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Police Forum Comments About The Latest Tasering Incident (DISTURBING)

forums.realpolice.net — Meet "Ronnin," "HotTamale," and "7mmMag," and their friends, discussing why the cops lack of reading Miranda rights, use of excessive force and justification for breaking the rule of law is normal and acceptable for police on a daily basis.

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  • yizuman, on 11/26/2007, -11/+88That sure shows how much of an ***** these cops are! I'm gonna hurl!
    • iashraf, on 11/26/2007, -6/+18Find the nearest cop and hurl on him (or her). Actually don't, he probably will kill you.
    • f4nt0m4s, on 11/26/2007, -39/+4look at me now. full on the run. i can't stop myself from crashing. breaking grass, bumming a yard. fixing stuff that was never broken. pulling out all the stops. i'm gonna puke on the cops. i'm telling the kids, punk rocks. i'm gonna puke on cops. gimme a side of airplane noise or a half a glass of our resistance. add a dash of disobedient public nusant, richtor riot. pulling out all the stops. i'm gonna puke on the cops. i'm telling the kids, punk rocks. i'm gonna puke on cops.
    • mwalker05, on 11/26/2007, -32/+4you guys need to gain some perspective. the driver allegedly broke the law. when you break the law you are put under arrest. since traffic violations are minor, and common, you can instead be issued a citation and ticket instead of appearing in court, that is so long as you sign off on the citation. by not signing a citation are you in a sense telling the officer you want to be arrested for the crime instead. had the officer explained this to the driver im sure the situation would have been avoided, but that doesnt change the fact that the driver thought he was in charge of a situation he had no authority in and was refusing the officers commands. yes the taser was excessive, but the officer reacted according to procedure and was calm the whole time. and yes some of the officers comments are disturbing.
      • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -2/+15What perspective is that?

        The guy nearly got run over because the cop tased him right by the incoming traffic.
        • wakananda, on 11/26/2007, -1/+14He also tased him without warning - a procedural violation as well as a significant ethical breach - and then lied to his partner about it.
      • Tollboi, on 11/27/2007, -2/+2OK I am going to take the unpopular route and side with you. I too think that the teaser was excessive and the cop should see some penalty for this, but I agree not once did the driver give any sort of authority to the cop. As much as I hate cops, and I do, I know when to keep my mouth shut. The cops attitude made me scream at the computer, he was so full of bravado and mustache I wanted to kick him square in the face.If I step back and look at the situation with an open mind I have to say the driver should have just signed the ticket and gone on his way. I read both this comments section and the one linked and I have to assume most peoples anger to this cop, and the cops on the other board, is caused by these "keepers of the law"'s stomach turning attitudes. I mean seriously if your a cop the average citizen wants to like you, but your not working at McDonalds I am not gonna let you spit in my cheeseburger.

        pwnster, mwalker05 did say the taser was excessive.
    • insllvn, on 11/26/2007, -0/+23I concur. Most telling comment ever: "Do what the officer says & all will be fine." I also really like this guy (Creeker) who opines "When the wife refused to get back in the car (birds of a feather?) I'm afraid I'd have told her: "Get back in the car or I'll taser him again!"" Then he finishes off his sig with this gem: "To disarm the people is the best way to enslave them..."~George Mason. Oh the irony.
    • Doghound, on 11/26/2007, -2/+20"looked to me he was arresting the guy right on the fog line, that's danger for the driver and much more importantly, the cop" ~ Titansfanmjfink
      What a dick... a speeding ticket doesn't make someone's life less important than anyone, including the officers.

      And here's another quote to show you how the cops on this forum think of us average Joe Schmo on the freeway: "what if another dumb@ss driver came by..." I don't need to finish the quote.
      • smacksaw, on 11/26/2007, -0/+9It just goes to show you how corrupt these guys are and how strong the blue wall is. If I was a cop (or a soldier or firefighter) I would do so with the understanding that my life is less important than the lives of the people I am charged to protect.

        That's the reason we have these taser incidents. The cops think their lives are more important than their suspects' lives. That is not true. Their suspects are innocent until proven guilty. That does not make them unimportant or less important.

        The fact these cops are so quick to taser a suspect and think their own lives are more important are the clear indicators of being unqualified to serve the public: extreme cowardice and paranoia in relation to self-preservation.
    • d3k4y, on 11/26/2007, -0/+15Makes me sick too. Wait until (or maybe you already have) you have a cop step on your rights or threaten you with violence if you do not talk, even though you have a right to remain silent, that will make you really sick. I've heard that most cops are good guys and that the bad cops just make the news. I haven't met one good cop yet. Although, I live in Chicago. Maybe that's the problem.
      • Abomonog, on 11/26/2007, -6/+3no such thing as a "good" cop.....doesn't exist.....never has never will
        • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -1/+3Let's not paint the whole picture with the same brush.
          Most cops are decent, honest people. It's just about 20% of them that are twisted.
    • CraigB12, on 11/26/2007, -2/+6When in an encounter with police I always keep in mind to keep my hands at least 6 inches from my pockets, and let the officer see that i'm making an effort to keep the situation from escalating. You could imagine why a cop might get uneasy if you keep your hands right at your sides (he doesn't know if you're crazy or not). That being said, he overreacted, and without warning. He should at least be fined and suspended without pay for a long while... maybe forced to take situation diffusion training.
      • Doghound, on 11/26/2007, -0/+4Actually, the last time I got a speeding ticket the cop requested that I keep my hands to my sides. He didn't even want me crossing them in front of my chest, like so many people do every day when standing around talking to someone.

        I found it strange... and uncomfortable/strange.
        • gromnie, on 11/27/2007, -0/+5Which is why he wanted you to do it. They want to keep you off balance and uncomfortable. It gives them more control of the situation.

          And, for a fair few of them I have no doubt, they get off on it. Quite a rush having someone's entire future in your hands.
    • chijim70, on 11/26/2007, -0/+15I find it sad that as long as I've been reading these articles about police brutality on Digg I have yet to see one cop ever stand up against another no matter how horrendous their behavior. They back each other no matter what and I think that is part of their training and then is compounded by a secret society like brotherhood once they are actually out in the field. I delivered pizza to police stations on numerous occasions when I was younger and I heard them talk about numerous things like how "one cop had ratted out another and nobody would work with him anymore and if he came to our station he might have an accident HAHAHA". This is a jail house mentality amongst those who swear to serve and protect the public... not each other at the expense of the public. This (to me) reflects directly on a poor internal affairs department that does not have strict enough penalties for errant officers. I think when you are placed in such a position of trust that acting in a sociopathic manner should have even greater consequences than the general public you swore to serve and protect.
    • djAnakin, on 11/26/2007, -9/+3I see nothing wrong with the majority of the comments on that site.
      - The officer does NOT have to read him his MR's unless he's going to be questioned. They don't apply when you're simply being taken into custody.
      - The kid had his hand next to his pocket the whole time... I was watching for him to pull *something* out of his pocket, even a phone, that would make the officer jumpy.
      - The kid should have just signed the ticket, then disputed it later.
      - Dude should not have been speeding with his pregnant wife in the car.

      - Simply case of an uninformed, and plain dumb, kid, not doing what he should have done.

      The officer will "get off", and the kid will not win any money. He caused the situation himself by not complying with the officers commands. Why would you not 100% comply when there is a weapon in your face? Dumbass.
      • Doghound, on 11/27/2007, -0/+5Let me try and help you understand why you are getting dugg down using your own comment.

        "The officer does NOT have to read him his MR's unless he's going to be questioned. They don't apply when you're simply being taken into custody."
        This is true... if anyone is digging you down because of this, then they don't quite understand the MR laws. And to anyone who is about to digg me down for making that statement, let me just say this one line: the kid was NOT being interrogated so he did NOT have to have his MR rights read to him.

        "The kid had his hand next to his pocket the whole time... I was watching for him to pull *something* out of his pocket, even a phone, that would make the officer jumpy."
        True in some sense. The last time I got a speeding ticket I was told by the officer to keep my hands out of my pockets (duh) and, after I crossed them in front of my chest, he told me to uncross them and keep them to my side. Although, the kid should have kept his hands out of his pockets, he didn't... it was an impulse move and he might have even done it with little thinking on his behalf; almost subconsciously. No one should be digging you up or down for this statement.

        "The kid should have just signed the ticket, then disputed it later."
        He should have, but you also have the option to try and reason with the officer there. This is why officers will give warnings - because the driver was more than likely correct after talking with the officer. No, granted, he should have saved it for the courts... but in a long distance cross country ride, the last thing you want to do is return to a state just to fight a ticket! So I think he was in the right in trying to explain himself to the officer. Also, the officer failed to explain what would happen if he did not sign the ticket (which is a HUGE point in this debate). -- This is where your downward diggs may begin.

        "Dude should not have been speeding with his pregnant wife in the car."
        We honestly can't say that he was. "Dude" claimed that there was not another sign up the road and, if he is correct, then going from 65 -> 40 right there at that sign would have been impossible. So we honestly can't say that he was speeding before hand. Although you shouldn't be getting dugg up or down for this comment, it could be the source of some of your thumb's downs.

