What is Digg?209 Comments
- inactive, on 11/12/2007, -3/+108I guess basic police work and being a decent human being have taken a backseat to just whipping out the taser whenever the cops are not met with fear and instant obedience.
Seems like they use pepper spray and tasers now in incidents where they would have talked it out in the old days. - reeder, on 11/14/2007, -1/+87This sort of thing happens very often. My girlfriend's brother was also thrown in jail for a DUI, even though he was trying to explain he was a diabetic. Instead of listening, they threw him in jail where he almost died. It is beyond me that their isn't some program to teach police the difference between being drunk and the problems associated with diabetics. It's criminal.
- inactive, on 09/11/2008, -16/+74Welcome to Police State USA - enjoy your stay!
- sockpuppets, on 11/11/2007, -1/+50I was attacked a few months back and called the cops thinking it was the "right thing to do." Guess who went to jail instead?
Yeah. I'm not calling the cops anymore. - inactive, on 11/11/2007, -0/+43Yeah, a guy died near where I live because police thought he was drunk and arrested him - his Medicalert, as always happens in these cases, was mysteriously found ripped off and thrown into his car. Another guy I know had exactly the same thing as this article happen to him, yet again his Medicalert was ripped off and thrown into the car - he was also prosecuted for resisting arrest.
I'm a diabetic myself - the hospital constantly warns me that this keeps happening. - Octaman, on 11/11/2007, -0/+42So... they did not drop the charge of driving under the influence, yet the guy blew .00 on a breathalyzer?
Huh? - cgjamj, on 11/11/2007, -1/+37That's the first thing I thought as well. My wife is 29 and was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes when she was 23. The article said he was having a seizure. If that's true these guys are beyond stupid and the city will be sued.
In the six years my wife has been diabetic, she never had any seizures or any thing like that occur until a year ago. Early last Dec, I witnessed the first of two seizures that she had. It came out of the blue. She did tell me right before that her sugar was low and she started eating something to bring it up. She seemed to have a very high tolerance for low sugars, so there was no concern as this was pretty routine. Then she called my name and never responded when I replied to her (I was sitting right next to her). Her face started making EXTREME contortions on the right side. Then she started convulsing a little bit. Her eyes were open but it was clear she could not respond to me at all. I was yelling at her thinking if I yelled loud and angry enough it would snap her out of it. I was scared as ***** and had no idea what was happening. I didn't even think it was diabetic related since this had not happened in six years. She ended up closing her eyes and losing consciousness completely and went blue. She didn't appear to be breathing. At that point I lost it. I thought she was dead and that was just not possible.
One month prior to that day she had given birth to our premature twin boys who did not survive (one lived for 12 hours and the other for 13 days). I initially assumed whatever was happening was somehow related to the c-section surgery she had four weeks prior. I don't remember how long it was, I think it was only a few seconds, but I remember thinking she was dead and I just looked at her in shock and thought it was over. I even remember thinking that as her husband I'll probably be investigated for murder, but I wasn't concerned about that. I guess your mind does really crazy stuff when you are in extreme situations. I ended up running and getting the house phone to call 911 and put it on speaker phone so I could talk while supporting her so she would sit upright (which was probably the worst position for her to be in, but again I was panicked). I know I must have sounded very freaked out, but I very clearly gave our address, her history (age, diabetic, emergency c-section four weeks prior) and described what had just happened. This had all taken place within 2-3 minutes I think. The operator told me to lay her on her right side. I do remember saying that I think she's dead. Within a few minutes, an officer showed up. I remember thinking that he was there only because I claimed that she may be dead. After laying her on her side, her color started to return, then she opened her eyes. She couldn't move or talk. Slowly, things came back in stages. By the time the paramedics arrived just a few minutes later, she was sitting up on her own. A few minutes after that and she was talking. They did take her to the emergency room for evaluation and she was pretty ok by the time she got there.
After the second seizure (which happened two months later) they ended up doing several tests on her and everything came back normal. They attributed it to low blood sugar. They also said this may have occurred due to the extreme stress she was under from losing our twins. She has no recollection of either episode at all.
Obviously, this article really struck a chord with me having witnessed something similar that affected me so much. Also, our sons were born exactly one year ago today - November 10, 2006. It doesn't feel like it's been a year already. - mikesbaker, on 11/11/2007, -3/+38come on digg when are we going to get a taser section?
- capiCrimm, on 11/11/2007, -0/+33Blowing a .00 when your drunk is Obstruction of Justice and Resisting Arrest, so I'm pretty sure he plea bargained just to keep the DUI..
- richmessenger, on 11/11/2007, -1/+30Does anyone remember the man kicked off the train for being drunk when he was actually going into diabetic shock? http://www.digg.com/world_news/BREAKING_Deputies_F ...
http://www.kpho.com/news/13592475/detail.html
This is repulsive behaviour. Can we not find out the problem before deciding on a solution? - vertinox, on 11/11/2007, -1/+27The problem with tasers is that they were meant to replace guns in order to make subduing an armed suspect less lethal.
