Phillies Fan Tasered, Soon To Be Classic Photo Included

[Entropy]

Why not just preempt everything and taser people at first contact then? Would make traffic stops a lot safer right?

Sorry I know that is snarky, but I get disturbed by comments like the above. Officer safety is important to me. But so are people rights and safety. I feel tasers are overused in situations like this.

If a taser is deployed, it is always followed by an arrest(or protective custody). When we make a traffic stop, we haven't decided if the driver needs to be arrested for anything yet. Even if we strongly suspect a vehicle of having a DUI driver, we have to investigate before we can determine whether the person needs to be arrested or not.

If the person to be arrested complies with an officer's commands, then no additional tools(taser, pepper spray, baton) or force is needed to effect the arrest. In this case, the suspect was actively resisting arrest and the officer can legally deploy what is necessary to effect the arrest. Obviously deadly force is not needed here. The taser was the most effective tool on his belt for stopping the suspect quickly and can easily be articulated in court with studies to back it up that it was the most likely action available to reduce risk of injury to the suspect and the officer.

[Cascades236]

If you want to be a clown, join a circus.

The biggest skeptics of Tasers are those that know nothing about them. It stopped the kid and he wasn't hurt, chunky cop got a bit of exercise... good day for everyone.

[11B101ABN]

Why not just preempt everything and taser people at first contact then? Would make traffic stops a lot safer right?

Sorry I know that is snarky, but I get disturbed by comments like the above. Officer safety is important to me. But so are people rights and safety. I feel tasers are overused in situations like this.

Nope. Compliance tool. No compliance? Use the Taser. The suspects safety is not of prime importance.


The Taser belongs right where it is . Our is at the same level as pepper spray. Any higher really makes no sense at all.

[skyugo]

I disagree. I don't know what the law states but a goofy teenager who's an attention seeking, towel waving knucklehead who's having fun doesn't need to be tased. Give him 30 seconds and he'll run out of wind, then toss him out of the park.

When you chase after him and tase him you run the risk of him being injured and then suing the city, police, etc. A waste of tax dollars fighting his case, administering the taser, arresting him, transporting and jailing him. He's a dumb kid who's looking to have fun and get attention not an out of control suspect who's a safety risk to others.

The picture is pretty funny and they did get a great photo

i think creating funny internet photos and videos like this is a valid use of tax dollars.

[skyugo]

This was a great situation for taser deployment. It was very low risk to the 17yr old moron with the soft grass to fall on. Advantages to using the taser are that it actually reduces injury to the suspect, as well as the officer. DHS has reported a 60% decrease in officer related injuries during arrests due to the use of the taser. It looks like the Phili chief of police has publically announced that he supports the officer 100%.

As far as justification goes, this is absolutely justified. Running from the cops is called Eluding, and in this case it could be articulated as resisting arrest. Obviously the suspect is also being charged with criminal trespassing too. The primary argument I keep hearing for denouncing the tasing is that the guy on the field wasn't doing any harm, or that it wasn't "fair" for the officer to not go hands on. Give me a f***ing break.

yeah i don't really buy the whole anti-taser argument..
would they really prefer cops go back to the old fashioned method of beating the suspect with a stick until they stop resisting? the taser isn't perfect, but it's a big improvement.

[the1911fan]

Nope. Compliance tool. No compliance? Use the Taser. The suspects safety is not of prime importance.


The Taser belongs right where it is . Our is at the same level as pepper spray. Any higher really makes no sense at all.

Amen to that

[Quiet-Matt]

If the officer would loose a few, maybe he could have cought him. That was a nice shot though.