        "Simply case of an uninformed, and plain dumb, kid, not doing what he should have done."
        This is your main thumbs down source. This situation is not the kids fault... entirely. Both people, although they sound calm, contributed to the rapid escalation of the situation. The cop failing to mention consequences is the flip side to your statement of "the kid not doing what he should have done".


        ---

        Hope that helps.
        • tech42er, on 02/21/2008, -0/+1"He should have, but you also have the option to try and reason with the officer there."

          That's what the ***** cops on the boards are disputing. They're calling that "resisting arrest" and then applying this kernel of wisdom: "Many agencies suggest, if not require, that the TASER be used in any situation where the officer would otherwise be going to other less-lethal force options", justifying the tasering. It's frightening.
    • Hacbarton, on 11/26/2007, -1/+10You're missing the point. He did a legal thing (refuse to sign a citation) and was tased for it, a practice that has been defined as torture by the UN and has taken several lives recently. That is a police state.

      Oh, and your are COMPLETELY wrong on the Miranda right issue:
      http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/criminal_rights ...
      It doesn't matter whether an interrogation occurs in a jail or at the scene of a crime, on a busy downtown street, or the middle of an open field: If a person is in custody (deprived of his or her freedom of action in any significant way), the police must give a Miranda warning.
    • fixedcoma, on 11/27/2007, -0/+3I would also like to include my view. It clearly shows in the video the cop pulling in front of the 40 MPH sign therefore blocking a traffic signal , so that would fall under entrapment therefore making his means for puling the guy over unjust! The cop didn't keep the guy out of harms way from other drivers driving on the road! All the guy wanted to know was why he was pulled and where the speed limit sign was that the cop was blocking view with his cruiser! this isn't rocket science that somehow every situation gets turned into because of certain peoples big egos! Maybe things would have gone better for this idiot entrapment making cop if the citizen he is to supposedly protect while getting tasered had received brain damage from the fall from getting tasered and smacking the back of his head on the concrete like he did and then his wife's child would have no father! and from the way these "not of this earth" police talk, it probably would have been a pleasure to turn a citizen into a vegetable over the idiot cop blocking a traffic signal with his car! Amazing at what people try to get away with, simply amazing! I guess that's what i'm going to do if it ever happens to me, i'll just lie there and act unconscious and then in the hospital i'll talk like i'm retarded and sue the mother ***** for everything! maybe that's what's got to happen to wake these murderers up! And yes this police forum makes these cops sound as if they are actually some alien creatures pretending to be human so they can tortue and kill the human race! Makes you wonder doesn't it?
  • garg, on 11/26/2007, -11/+180This is disturbing.

    This is why there are so many innocent people dying at the hands of the police these days. They are trained to believe that this is the correct amount of force to use. Then again, their powers are given to them by us. Maybe someone should reevaluate how much powers these guys have and if the protectors are becoming a threat themselves.

    Some cops do great work. Others, not so much.
    • NoStoppingUs, on 11/26/2007, -51/+4you people love getting on your high horses, dont you?
      • DaSuHouSe, on 11/26/2007, -1/+63If condemning the reckless use of a weapon known to cause death in certain cases and recently deemed by the U.N. as a torture device is being on a high horse, then yes, I'd say decent people would be on high horses.
      • HHP2K, on 11/26/2007, -0/+28Yes we do, "No stopping us".
      • wakananda, on 11/26/2007, -0/+12The only people I've seen on their high horses recently have been riot police.
      • mightydavefish, on 11/26/2007, -1/+9Gee, a right winger blindly supporting authority.
        What a shock.
        Hey, we get all your comments when they are fresh from the Bush PR machine, you don't need to bother posting them again.
        • Herostratus, on 11/26/2007, -1/+3PWNED!!! ROFL!
        • krebcycle, on 11/26/2007, -1/+2it's not about politics, you don't need to bring that in. conservatives don't like getting tasered either.
          • ChaosMotor, on 11/26/2007, -0/+6No, but they sure seem to love it when other people are tasered.
    • TheMusach, on 11/26/2007, -32/+6First off... Define "so many innocent people." Actually, if you did a little research, there are FAR few deaths at the hands of law enforcement these days than ever before. Secondly, how do you know what they're trained to believe is acceptable force? You're taking the comments of three assholes on a bulletin board who may or may not be actual cops and applying it to everything you know about police. Your comment is nothing but conjecture and speculation. Buried.
      • shotgunefx, on 11/26/2007, -20/+5But it's on the internet so it must be true!
        • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -0/+15So far, over 300 people have died from this "non-lethal weapon" being used by overeager cops.

          Nobody deserves to die for the petty things cops are using it for.
          • thatsmyaibo, on 11/26/2007, -11/+1And how many lives are saved? Give both sides to an argument if you want to seem credible. I'm against excessive police force but society is ***** beyond recognition. Here in Los Angeles, if the cop uses JUSTIFIED force they get sued. In North Hollywood a few years back, 2 gun men with fully automatic weapons started a shooting spree. When the police finally shot and killed the man, the family sued the officer that took the shot, his family left him, and he committed suicide. In most countries, law enforcement is a lot tougher than this. I think the lack of tougher enforcement has led to higher crimes. Like I said I am against this use of excessive force but unless you guys can stop bitching and come up with ways of changing things or become a cop yourself, then stop commenting. These guys risk their life for you and we don't even give them the right to protect them selves as they deem necessary. It's a wonder why people don't want to join the force anymore.
      • mydigga, on 11/26/2007, -0/+6We should find those "three assholes" and taser them! woo hoo!
    • shotgunefx, on 11/26/2007, -15/+10Really, how many? I don't doubt it happens (rather I know) but if you are going to say "How many" there are, you should probably quote some type of fact or figure.

      The best I could find sites an average of 373 per year (FBI "Policing and Homicide, 1976- 1998."), though it does not distinguish between justified and unjustified shootings. Do I think a percentage of them are unjustified? Sure, do I think a majority, no way.

      Now let's look at police deaths... 47 killed by assault in the line of duty in 2006 ( http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/2006/feloniouslykill ... ), so we are talking about a 7 to 1 ration. Doesn't seem out of whack, especially considering criminals certainly outnumber cops by a much larger factor. Cops interact with many more criminals on many more occasions then the other way around, so the number of cops killed is disproportional high, especially if they are all shoot first, ask questions later thugs.
      • zeromous, on 11/26/2007, -2/+1Woah woah woah, someone does some actual math and you dig him down, because it kinda sorta defends cops. Diggers, no wonder no one listens to what you think, you're just plain collectively stupid!

        I wont apologize for cops (having only met one in my entire life that treated me with any sort of respect, recently I might add!), but evidently, digg is just as bad as the cops.
    • diggingaround, on 11/26/2007, -3/+1
      To hunt a criminal one has to think and behave like a criminal.
      • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -1/+2No, police should never lower themselves to the level of criminals.
  • Catspaw, on 11/26/2007, -19/+165Tasers should be banned. There are too many cases of mistakes happening and deaths occurring. One death is too many.
    • georgemason01, on 11/26/2007, -12/+30I think the problem is the way police are trained, and nature of the job that attracts scumbags to want to become cops. If you take away their tasers they will compensate in some other way.
      • Maddjonesy, on 11/26/2007, -18/+5Yeah, let's be honest, tasers are WAY better than handguns!
        • senatorpjt, on 11/26/2007, -0/+14They are, if they don't want to have to go through a review after they fire it.
          • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -0/+11It removes the blame and the liability from the cop, since they are called "acceptable force."
      • wakananda, on 11/26/2007, -1/+5I don't think they're going to whip out their service revolver and shoot a puzzled motorist in the head for refusing to sign a ticket (or exit a vehicle promptly, or for offering a frank, unsolicited opinion).
        • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -1/+4Have you been to L.A.?
        • kuzotz, on 11/26/2007, -1/+2Have you been to Dallas?

