the phone (you know, the phone she refuses to get off of)? I am not condoning the officer's response, but it is a fact of life- do something wrong, then mouth off to the police, and you pretty much roll the dice. I suspect if this were a man he would have been wrestled out of the car physically; would that be preferable to non lethal force?

The moral?

Hang up the phone, shut your trap, and comply.

Answer 4

Yes, she deserved it. Refusing to obey legal and lawful police orders is rediculous. She broke several laws, was very argumentative, and refused to obey those lawful police orders to put down her cell phone and exit her vehicle, and she over-reacted to the tazing in the extreme (it is disabling and painful but not nearly as bad as she made it out to be, and once the current is halted so is the associated pain).

She was told several times that if she did not comply that she would be tazed, and she CHOSE to be tazed rather than to comply with the officer's legal and lawful orders.

Police are not "so quick to tase citizens", as you put it. But they are trained to use the tazer under certain circumstances as opposed to physical or deadly force when a citizen is being uncooperative, hostile, refusing to obey a lawful order, etc.

And it worked - it got her off the phone, out of her car, and into the handcuffs with a minimum of stress & harm to the arresting officers. I think tazers should be a part of every law enforcement officer's standard equipment, and they should be used any time an officer is confronted with a situation where they may have to struggle to contain an uncooperative and belligerant suspect.

Answer 5

Ban tasers? Are you stupid? What would you rather have them use? Truncheons so they can beat you into a coma? Perhaps their guns so you can't file a complaint? Tasers and stun batons are a good non-lethal alternative for subduing unruly suspects.

BTW- about the video...HAHAHAHAAHAH!!! What a drama queen faker. She got what was coming. You have one cop pointing a gun at your head, you have another telling you to get out of the car. The gun pointed at your head should clue you in that this is a serious situation. When the cop tells you to get out, you get out. Unless you're deaf, the cop shouldn't have to tell you more than once. What did you expect the cops to do? Coax her out with a candy bar?

Answer 6

No, it's better than being shot! If you run, mouth off to the police, ect. They have every right to taser your ***! I'm glad they do! Of course, I don't have to worry about being tasered. I follow the law!

Answer 7

This woman did not deserve to be tased. What is wrong with the police! She was just speeding and had a suspended licence there was no reason for her to be asked to get out of the car or even be arrested so she had a right to question the officer about getting out of the car to begin with. They have to tell her why they wanted her to get out of the car and why they are arresting her and should have provided her with that information. Then he tased her when she just wanted to know why she was being arrested. This is crazy! Wholy crap!

Answer 8

I think the reason a lot of police officers do this is because with that badge they feel like supreme authority figures. Some are good police men. Helping and serving the community while others are real jerks just because they have a badge. I wished they would "protect and serve" like they are supposed to and QUIT harrassing innocent people.

Answer 9

There is a time and a place for protesting the actions of the police on the streets. That time and place is not when an officer repeatedly issues a lawful command.

Answer 10

She totally deserved it. She kept on refusing the officer's instructions to get out of the car. Who knows where her hands were at or if she grabbed something inside her purse or something else.

I wish the offficer tased her at least 10 x's more. That would teach other stupid people like her a lesson.

Answer 11

They should go back to just shooting people.

This woman is not respecting authority and deserves to be tased. Who knows who she is calling and where that person could be located. The police must error on the side of protecting themselves.

A rational person would have turned off her phone and listed to the officer's instructions. Clearly, she wasn't rational.