Keep in mind, guns in law enforcement were always a last resort, however tasers are often used as a first resort just to make things easier for the cop when dealing with unarmed persons.
Rather than using the old procedure of asking the suspect to lay on the ground or put their hands on the wall/car, they have been tasering with asking for cooperation or taser without checking to make sure the command was clear. - sockpuppets, on 11/11/2007, -4/+29The donuts are fresh but every time I try to taste one I get shocked.
- Baroja1898, on 11/11/2007, -3/+27And they wonder why they're commonly called pigs.
- PistolSO, on 11/11/2007, -2/+23I would think the sickly sweet breath on the guy would have given it away. But I guess it's tase first, ask questions later for many police officers today.
- diggduggjoe, on 11/11/2007, -1/+21Not all cops are dolts. Recently, a trooper near me actually determined it was a diabetic seizure when a guy was driving erratically. That guy was a hero, he saved the guys life. No taser involved.
What is the difference between a real peace officer and a brown shirt? Their hearts. - roodammy44, on 11/11/2007, -0/+19This kinda reminds me of the cops on idiocracy.
- KrayzieKyd, on 11/11/2007, -1/+19Are they just handing out TASERs now? Thomas A. Swift would be ashamed that his electric rifle is going to waste.
- sockpuppets, on 11/11/2007, -1/+18Do you walk around with a dunce cap on to alert others to your medical issues?
- ratmash, on 11/11/2007, -2/+19There is no disputing that there are worse regimes out there, but the problem is that these things have a habit of slowly creeping in with no one noticing until it is too late. The issue is not that things are OK right now compared to other countries, but that if you are not careful, if you don't nip these things in the bud, you will end up going down that same road, and you won't realise it until it IS as bad as the other regimes.
"When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out." - Aphelion27, on 11/11/2007, -2/+18OMG he could have died. Can we all say Diabetic Ketoacidosis...
- notque, on 11/12/2007, -0/+15You thought it was too long to read, but you're an ass enough that it was worth your time to stop and comment on it.
- inactive, on 11/11/2007, -1/+16So the arresting officer alleges that the suspect claimed he'd been drinking and refused an ambulance.
Yeah, right. And even if he did, the officer should have known to call for an ambulance anyway. - Baroja1898, on 11/11/2007, -2/+16So, the guy deserved to be tased, eh?
- PunkRockRalph, on 11/11/2007, -8/+22seriously, what do you expect from cops these days? to protect and serve?
/ihatelawenforcementtheysuckateverythingidrathergetmurdered. - thaeastsida, on 11/11/2007, -3/+17ill top that with an anti ron paul spamming comment, with a side order of "dont taze me bro"
- whorunbartertwn, on 11/11/2007, -3/+17mikesbaker I will post the obligatory bootlicker comment at your obligatory response to the obligatory police state comment, and even throw in a Ron Paul to finish you off.
- mikesbaker, on 11/11/2007, -2/+15well i'll see your RP(pbuh) and raise you an 'i see what you did there' follow up with an 'im in ur law enforcement tasing your face' and finish with 'I for one welcome our electric overlords'
- legatus, on 11/11/2007, -0/+13I had a friend get a bad vile of insulin from the pharmacy, still his fault his suger went through the roof? You do not have to be careless for it to happen, some people are much harder to regulate than you might be. The fact is he was pulled over and not driving when he was assaulted by law enforcement when they should have been helping him and calling paramedics. The charges are not being dropped in order to put pressure on him and avoid a lawsuit. Keep in mind it is a legal system not really a justice system.
- pudgyv, on 11/11/2007, -0/+12Hmmm. He blew a 0.0 but they claim he said he drank "a whole lot." Somebody's lying.
- SouthsideIrish, on 11/11/2007, -2/+14That was the jpb of a peace officer, what we have now are LEO's, Law Enforcement Officer's, whose job is to put as many people in jail as possible.
- SouthsideIrish, on 11/11/2007, -2/+14The problem is that you have no rights, and you are guilty until proven innocent, and police love the rush they get when you shot or taser someone. And there is o soulution other than replacing the LEO's with peace officers's.
- nphase, on 11/11/2007, -1/+13We need to stop hiring every lame highschool jock dropout to be our nation's finest. It's probably time to implement some type of intelligence/common sense testing.
- dexim, on 11/11/2007, -0/+11His breath would only be sweet if his blood sugar was high and his body was releasing ketones. It sounds like his blood sugar was low, which would not give any such indication. But it sounds like he was unresponsive or incoherent and should have received medical attention, even if it was due to intoxication as the officers believed.
- used0matt, on 11/11/2007, -5/+16in the wise words of anti-flag
***** POLICE, ***** POLICE, ***** POLICE BRUTALITY - vertinox, on 11/11/2007, -5/+15Actually, I can't think of any police states other than the US.