          or better yet

          Have you been to "enter U.S. city here"
    • ragingflamerboy, on 11/26/2007, -21/+5I'd pick a taser over a gun, anyday. Isn't that what you americans do anyways?
      • f4nt0m4s, on 11/26/2007, -1/+24there was no reason to use a taser or a gun in that traffic stop situation. the clip the guy had on his belt was clearly a phone. the entire situation was handled very poorly, the police officer did not explain the situation nor did he do a very good job of arresting the guy. considering that the guy wasn't putting up a physical struggle getting him in handcuffs should not have required the use of a taser or a gun. the police officer got trigger happy.
      • bono4u, on 11/27/2007, -0/+2if in Europe tasers would become normal i would consider leaving from there, that's not a question of origin, tasers are unpredictable. If you shoot one, depending where you hit, you know he/she will die. If you taser one you don't know if the person has health problem which combined with the taser results in death.
    • NoStoppingUs, on 11/26/2007, -34/+9what are the alternatives, friend? pepper spray someone who might have a gun from 30 feet away? yeah, that'll do the trick! a few days ago here in cincy, a cop nearly got killed when he was placing down stop sticks on the highway when a chain reaction wreck occured as a result of the car being chased. with one officer almost dead, and countless other lives that were put at risk, you people don't seem to mind just as long as the "victim" wasn't hurt. you put more value on the lives of criminals than you do police or innocent civlians. it is the same group of people trying to ban the taser that have forced police to "follow a safe distance behind any runaway vehicles" and hope the driver decides to comply at some point. i understand you people hate the police, but because of people like yourselves, cincy has one less police officer on the streets and god knows we need it (mallory spends too much time practicing his pitch than cracking down on crime)
      • quaxon, on 11/26/2007, -13/+8it's truly a shame the pig didnt get squashed there in cincy. lord knows we could use less pigs in this world
        • Acolyte357, on 11/26/2007, -14/+2yeah, no joke. ***** those damn cops that try and protect our streets.... /sigh
        • buckrogers1965, on 11/26/2007, -2/+15@ Acolyte357

          If that is protecting the streets, then we could do with a lot less protection.
      • DaSuHouSe, on 11/26/2007, -0/+3Do you know which incident they're commenting about? The cop pulled a guy over.. there is no 30 feet away here. What you seem to not understand is that tasers seem to do more damage than good due to the way policemen are reckless with them. There's no arguing with the fact that a taser is a better alternative than a gun for the sole reason that a person is not too likely to die from a taser; however, they are NOT used as an alternative to a gun in most cases. Today tasers are used when policemen are "annoyed" for some reason or the other, which in my opinion is nothing short of torture.
    • unrealalexk, on 11/26/2007, -14/+14What about the lives tasers save?
      • yizuman, on 11/26/2007, -6/+17Over 2,000 deaths since tazering began, I doubt that thing save lives. In fact, from reading statistics, tazering has killed civilians more than a police's service revolver in a single year.

        Most deaths occur when an individual has illegal drugs or alcohol in their system. It's easy to spot a drunk, but harder to spot a user being doped up, so a cop is taking a chance of killing someone when he or she is being tazed.

        Fear is another factor that kills when being tazed, when your heart is racing really fast as a result of being fearful of being tazed, your chances of having a heart attack while being tazed increases. But those are far few and in between. The last case happened when a Middle Eastern immigrating to Canada got tazed to death because of his fear and confusion when the cops tried to communicate with him.
        • betterth, on 11/26/2007, -9/+14http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/11882

          This article states the Justice Department counts ~184 deaths and Amnesty International around 160 since 2000. Before 2000 the taser wasn't a huge implement in any police force, so please state your ***** source on that 2000 number.
        • netant, on 11/26/2007, -23/+3Call me an *****, but I really don't give a damn if a drug addict (or even casual user) dies during a tasering. Oh, parents can blubber about their dead kid, but really, perhaps the parents should have done their job.
          • Memitim, on 11/26/2007, -3/+13OK, *****. If we're going to start meting out the death penalty for victimless "crimes" then how about we just let cops kill one random person per day, just so we don't have to be insulted by lame excuses for committing murder in the process.
          • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -2/+4What if that drug addict was your relative?
          • JamesAJanisse, on 11/26/2007, -1/+4What the hell makes the drug user worthy of being killed? Who is he hurting? I am a casual drug user and I consider myself an upstanding citizen of society. I help people, teach people, work and pay taxes, and have a healthy social life. Why do I deserve to die from a taser?
          • krebcycle, on 11/26/2007, -1/+5I don't think you're as much an ***** as you are an idiot: completely ***** retarded.
          • netant, on 11/27/2007, -2/+1The only alternative is to make the taser illegal. There is no such thing as being able to tell if a person is hopped up on something before applying a taser.

            So now you've made physical beatings into the only other method to arrest a resisting "criminal". Not just you still can KILL your perp accidentally (and it happens with greater regularity, I live in NYC, I know), but many hopped up users will readily be able to commit violence while getting beat down; which means the cop ends up getting injured or killed.

            You're merely choosing the way a drug user dies accidentally. Apparently, you're choosing the method that is less able to regulate, and brings greater harm to the cop. All because you want to get all doped up and be able to harm the people around you with impunity. Whose the ***** (hypocrite) now?
          • netant, on 11/27/2007, -1/+1@pwnster

            I'd think to myself "Can I prove the taser was used improperly? If so, lawsuit. If not, damn, my relative shouldn't have gotten high, or made enough of a nuisance of himself to attract cops.". There's no difference to me whether a drug user is killed by taser, or nightstick, or snapped neck from a headlock.
        • Acolyte357, on 11/26/2007, -3/+4"Over 2,000 deaths since tazering began" source?
    • spyd3rweb, on 11/26/2007, -6/+16Banned as a 'non-lethal' weapon anyways. It should be considered the same as a handgun.
      • betterth, on 11/26/2007, -12/+7It definitely should not. It has a much, much, much lower rate of lethality than a handgun. You have to be subdued: The police before tasers had three options: 1) Mace you, use physical force while your eyes, throat, mouth, nose and lungs experience insane amounts of pain. 2) Use brute physical force, including use of a nightstick. 3) Use a handgun, which is only applicable if you have any kind of weapon. In which case you could be shot and be permanently damaged or likely killed.

        It's not the same as a handgun. Ever seen the CEO of a handgun company get shot by his product (without protection)? I've certainly seen people from taser companies being tased to prove that they're not as dangerous.

        What do you propose police use against criminals, instead of the taser?
        • codmate, on 11/26/2007, -0/+16Police in my country (UK) use Ju-Jitsu.
          Worked for the Samurai - works for us.
          • betterth, on 11/26/2007, -5/+5Martial arts are great, but ineffective against armed or drugged combatants. My favorite police martial art is Krav Maga, a martial art designed recently for modern use. http://www.krav-maga.org.uk/index.php?mod=whatiskr ... It's incredibly and ruthlessly effective against just about anyone.
          • codmate, on 11/26/2007, -1/+7Sure - but the guy in the video wasn't armed or drugged.
            Saying "I am going to arrest you if you don't sign this paper", followed by a nice wrist lock if he didn't comply; would have been way more appropriate than tazering in this specific situation.
            BTW - Krav Maga looks cool! It's basically what my old sensei teaches - except he calls it 'Combat Ju-Jitsu'.
          • scorchedearth, on 11/26/2007, -0/+3Krav is OK and only effective if taught by the right teachers. A fair amount of instructors out there are charlatans however. Plain Jiu Jitsu with some sparring thrown in for fight training would be effective for any police force and would probably result in less deaths through weapons discharges.

          • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -0/+6NO, but he deserved to be tased because it was a traffic violation. (rolls eyes)
          • thatsmyaibo, on 11/26/2007, -2/+3The thing about Europe is that there are less guns on the street. When cops approach a criminal in the States, there is a fine chance they could have a firearm.
        • buckrogers1965, on 11/26/2007, -3/+8And yet the police seem to be killing more people using tasers than with their side arms. Which is less lethal again? The one that kills less people?
          • betterth, on 11/26/2007, -0/+2They kill more because the taser is used incredibly more as it takes over the role of pepper spray.

            ~250 deaths from ~50,000 uses compared to say, (no idea) ~150 deaths from ~1000 uses of firearms seems like a damn acceptable ratio to me.
      • Tetraca, on 11/26/2007, -3/+9Nothing can really be described as 'non-lethal'. Practically any and every object in your home including your home can and will kill someone if you apply enough force to the victim with it, or the victim can suffer an allergic reaction from it and you detain them from using something such as a happy pen.
    • minoss, on 11/26/2007, -12/+6Yea, because the lives of officers mean nothing and who cares if a taser prevents their death. Or maybe, not having the ability to use a taser means they use a gun. Guess which is more lethal.
    • insllvn, on 11/26/2007, -7/+7That will completely solve the problem 100%. If only cops didn't have tasers, there would be NO WAY to oppress people or abuse authority. Police brutality would be a thing of the past, a quaint memory. Oh what a paradise we would live in if only there were no more tasers!
      • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -2/+5Tasers aren't the problem. The idea that tasers are non-lethal weapons are.
        And the people using them.
  • VANOS, on 11/26/2007, -11/+260As a lawyer, I had a great laugh at most of the comments there, and was considering joining the forum just to mess with them and raise hell. Then I realized that I'd just be banned and it wouldn't do much good. So I decided to just digg it with the hopes that it pwnz their server.

    Sally forth, diggers, and bestow your Effect.
    • mysticjim, on 11/26/2007, -2/+33oh... but the fun you could have until you got banned.... :-D
    • grenden, on 11/26/2007, -2/+52The power of the Digg Effect has been released. And it's now down after just 80 diggs. You're welcome.
      • beatle42, on 11/26/2007, -2/+11dugg for the correct use of "you're" if nothing else
      • drizzlelicious, on 11/26/2007, -0/+7All praise the Effect
      • kuzotz, on 11/26/2007, -0/+2damn..

