Protecus wrote:
IRONCHEF wrote:
Another aspect of this tazing incident....it's outrageous because those soft-minded rich kids witnessing the ordeal have a much more limited measurement of what's acceptable and what's not, whereas those cops do. THis is manifest in the relative calmness present with the officers, but the fearful, angry, and anxious attitudes of the mob. But if the mob were in the officers' shoes for a month, saw what is common, what is acceptable, possibly what is not acceptable, etc...and if the novelty of the use of a tazer is gone..they'd react differently. It's what a judge will use to reason, and hopefully a jury if it goes that far. My guess is that if the mob were not new to the tactic or the viewing of tazings..they'd have skipped the reaction and helped convince the offender to submit and stop being an asshead. I think I would have been one of those people.
But isn't that why we (the Citizen) have the job of, in essence, policing the police? As common people, there is the hope that, since we are not jaded by constantly being surrounded by violence, we stay in touch with our humanity (minus the psycho serial killers and fox news anchors) And no, I am not saying the Police have lost their sense of humanity, but we have all heard of the stories of soldiers, back from combat, that have lost the ability to pull back after being immersed in thigh stress, life or death situations.
The police may have experience dealing with unruly people beyond y comprehension, but what I do have experience in is what I believe is humane and, ultimately, what is right.
My point exactly. If I'd follow IRONCHEF's logic, nearly any form of violence would become acceptable over time, if witnessed often enough.
If people don't stand up for their beliefs and always let the cops decide what level of violence is supposed to be "acceptable", we are headed straight towards a police state.
Just because you are used to a specific police tactic, that doesn't mean it suddenly becomes acceptable.
The law regulates the level of violence a police officer is allowed to "administer" when dealing with a specific situation, and it also requires that said officer is actually able to make a correct decision with regard to that.
I know that police officers are humans, too and are bound to become emotionally dulled over the years.
That's why, at some point in time, we need to remind them what the acceptable level of violence is from our point of view, and ask them to maybe re-think their approach here and there.
Naturally, the police's view and that of the "victim" tell different stories of the incident. Some witnesses have stated though, that the student was indeed already walking towards the door with his backpack on his shoulder when one of the officers grabbed him / put a hand on him.
Now,
if that is true, the officer made a tactical mistake right there. Why put unnecessary stress on the subject ? Why try to grab him and provoke resistance when he is walking out and poses no threat to anyone ?
Let him walk out and handle the situation outside, where there are fewer people and you can put him in the squad car without creating such a drama. I have said it before and I'll say it again:
It was just a student in a university library, not some gang lord going berserk in south central.
No need to even try to subdue him if he is walking out.
Some have also said that the officers were afraid the "mob" could turn against them and therefore used the tazer.... What ?!?!
Firstly, what kind of "mob" ? some kids in a university library is all I see there. You'd have to be very paranoid to believe that these kids would actually try to physically assault you to free "one of them". That's ridiculous.
Secondly, even if you consider the witnesses/bystanders around you a "mob", why do you think that the use of
additional violence on the suspect is going to make the "mob"
less likely to attack you ?
Now, I know all we do is speculate. The video doesn't show how the incident started and what words were exchanged
before the officers tried to subdue the student.
Nevertheless, I still believe the level of violence that was ultimately applied was uncalled for and out of proportion.