North Korea and Burma are mostly military states with the military doing the direct enforcing. - ganymede2010, on 11/11/2007, -2/+11Ha, the African American community have been informing Americans for years about abusive police officers. But you know what? Time after time, whenever a cop was brought up on charges. The all white jury allways let them go. Now police brutality is finally spilling over into the suburbs. That's what happens when laws aren't enforced. In only breeds lawlessness. Enjoy what you've created.
- cranium, on 11/10/2007, -2/+11So only the worst "police state" is really a police state? Does that really make sense to you?
- inactive, on 11/11/2007, -4/+12One of the comments says "...and I hope they get to the bottom of this."
Living here in NYC its interesting to reflect that should this have happened here there would immediately be a ***** LAWSUIT.
Did these officers have no training? Yes, if the guy needed higher blood sugar he should _not_ have gotten behind the wheel ... but TAZERING???
and, on a separate (but related) note:
++++++++++ I have seen the videos where the tazer - enabled cops go through training and ONE of them is picked out of the audience to get tazered. How about during training they ALL get to feel what its like?? ++++++++
The right wing fundies talk about "The Culture of Death;" I think its mostly hogwash -- but I DO think that seeing pictures from Abu Ghraib, etc. and THEN , _CONSTANTLY_ hearing about tazering being inappropriately used is A ***** SICK SICK SICK POLICE STATE SLIPPERY SLOPE. - blackjack75, on 11/11/2007, -1/+9Stupid question... would it have been legal / fair to taser the guy if he was actually drunk? I still can't understand why several copy cannot handle a man without tasering him. Even if you're drunk chances are you're not going to fight like mike Tyson. Sometime I think the cops use tasers because they're just lazy.
- HereticChick, on 11/10/2007, -0/+7I had a middle school teacher who did just that. It wasn't until later on in life that I learned she was a "brittle" diabetic.
- Heiliger, on 11/10/2007, -6/+13Don't Glucagon me, bro.
- mykool, on 11/11/2007, -0/+7Raise the bar for law enforcement degrees. Currently it is the easiest one to get.
- theradical, on 11/11/2007, -1/+8Yes, except that every student isn't then put into a job where they are confronted with algebra, and given weapons to take down algebra if they should so choose.
- acdcfanbill, on 11/11/2007, -1/+8You are in harms way simply by living near other people. If it really bothers you that much, perhaps you should try moving to a place with a lower population density.
- localzuk, on 11/11/2007, -2/+9How do you define combative? Being slumped over the wheel? How does someone who has had a seizure go from being slumped over a wheel to being well enough to be combative???
- shotgunefx, on 11/11/2007, -1/+8The story is a little light on details as they usually are. Having dated a diabetic for four years, I can tell you low blood sugar sure can seem like being ***** faced. Maybe it's a cop being an *****, or maybe the guy really was combative and the whole thing was an unfortunate misunderstanding.
That girl I dated was a sweetheart, a real pussycat. One day (probably a year in) we were just having fun and it was like someone flipped a switch. All of a sudden she seemed like she was possessed. She got abusive, mostly physically, trying to hurt me (and herself too), raking me with her nails when I tried to restrain her. I was a teen at the time and it totally freaked me out, like "who the ***** is this?". Then she just kind of went limp, that's when it clicked. Her blood sugar was a little above 30. I force fed her a bunch of the glucose tablets and OJ and she came out of it. Scary stuff.
It wasn't always like that, more often than not, she would just seem tired, or slap-happy. But they can definitely turn nasty in my experience. - DivisibleByZero, on 11/11/2007, -1/+7At least the guy thought to pull over to the side of the road when it happened. Plenty of drunks don't do that (and they should really act more leniently to those who do).
How easy is it to predict and plan for insulin reactions? Not like you could plan to have a designated driver everywhere you go. - tk0680, on 11/11/2007, -0/+6Speaking as a type 1 diabetic myself, I have serious doubts that you have a clue about what you're typing. Yes, it's easy to cause a hypo, but that does not mean they always happen in an expected fashion. There are umpteen different factors involved in the run up to the blood glucose level being too low, and several of them can come up and bite you in the ass with no warning whatsoever. It's rare, but it happens.
I'm not saying this guy wasn't careless and such, but you're writing him off way too quickly. Hell, I'll even agree that if he WAS careless about it while behind the wheel, he should be prosecuted for it. Tased though? The cops are idiots. - Smight, on 11/11/2007, -0/+6He was under the influence not having drugs in his system (or sugar)..
Are we going to start prosecuting asthmatics for being under the influence of not enough oxygen? - cwager, on 11/11/2007, -2/+8Do keep in mind that this was in Alabama. We all remember Forest Gump. I also live in the south and I can tell you that intelligence isn't exactly encouraged.
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