        WE should really do this to facebook by linking it to their homepage..

    • mrjit, on 11/26/2007, -2/+254:13am
      Database error
      The database has encountered a problem.
      • williamdyer, on 11/26/2007, -0/+7Keep trying. I'm sure you'll get in. I try every few seconds. I'll let you know how that works.
    • DaviDaviDaviD, on 11/26/2007, -8/+33What lawyer uses the word "pwnz"
      • grenden, on 11/26/2007, -1/+23He must be 1337 or something.
      • mrjit, on 11/26/2007, -2/+26I'm sure no lawyer has even logged into the internets. Ever.
      • FallenWings, on 11/26/2007, -0/+31My kind of lawyer, that's who.
      • brstilson, on 11/26/2007, -0/+25A lawyer from $4@P1R0, F3in$Te1n, and Sm1th. That's who.
      • cphelps, on 11/26/2007, -0/+13One who isn't an uptight dick?
      • datastorageguy, on 11/26/2007, -5/+4Not one I would hire for sure...
        • jyrus, on 11/26/2007, -1/+12Are you kidding? You can't deny that it'd be hilarious when your lawyer yells "PWNED" upon winning your case.
        • kuzotz, on 11/26/2007, -0/+2That would be ***** awesome provided that he is a competent lawyer..

          but not hiring a lawyer because they said pwn and ignoring their successful cases..

          That's just ridiculious. WTF kind of thought process was going through someone's head when thye heard a lawyer who has never lost a case and does 200 a year when they hear the lawyer say pwn that boom that lawyer is unhireable. That you will never hire that lawyer. That you would rather take a city lawyer that doesn't even care about your case before you take that lawyer in.
    • salomejones, on 11/26/2007, -17/+2What lawyer mixes up "sally" with "tally"? Ah, Digg Comment Forum Claims, how I love thee.
      • Zaphrod, on 11/26/2007, -0/+11In what way has he mixed up sally and tally? Sally is correct as far as I am concerned, it means to venture forth.
      • sekhui, on 11/26/2007, -0/+7you, sir, are a moron. dictionary.com.
    • insllvn, on 11/26/2007, -2/+5If you join the forum and ***** with the assholes, I will post the transcript after they ban you. Let me know if you are interested by replying.
  • bradspangler, on 11/26/2007, -11/+113Cops are some of the biggest criminals around. I'm not talking about corruption. I'm talking about when they're carrying out their so-called duties. Read this and dream of the day these people have to go get honest jobs doing something productive instead of sucking up tax dollars to just bully people around.
    • TexMexMatt, on 11/26/2007, -1/+37There has been to many cases where cops have tasered innocent people or just for the heck of it. There is also many situations where taser doesnt have to be used but still was used. I fear the police in USA. I dont respect them. I fear them. I fear them because I know that they can ruin my life if they choose to and there is nothing I can do about it and they will not be punished. Is that the kind of society that you want where we fear the government? No, I am not a criminal and I dont break any laws but that doesnt bother cops in USA. They would taser me even if I dont break a law. They would stalk me if they are out to get "revenge" on me. They will abuse their powers just to f*ck with me and "teach" me a leason. That is the police in USA today. There is no honor amongst cops.
    • Memitim, on 11/26/2007, -2/+27People who want to make a positive difference in our society become firefighters, paramedics, activists, or teachers. Assholes who want to feel superior to everyone else become cops and politicians.
      • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -0/+13That's not always true. Unfortunately it seems to be turning more like that these days.
    • Nikkou, on 11/26/2007, -4/+2Do you really just think that all they do is "bully people around"? How about, oh, I don't know, arresting rapists, muderers, thieves and crack-pushers? How about responding to domestic disturbance calls? How about risking life and limb to keep people safe? How easy it is to forget about that when you only come into contact with police when you get pulled over.
      • bradspangler, on 11/27/2007, -1/+3Economic analysis... Tax funding is only for what people won't pay for voluntarily and thus doesn't fit their real world needs. If police performed a valuable service, they would be paid for it by willing customers instead of by politicians handing out stolen tax loot. Cops are nothing but welfare queens with guns.
        • bradspangler, on 11/27/2007, -1/+3Actually, on second thought, that statement is grossly unfair in its stigmatization of welfare recipients, to whom I apologize.
      • bradspangler, on 11/27/2007, -1/+3And, BTW, a crack "pusher" is a FAR more productive member of society, heroically running great risks to fulfill consumer demand, than the parasites called "cops".
  • ordig, on 11/26/2007, -5/+24where is a good hax0r, when you need one?
    Anybody?
    • mushoo, on 11/26/2007, -0/+37To shut their site down?
      I think this should be out in the open mirrored and posted in high traffic websites and chain mailed around grandmas so everyone can see what happens when power goes the head of some people.
    • mrurc, on 11/26/2007, -1/+6Who needs a h4x0r when we have the powuh of digg?
  • IEatBrains, on 11/26/2007, -76/+13Why the hell would you make a scene with a pregnant wife and child in the car? Why the hell would you reach into your pocket when you're OUT of the car in the process of being arrested?
    Granted, the officer's action may seem out of line to us but given their training, I could see the logic behind the officer's actions. Lots of things may seem out of line to us, but from a trained officer's sense, are perfectly logical. For example, rights are read AFTER arrest, but BEFORE interrogation. Similarly, when a suspect reaches into their pocket DURING arrest or any suspicious activity, its reasonable for an officer to subdue the suspect. I'm just happy the guy didn't get shot. You should also see how irresponsible the guy was, disputing this type of action WITH a pregnant wife and child in the car, when it comes to family, heroics really isn't an option - safety should be #1.
    (http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/mirandarights/a/mira ...
    • biggaayal, on 11/26/2007, -4/+23Moron. If this person in the car would have done exactly the same in Belgium NOTHING would have happened. In fact the cops probably would have said "hey a pregnant woman in the car, this guy probably won't start a gunfight.

      Your reasoning is appalling.
    • Pritchard, on 11/26/2007, -1/+8His pocket was closed. No way he coulda pulled out a gun. I think he was reaching for a cell phone to call another officer instead to stop the crazy one who made such a big deal out of a parking ticket, which he was wrong about ;p

      Still though, don't reach for your damned pockets and calm the hell down around police officers. Their job is to enforce the law, and if you're by a cop who doesn't know how to do that, be careful and find a way to explain the situation better.
    • ChromaVita, on 11/26/2007, -3/+14I buried you because you are a zombie.
      • wakananda, on 11/26/2007, -1/+2Funny how they just keep coming back up, tho'...
    • senatorpjt, on 11/26/2007, -11/+3Because the type of douchebag that is going to do all that ***** is the type of guy who's going to get women pregnant.
      • mcwium, on 11/26/2007, -1/+2the type of guy who's going to get women pregnant? what the hell does that mean?
        • senatorpjt, on 11/26/2007, -0/+2Fortune favors the bold, unless a cop is pointing a taser in your face.
    • williamdyer, on 11/26/2007, -2/+8You imply that the person who got tasered should EXPECT cops to be brutal pigs. Instead, the expectation should be that if you are a brutal pig, you'll end up dying in a puddle of your guts, blood, and excrement while a crowd jeers you for tasering someone.
      • wakananda, on 11/26/2007, -0/+3THAT is the spirit that made America.
    • redmonkey, on 11/26/2007, -2/+7Police officer break the law when stop guy in first place. Driver was not speeding, hi was stop immediatelly after sign.
    • jaymzdean, on 11/27/2007, -0/+3I say ***** the police. ***** THEM. I ***** HATE HATE HATE, I MEAN, I ***** HATE THESE ***** PIGS.
  • Snoods, on 11/26/2007, -9/+72They remind of kids I knew in high school that wanted to become cops and join the military just because it was bad ass and you could shoot stuff. It's actually really sickening. Whats more disturbing is that those kids, and kids like them, do join the military and become cops, and this is what happens. After having been a cop for a while I'm sure they begin to rationalize the things they do and come up with reasons why they need to (or are allowed to) use this much unnecessary force.
    • Terrk, on 11/26/2007, -5/+4Hey I joined the military to pay for school:-p
  • Slaiv, on 11/26/2007, -11/+36When will people learn that the power the Pigs have comes from the people? This will only stop when we realize this and DO something about it.
    • codmate, on 11/26/2007, -0/+11Strike.
      Americans constantly rag on the French - but the French have 1000% times the balls Americans have.
      Look at what they're doing now in order to protect their society.
      Americans have big mouths, but are so subservient to authority, and so generally afraid that they are powerless to do anything to save themselves from tyranny.
      • kuzotz, on 11/26/2007, -0/+3..... Not all Americans are afraid of cops its just yea you can't do *****. Come to the US and deal with a cop. Your french ass couldn't handle it. Europeans get really shocked when they realize how bad the cops are here in the US while it doesn't shock any American..
    • wedgemartin, on 11/26/2007, -0/+25I've been the target of police harassment countless times ( been a skateboarder for about 15 years ) but the worst time ever was when I went to the police department with my wife to fill out a police report for a stolen purse. The guy got there, yelled insults at me for about 5 minutes because I was sitting in a very low branch in a tree talking to my wife and her friend while we waited, while I sat there speechless. The cop got frustrated because his attempts to provoke me failed, so he asked me what I had to say for myself. In a very calm, low tone, I said 'I was just thinking to myself that perhaps you had the ***** kicked out of you a lot in high school.' He called in for backup, and 6 cops stood around me in a circle with flashlights on me threatening to arrest me, etc etc. The only time I spoke was to ask them if we could please fill out our police report and leave. Any attempt at asking them this was met by screaming and yelling from them telling me to shut up. Not once had they ever heard me even raise my voice, nor did the first cop tell them anything about our interaction. A bunch of pack animals.
      The bright side of this is: I wasn't quiet about it. I wrote a letter to the Mountain View Voice, to the members of the city council, who forwarded it to the Town Manager, and in turn to the chief of police. The Voice loved my letter and asked for permission to publish it. The next day I had calls from the city council members ( who were *awesome* in this matter ) and the PR guy for the police. If this ***** happens to you.. find out who to contact. Don't lash out in anger in your writing. Take some time to breathe, detail the incidents of your encounter, and take it from there. You may be pleasantly surprised.
      • buckrogers1965, on 11/26/2007, -0/+13This pack animal response is why all cops get a bad name. If you were a good cop you would follow the law and treat citizens with respect no matter what you "buddies" were doing.
  • quaxon, on 11/26/2007, -21/+46And yet youve still got the 24%ers who stand up for these pigs and cry about it when you call them pigs. ***** the cops, we dont need them. And contrary to popular belief they are never there to stop crime, just make a report of it after it happened, and in the mean-time they like to drive around and ***** with bored teenagers.
    • mushoo, on 11/26/2007, -4/+17Yep, I've posted it before but this sums it up pretty well.

      You have the emergence in human society
      Of this thing that's called the State
      What is the State? The State is this organized bureaucracy
      It is the po-lice department. It is the Army, the Navy
      It is the prison system, the courts, and what have you
      This is the state — it is a repressive organization
      But the state –[people will say] “gee, well, you know,
      You've got to have the police, cause..
      If there were no police, look at what you'd be doing to yourselves!
      You'd be killing each other if there were no police!”
      But the reality is..
      The police become necessary in human society
      Only at that junction in human society
      Where it is split between those who have and those who ain’t got.

      Chairman Omali *****
      • CoolWind, on 11/26/2007, -8/+3the last line is *****. without 'the state', violence will rule. ownership will become a tenuous concept. if someone wants what you have they will just kill you and take it. etc. etc.
        • waynetheman, on 02/21/2008, -0/+1The only difference is, WITH the State, the people taking what you have and killing you are the agents of the State.

          No difference in my opinion, except that the group with the false cloak of legitimacy have to be more polite about it.
      • kuzotz, on 11/26/2007, -0/+3... That's what he is saying. The police protect the haves, and ***** over the have nots.
    • BlackBob, on 11/26/2007, -7/+4quaxon, I dugg you down on accident. Sorry.
    • fuzzmeister, on 11/26/2007, -3/+4You can argue that we have a misguided law enforcement system, and it should be done in a different way, but how the hell can you say we don't need law enforcement? Without law enforcement, the government is powerless, which is essentially anarchy. Unless you like a free-for-all bloodbath of a society, I'm not sure of your logic.
      • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -2/+6Yes. We need cops, and we need them to be responsible cops.
        • kuzotz, on 11/26/2007, -0/+2So I figure you are making more than 200,000 dollars a year..
        • waynetheman, on 02/21/2008, -0/+1"Yes. We need cops"

          No, we don't.

          Unless you have laws supporting things like a War on Drugs or a War on Immigration that require violations of basic human rights in order to even function.

          Look into when law enforcement became a widespread industry in this country. You might be surprised.
  • grenden, on 11/26/2007, -3/+31Wow, down after 80 diggs. Apparently they don't get much traffic.
    • mrurc, on 11/26/2007, -1/+6Hopefully that is because the other tech-savvy cops think those guys are unfathomable jerks.
      • williamdyer, on 11/26/2007, -0/+5Now pull the other one. Where are the sites with cops calling for having this pig fired?

        What you are seeing here is the authentic voice of the American cop.
  • Xplorer, on 11/26/2007, -2/+6Db errors.... Down...
  • iceman0113, on 11/26/2007, -5/+12Site is down. ^_^
  • RealZneo, on 11/26/2007, -17/+9Mirror:
    http://forums.realpolice.net.nyud.net:8080/showthr ...
    • unusualbob, on 11/26/2007, -0/+2hmm dont think that this is supposed to link to a database error
    • WebWorker, on 11/26/2007, -0/+4Why not check your mirror link before posting it?
  • TripcodeMel, on 11/26/2007, -2/+7Not even a hundred diggs, and it's already down.
  • Cowfrommars, on 11/26/2007, -5/+140Looks like the server got tasered :(
    • AdmiralJimbob, on 11/26/2007, -0/+1I doubt it, it's probably going to get back up eventually.
  • DesertDude, on 11/26/2007, -6/+57So not only are they *****, they're mean-spirited and evil too? What's disturbing is that the American people have been slowly and effectively brainwashed into thinking that the only proper way to deal with a cop is total, utter, unquestioning, slave-like submission. ANYTHING short of that and you're asking for it. People getting killed for holding sandwiches, cell phones and wallets? The worst part is that there seems to be a relief when people hear about that, because it means the cops were excused, as they were in perceived danger at the time, so the victim "deserved it". This relief is a bad sign. Does it mean the life of a cop is always more valuable than the victim? Does a mistake make his/her life of no value just because some ***** cop thought a sandwich was a gun? Maybe the reason is that American cops don't have good basic education, let alone human rights education. The cop Ronnin sums that up nicely when he says: "Some people just ain't to bright!". Touché, Ronnin.
    • shotgunefx, on 11/26/2007, -26/+2Spoken like a true idiot. It's nice you assume they are all dumb and don't have a good education, that's because you've met most cops correct?

      Many cops go to college, around these parts, continuing education is not only encouraged, but rewarded.

      Sure some cops are dicks, cops are people so obviously you are going to see the same types of people with badges, probably even a higher percentage due to the power factor, but saying all cops are bad, is no different then "all blacks are shiftless" or whatever misinformed generalization you can come up with.

      Your reaction is no different than saying "they all deserved it", except for the polarity.
      • mrurc, on 11/26/2007, -2/+19The only place where he said anything remotely similar to "all cops" was where he said that the life of a cop is always more valuable than the victim. You INFERRED the rest. It was not even implied. Take your misplaced outrage on the people who didn't teach you that "they" means "the people being referred to in the text," not "all people like the people being referred to in the text."
        • shotgunefx, on 11/26/2007, -17/+2Can you read?

          "Maybe the reason is that American cops don't have good basic education, let alone human rights education. "
          • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -0/+7The old cops do. The newer ones tend to be hired out of state prisons, it seems.
    • yosempai, on 11/26/2007, -0/+5Some people just ain't to [sic] bright!
  • dfective, on 11/26/2007, -7/+27dugg, ***** these ***** heads.
  • fwonk, on 11/26/2007, -2/+47The discussion at Forums.officer are crazy

    http://forums.officer.com/showthread.php?t=77041
    • f4nt0m4s, on 11/26/2007, -0/+23i'm actually amazed, there are a few intelligent posts
      "I guess times have changed. We had a ton of people who refused to sign their citation, but I can't remember ever tasing one. Normally we could convince them that if they didn't sign the citation we had no choice but to arrest them. The majority of the time they would sign without any physical force. I didn't see where this guy even tried to convince the motorist to sign. In my opinion he tasered him pretty quick."
      not ALL officers are power abusers i guess
      • codmate, on 11/26/2007, -1/+12I guess that the majority are fine - but if the minority get away with it for long enough, then they will become the majority!
        • williamdyer, on 11/26/2007, -0/+5They already are the majority, or the truly professional cops would have cleaned house long ago.
      • senatorpjt, on 11/26/2007, -0/+11People like to claim that "Cops are just people", but they're supposed to be people with some ***** training in how to deal with these sorts of situations. We're not supposed to just be handing out tasers and guns to whatever human detritus shows up to take the recruitment exam.
        • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -0/+4When you scrape from the bottom of the barrel, you get the scum.
          • BleedingCello, on 11/26/2007, -1/+2Cops are not "regular people". They will be the first ones to tell you that they are far superior to civilians in every aspect of life. I've heard them myself, they really think like that. Why do you think they don't give a *****?!
        • geoboy, on 11/26/2007, -0/+2Yeah, I never got the "cops are just people" argument. People are very well capable of committing atrocities. Even "good" people who are "just doing their job".
    • rodbibeau, on 11/26/2007, -0/+2Some of the guys in this thread have common sense. Others are just wacked out. There are more and more bad cops and it sucks that they are the ones protecting us?
  • bashnu, on 11/26/2007, -0/+86Backup image of original site
    http://a.imagehost.org/0037/Cop_who_uses_taser_on_ ...
  • f4nt0m4s, on 11/26/2007, -23/+12from the forum:

    When the wife refused to get back in the car (birds of a feather?) I'm afraid I'd have told her:

    "Get back in the car or I'll Taser him again!"


    I wish there was an "instant karma" button or something that you could push so the wife got a taser.
    • tk0680, on 11/26/2007, -1/+28"Do what I say or someone else suffers"

      Wow.
    • mrurc, on 11/26/2007, -0/+10I wish there was an "instant karma" button or something that you could push so the poster got a taser.

      There. fixed.
    • senatorpjt, on 11/26/2007, -1/+8Yeah, and this whole thing could have been avoided if the cop just said "Sign the ticket or I'm going to shoot your wife."
    • wakananda, on 11/26/2007, -0/+2I hope you're just trying to be outrageous and provocative, because if you really think that tasering that pregnant woman is in any way justified, you just left the building. You are no longer human. At least according to my Fish and Game Guide.
  • HumanRecall, on 11/26/2007, -20/+11WOMAN in QUESTION VOLUNTEERS TO GET OUT OF VEHICLE AND GETS ROUGHED UP "D AND TASED ANYWAY !!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSG19c3elhQ&feature ...

    HOLLYWOOD STARS TASED
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by5_8SpGX-E&feature ...
  • ReturnToFreedom, on 11/26/2007, -7/+68The problem is that people assume cops have a say in how much authority they should have. They are paid employees and we are the employers. They should do as they're told or look for new jobs. The way to error on the side of caution is to always decide in favor of more liberty and more freedom. Remember, when a cop pulls you or your wife over one rainy night with nobody around, nobody is there to see how the man with the taser gets his kicks. You better hope he's not one of those cops on a power trip or you're headed for a "5 second taser ride" or worse. With all the surveillance and spying going on this increasingly fascist government, why the hell can't we the citizens demand the police be recorded on every single arrest? No video/audio, no arrest, period. ZERO Tolerance for officers who violate the civil rights of the citizens. Cops should have nightmares about violating the civil liberties of citizens and having to explain to their families why they have to go to the unemployment line.
    • TrevorBelmont, on 11/26/2007, -5/+2"No video/audio, no arrest, period."
      I can imagine if this became policy all these same diggers commenting on another story saying "How could they let this known baby rapist go?!? They KNOW he did it!" after the courts threw out his case because no video of the arrest was taken. Something has to be done to reel in cowboy law men but this idea is at best naive and at worst destructive to society.
      • Qtip42, on 11/26/2007, -1/+5You mean a little transparency? Cops need it.
      • ReturnToFreedom, on 11/30/2007, -0/+1If there is no video or audio, then you're assuming that the man did it. I'm referring to videotaping encounters with police to see if an arrest, taser, or beating are warranted. This is to avoid situations like when a man tasers a woman for not getting out of a vehicle fast enough for the officers liking. I'm not saying every crime has to be videotaped, only the arrests and the supposed crimes against the officer (like when officers claim they had to use a taser in self-defense).
    • RC155, on 11/26/2007, -0/+3The Day that an Automobile manufacturer offers as an option - A 360 DEGREE video surveillance system that can be turned on at the flcik of a steering wheel button is the day that we will see Video justice come to fthe aid of American motorists.

      With today's technology is not that difficult to install one yourself - but it would be better to have a factory option - like those backup cameras etc...
  • GorfTron, on 11/26/2007, -23/+22They did make the point that the guy had his hand on a pocket of his cargo pants. The guy did not comply with with repeated orders to put his hands behind his back, etc. So, this cop did not just tase a guy for no reason. That said, I think tasers are risky and still overused. This case is not without argument from the police perspective.
    • senatorpjt, on 11/26/2007, -4/+12There's plenty of blame to go around here. The cop and the guy both acted poorly - the guy for his specific actions, and the cop for constantly escalating the situation. However, the difference is the cop is supposedly trained to deal with these types of situations, so the expectation is that the cop is supposed to be the "level head". This cop was just spoiling for a fight before the guy even rolled down his car window.
  • hobard, on 11/26/2007, -37/+5Just to put things in perspective for the people crying bloody murder:

    %99.96 of police encounters do not involve uses of force. Not to mention the vast majority of those contacts are not with normal everyday law abiding folk . The police tend to become involved with criminals and people who do not want to be involved with police and during relatively high stress incidents.

    Use of force simulators regularly demonstrate that normal citizens are far more likely than police to fire their weapon or use another form of force during simulated incidents.

    While there are certainly plenty of police officers who go over the line, they are in a very small minority. The vast majority of officers are just trying to serve the community the best they can, while ensuring they go home at night. Training has made them better at identifying threats, and far less trigger happy than the public.

    Try to educate yourself by going on some ridealongs with your local department to get an idea of how things really are before you pass judgment on all police officers.

    As for tasers, they are a much more effective and less offensive alternative to pepper spray and batons. Taking an effective tool away from officers because a few have abused it is putting officers and the public in harm's way.
    • woofers07, on 11/26/2007, -2/+18"Try to educate yourself by going on some ridealongs with your local department to get an idea of how things really are before you pass judgment on all police officers."

      That's quite possibly the dumbest thing I've heard in a long time.
      • senatorpjt, on 11/26/2007, -0/+10Yeah, as unrestrained as cops seem sometimes, I still believe they have the ability to restrain themselves when they know someone is watching them.
      • williamdyer, on 11/26/2007, -0/+7Too optimistic. This forum is what cops really think. They are rabid dogs, and should be handled like rabid dogs.
    • megarobotguy, on 11/26/2007, -0/+1Your comment fail to impress by 99.97% with a .03% error.
  • MrTea, on 11/26/2007, -9/+5site is down
  • SaladCactusKing, on 11/26/2007, -12/+27Posters on Cop Message Board != Actual Cops
    • senatorpjt, on 11/26/2007, -6/+1Yeah, cops don't post on message boards, especially public boards, at least about cop stuff. If they want to talk cop stuff to other cops, they can just go back to the station, where they can do it in confidence.
    • acidbass, on 11/26/2007, -0/+8good point. At least it shows the mind of those who desire to be law enforcers.
    • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -0/+25Yes, cops never use the Internet. Ever.
    • soomprimal, on 11/26/2007, -1/+5Um, is that why the postings say "Verified LEO" (Law Enforcement Officer). Yeah, they are real cops!
    • BrandonAbell, on 11/26/2007, -1/+3SaladCactusKing is correct. People tend to have a large e-penis when they are behind a keyboard. Everyone on here and other sites seems to do it too, like how everybody said they'd move to Canada if Bush was elected. Didn't exactly happen, did it? I'm willing to bet most of those loudmouths aren't real cops, and if they are, they're in some piece of ***** hick town that doesn't have a real police department to begin with. In my city you can get written up as a cop just for a rude remark (not even racist, just saying somebody is stupid when they probably deserve it). A string of those complaints can get you fired. I imagine a lot of real cities are like that.

      A lot of cops are assholes. Maybe even most of them. But that doesn't mean they're violating your rights while they're doing their jobs. Maybe you'll pay attention more to the people who are making the laws and be less defensive about the people who we hire to enforce them.
  • choopie911, on 11/26/2007, -3/+7Wow....what idiots....
  • smurfsahoy, on 11/26/2007, -45/+6What on Earth is everybody digging this up for? The guy simply disobeyed numerous instructions which were all designed to ensure the safety of the officer (and frankly everyone else involved), due process, and a generally smooth transaction. If you start walking back to your car after somebody has put you under arrest and told you to stay put more than once, that is a crime that requires and warrants physical intervention. If you don't put your hands up when told, especially when your hand is next to a gun-sized black object on your belt, and/or pockets which can also contain weapons, that warrants physical intervention. Officers have to keep their distance to be safe until a person is in an immobilized position to approach, so it was either a taser or a night stick, or pulling a gun on the guy. Which of those seems safest? Taser.

    Also, pretty much everything the guy in the car said legally made no sense. Where signs were or were not on the road is not the officer's obligation to prove then and there. Miranda rights don't even have to be read at all if there isn't going to be any interrogation beyond standard booking information.

    Plus, the driver was just an asshat. I thought the officer by comparison was exceedingly professional in tone and wording throughout the incident, with the tiny exception of when he said "yeah, it hurts, doesn't it?" The driver, on the other hand, was constantly bossing the cop around, telling him he needed to calm down, giving rude body language etc. That's not why he was tasered, nor should it be. I'm just saying it's one less reason to feel sympathy for the guy, and one more reason I am confused about this article being dugg up.
    • f4nt0m4s, on 11/26/2007, -2/+6The driver was being an asshat but the situation didn't call for _lethal_ force. The officer did not promptly cuff the suspect. If the officer felt threatened he should have cuffed the guy faster or tried to bring him to the ground. Instead he resorted to using a potentially lethal weapon that has and can kill people. What's the point of officers going through extensive police training (where they learn how to arrest someone without using a weapon) if they are just going to taser every mother ***** they want to cuff. As a citizen i have to say ***** that *****.
      • thethirdevil, on 11/26/2007, -1/+7You know, legally, an officer with just his hands is also a lethal weapon. You know how many people are beaten to death every year?
        • BleedingCello, on 11/26/2007, -0/+2It's not illegal to be an asshat
    • senatorpjt, on 11/26/2007, -2/+8The way it went down is a cop handed the guy a piece of paper and said "Sign it." Perhaps many people aren't as familiar with the law as they should be, so maybe the guy didn't know what that entailed. The cop ordered the guy out of the car and pointed a taser in his face. A -professional- cop would have yelled at the guy to calm the ***** down until he shut up, and explained that A) signing the ticket only means you agree to appear in court, not that you're guilty and B) Refusal to sign the ticket will lead to arrest.

      As far as safety is concerned, the cop was only endangering his own safety by ordering the suspect out of the car unnecessarily. If he made clear to this guy that he would be arrested if he didn't sign it, then I seriously doubt this would have happened.
    • buckrogers1965, on 11/26/2007, -1/+6The cop ordered the guy out of the car and then tazered him because the cop was scared of the guy. Why didn't the cop just leave the guy in the car, give him the ticket and tell him, be careful pulling out and have a nice day. Because there is no legal requirement to sign anything at any time.
    • esfisher, on 11/26/2007, -0/+2The officers are supposed to ensure our safety, not the other way around.
  • thethirdevil, on 11/26/2007, -35/+3You can talk once you've been tasered or once you've been a cop and been out on the streets. Opinions are like assholes: everyone's got one and not everyone wants to hear about yours. As soon as established medical authority says that tasers are deadly, then they should be banned. But, to date, no medical authority has said anything close to that.
    You all want tasers banned. Alright, let's just beat the hell out of criminals that try to attack us. Or, hell, let's just shoot 'em with actual guns.
    You know, all these people that say cops are pointless and that they don't stop crime but only take care of it after it happens...well what about firefighters or EMS? Firefighters don't prevent fire, they only take care of it when it starts to burn down a house. A paramedic is only called out once someone's arm is ripped off.
    Public service is public service. Plus, you'd be surprised how many cops are also firefighters and/or EMTs.
    • GaiaAP, on 11/26/2007, -0/+15Look Captain Obvious, I don't need an 'established medical authority' to tell me that a weapon is lethal when people are repeatedly dying when it's deployed. Your point about personal opinions remains very valid, of course.
    • williamdyer, on 11/26/2007, -0/+4Or we could disembowel cops that abuse tasers. That would be a pretty clear lesson.
    • buckrogers1965, on 11/26/2007, -0/+5Citizens get to talk anytime they want.
      • megarobotguy, on 11/26/2007, -2/+1Although from experience it's better to keep your mouth shut. Just simply say I'd rather not say anything that would incriminate me later officer. Don't be an *****, follow directions but keep your mouth shut!
  • WorldGroove, on 11/26/2007, -35/+3I'm not sayin' that what the cop did was justified.... but... note 2 things there:1. The guy refused to sign the ticket; refusing an order from an officer.(Of course, I know it's in our right to refuse to sign anything). 2. The officer walks back to his car, turns around and finds the guy standing really close to him. That's kinda threatening. It's like the dude sneaked up behind him.

    I know, I know... excessive force... but I'm just pointing out the triggers for the officer's action... even if everyone on Digg disagrees about his actions.
    If the dude just did what the cop asked, that wouldn't of happened.... *ESPECIALLY* the walking close behind the cop when told to get out of his truck.

    • WorldGroove, on 11/26/2007, -17/+3Oh... and the dude looks like he's reaching for something in his pocket!
      Sorry... I'm going against the Digg-mob on this one.... The cop is justified.
    • f4nt0m4s, on 11/26/2007, -2/+12You make ONE valid point: the guy was being a jackass for not signing the ticket. He had something coming, sure, but he did not deserve to be tasered. The police officer handled the situation very poorly, he did not have control of the suspect the entire time. When you tell someone to get out of the car (so you can arrest them) you try to stay behind them and within control. As I was watching the video I was wondering what the ***** the cop was doing, the whole thing could have been avoided if the officer put the guy in cuffs right away.
      • WorldGroove, on 11/26/2007, -3/+5Well... Okay. You're probably right, cop should have cuffed him... or at least kept his eyes on the man while he was getting out of his truck.
        Because the cop didn't do that, the dude apparently felt free to walk up behind the cop to the police-car(which I wouldn't of done)... and surprised the cop alittle. Dude reaching for his pocket was the breaking-point, taser comes out. But okay, yeah... the cop could have controlled the man better.

        Mistake by the cop allowed a mistake by the dude in the truck.
      • buckrogers1965, on 11/26/2007, -0/+3You do not have to sign the ticket.

        As for the man being out of the car. The police officer told him to get out of the car and follow him.
  • CDRaff, on 11/26/2007, -7/+49 I didn't look at the site, but I can imagine what is in it. I have a lot family that are in the police force, and they have what we refer to as the police mentality. I totally understand people being angry about the way police are acting lately, I am too.
    It has always made me angry that police feel above the law. There are many a heated late Christmas party yelling matches between my Uncles and I. I wish that police could get their good image back. I wish that I felt like kids could look up to police, as they should(I hope we can all agree on that). It is a very sad thing that they can not.
    I think that we can all agree that we need police. Look how we drive when they are not around. Imagine a world with out law enforcement. I have and I was scared. My point of view may make me look foolish, but I just don't care. I know that if there were no police, the world would be much worse than it is.
    To the end of wanting police to be better I have decided to take action. I have applied to join my local police. I live in a small town called Los Lunas, and I really hope that I can get in. I want to do good, I want to help people, and I want to be the guy who is the good cop in our town.
    I really urge those of you who feel the same as I do to do the same. If you feel like things need to change, then change them. Take action.
    • wedgemartin, on 11/26/2007, -1/+14I wish there were a lot more of you. Good luck and don't get jaded. Sounds like you'll do a good job.
    • mstoneburner, on 11/26/2007, -15/+1Thanks for commenting without reading the article. It's awesome how you can make judgments about you haven't actually read. You're an inspiration to us all!
    • sHockz, on 11/26/2007, -2/+3Nothing more will happen than this:
      You join
      They brainwash you
      You are dugg for being an asshat police officer

      You want to make a change? Become a politician and advocate change in the legal system. THAT, is how you change. Otherwise, no one will see the reflections of your "niceness" except for the 6 ppl you pull over in your small town that you actually let off with some leniency.
      • FreeBadAdvice, on 11/26/2007, -0/+1"Become a politician and advocate change in the legal system. THAT, is how you change."

        Yes, because everyone can just mosey on into the political system and start making changes. A better approach would be for people to start getting more involved in city and state politics. Contact the mayor and/or governor, start a campaign to raise awareness, and petition to demand changes. If the officials want to serve another term, which they all do, they will start making changes. You can't sit and wait for a politician who shares your views to announce their candidacy. Change requires the masses.
    • danth, on 11/26/2007, -0/+3" I know that if there were no police, the world would be much worse than it is."

      If you were black or hispanic, you would probably have a different opinion. Cops are good at protecting the interests of the powerful. I like that we have people to issue traffic citations to maniacs. Other than that, armed citizens can protect themselves and aren't above the law when they screw up.
    • danth, on 11/26/2007, -2/+3" I know that if there were no police, the world would be much worse than it is."

      If you were black or hispanic, you would probably have a different opinion. Cops are good at protecting the interests of the powerful. I like that we have people to issue traffic citations to maniacs. Other than that, armed citizens can protect themselves and aren't above the law when they screw up.
    • danth, on 11/26/2007, -3/+2" I know that if there were no police, the world would be much worse than it is."

      If you were black or hispanic, you would probably have a different opinion. Cops are good at protecting the interests of the powerful. I like that we have people to issue traffic citations to maniacs. Other than that, armed citizens can protect themselves and aren't above the law when they screw up.
    • CDRaff, on 11/26/2007, -0/+2I have a few responses here...
      To Danth(though I wont respond three times.): I happen to live in a predominately Hispanic town, like I said Los Lunas that is in New Mexico... There are two White officers on the force, so the racial profiling here is kinda backward. Also the Isleta Indian Reservation is to the North, I have to drive there to get to work, and I am constantly pulled over for stupid things. Once being that my Military license plate, did not have the branch of the military that I served in.

      Now to Shockz, and Freebadadvice: The local government in small towns works differently than in a normal place. I don't know if this is all small towns, or just here in NM, but most people vote for the elected officials because they are friends or family. Also the state of the local police is advantageous to the people in power.
      • pwnster, on 11/26/2007, -0/+1The police are eager to pull over me for speeding, but if they look like illegals they usually let them go. :(
  • biggaayal, on 11/26/2007, -6/+12These us police behave like dominatrixes
    • mrurc, on 11/26/2007, -0/+15No, dominatrices do it with consent.
    • Identity4, on 11/26/2007, -0/+3Minus the safety word...
      • dorkino, on 11/26/2007, -1/+3I wonder what it is.

        Don't, tase, me or bro are definitely not working safety words.
  • goosepillows, on 11/26/2007, -6/+52pepper spray isn't lethal.
    who the ***** are these officers claiming a father with a child in the car debating a traffic violation is a dangerous person?
    i can sympathize with the risk an officer must encounter on a daily basis. this case was not one of a potential harm or dangerous situation. it was a jackass power-hungry officer doing whatever the ***** he pleased, including potentially killing a father.
    tasers should be outlawed. there is plenty of empirical evidence that police officers cannot be trusted with these weapons.
    this particular officer should be put in prison.
    • PamalaLauren, on 11/26/2007, -3/+4Don't be so ***** stupid. It's all lethal under the right circumstances:
      "For those with asthma, taking other drugs, or subject to restraining techniques which restrict the breathing passages, there is a risk of death. The Los Angeles Times has reported at least 61 deaths associated with police use of pepper spray since 1990 in the USA,[6] and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) documented 27 deaths in custody of people sprayed with pepper spray in California alone, since 1993"
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_spray
      I guess we should just run away when the bad guys act up because God forbid they ***** die because they're the morons who can't follow directions.
      • MasterRex, on 11/26/2007, -2/+4 You, sir, are a dumb-*****. I like how you capitalized the 'g' in 'God' and followed with '*****' just a few words later.

        Oh, and sir - traffic violations don't make citizens 'bad guys' you ***** ***** sucker.

        One last thing - sixty one deaths over a period of seventeen years isn't a significant figure. Every life is valuable, but many more will be killed by taser than by pepper spray.
      • shodanx, on 11/27/2007, -0/+1actually PamalaLauren's advice is good "just run away when the bad guys act up" it's pretty much the best thing to do even if it's not the total macho thing to do, it's the only was no one gets hurt, no one goes to prison, no lives are destroyed

        but go ahead though guys, destroy society under the guise of saving it
  • megabytehl, on 11/26/2007, -5/+31Is it just me, or did anybody else see themselves reacting the exact same way when the cop pulled out the taser?

    *Oh *****, what is he doing? I gotta get outta here, why is this happening, whats going on?* Zap.
    • mstoneburner, on 11/26/2007, -14/+2Yeah running from the cops is always a great idea...
      • shredluc, on 11/26/2007, -1/+14it has to be. The cop was acting irrational. I would be afraid for my life, and would probably sue him. I would also try to get "attempted murder" charges filed on him.
  • L0g1X, on 11/26/2007, -5/+15They can do all the training in the world, but they'll not change. We all know that many people join the police just for ego and status. You can teach a person anything but you can't change his/her attitude.
  • unrealalexk, on 11/26/2007, -36/+9Digg has become ***** stupid. I read maybe two, maybe three disturbing comments in there, and one of them was most likely a joke. He didn't need to read him Miranda rights idiots. That's how the law works, you listen to the officer, the officers don't make the law idiots, they carry it out. If you have a problem with complying with what the officer tells you, take it up with your state not with the officers. The guy should have signed the ticket, he should not have walked away after being told to put his hands behind his back and while having a taser pointed at him. Yes I'll agree the cop screwed up because he didn't tell him he would have to arrest him if he did not sign the ticket. BOTH PARTIES WERE INVOLVED. Stop looking at things as black and white. You guys are sensationalist and hypocritical asses.
    • f4nt0m4s, on 11/26/2007, -2/+10I think the problem here is that a taser can kill someone. The officer was not very prompt about getting the guy in cuffs. These officers go through extensive training on how to cuff people without relying on a gun or a taser, and that is what this situation called for. I'm all for upholding the law, but just because an officer has a weapon doesn't mean he should be allowed to use it in any given situation. The suspect was being a jackass, arrest him - but don't use a potentially lethal weapon on him.
      • Truegod, on 11/26/2007, -9/+5The officer never had a chance to put cuffs on the guy. What should the officer have done? The guy wasn't listening to directions and was walking back to his car. Should the officer have tackled him and fought to get him in cuffs with traffic wising by at 70 mph? I think the officer could have handled this better, but it probably would have ended much better if the guy had just complied.
      • acidbass, on 11/26/2007, -2/+7FACT: The officer NEVER pulled out his cuffs to attempt an arrest.
        FACT: The officer DID pull out his taser and point it at a confused motorist.

        We can now conclude that the statement: "The officer never had a chance to put cuffs on the guy. " is complete ***** *****.
        THINK!

        The officer had a chance to cuff him at anytime prior to the taser, the officer just chose not to use cuffs and went right to the taser which is against all training.

        I say we start paying cops more so we can get some better quality people in there like it used to be. Oops, but then thats what us stinky hippie liberals do, raise taxes to pay for cops and teachers and fire depts and republicans hate all the things we spend taxes on so that wont happen.
        • mstoneburner, on 11/26/2007, -3/+3The officer never pulled his cuffs out because the perp never put his hands behind his back as lawfully ordered by the arresting officer.
          • acidbass, on 11/26/2007, -2/+3The guy had less than a second between command and taser being threatened.
            Is that the world we now live in?

  • FG2BadAss, on 11/26/2007, -7/+26Am I the only one who recalls that he DOESN'T actually need to sign the ticket? And that was why the officer asked him to get out of the car?!?

    If the 'LEO' would have let it go, as he should have, it wouldn't be where it is today.

    Just my 2 pennies.

    And for the record, I have an Uncle who is a cop, so I hear about stuff plenty from him. They aren't all bad.
    • mstoneburner, on 11/26/2007, -4/+5The ticket is your bail bond, signing it indicates that you agree to face the charge. If you don't sign it, you've got no bail bond, and will be arrested in order to ensure that you show up for court.
      • buckrogers1965, on 11/26/2007, -3/+5No. You are required to appear no matter if you sign or not.
  • unrealalexk, on 11/26/2007, -19/+8It's funny how *most* Diggers will digg up something like this, and Ron Paul stories, rather than doing something actually productive like writing your congressmen or contacting your state government or trying to setup initiatives. Colbert was right when he spoke about digg, you know what I'm talking about.
    • williamdyer, on 11/26/2007, -1/+4No, Digg is having an impact. Some cop's wife is going to read about how cops who taser people should be humiliated and run out of town will start thinking "This could affect me and my kids" and maybe she is already tired of her cop husband's douchebaggery, and maybe that will push her over the line and make her take the kids and get out.

      The cop lifestyle is heavy on the drinking, wife beating, and divorce. Pushing more cops into divorce will demoralize these pigs.

      The more people who speak out against pigs in public forums means the more will be resistant to pro-pig propaganda.
    • acidbass, on 11/26/2007, -1/+5i disagree, digg changes the way people think.
      Since we can all see the real news for once, and not the ***** MSM feeds us, we all can see the real important stories,
      and not the entertainment news that gets passed off as breaking world news b/c anna nicole is in the bahamas.
      So now the public can read the real stories and comment on them and debate and come to understandings.
      Ive changed my mind many times after reading comments on digg and responding.
  • trueinfinite, on 11/26/2007, -5/+14those police officers remind of of stans mom from southpark. blame canada, blame innocent people, blame everyone but yourself. i live in canada where officers PROTECT people, not ASSAULT them. imho, we should digg every single one of their sites repeatedly and demolish their servers. wait, am i going to get tazered now and yelled at, then beaten and arrested for that suggestion? nope, because like i said, i'm a canadian where people ask an innocent question and the cops aren't jumpy thinking everyone and their dog is out to get them. USA has become a culture of fear. look at statistics of how much of the worlds imprisoned population is in the usa, look at how petty of a crime people take this kind of abuse over.. oh, wait.. this man hadn't committed a crime, he committed a minor traffic infraction. USA citizens who have intelligence, common sense, and compassion.. to you i applaude you for even surviving as long as you have.
    • tasteless, on 11/26/2007, -0/+12That's why like 4 people have died from police tasing them in the past week in Canada right?
    • BigBadTauren, on 11/26/2007, -0/+4You mean Kyle's mom?
    • zeromous, on 11/26/2007, -0/+3Yup they sure protect people. I met a nice enough canadian cop....after I received death threats, in tendem actual physical assault against a close friend. They haven't called back in weeks, didn't collect evidence at the scene of the assault, didn't do much of anything really but disturb my day at work.

      Sure feel safe.
  • chillfaktor, on 11/26/2007, -2/+40People can't handle authority. Its nothing personal, its human nature. Stanford Prison experiment anyone? Authority just turns (most) people into assholes. Teachers, politicians, military, cops, *****, even doctors or caregivers in resthomes! Funny how "HotTamale" has Cartman in cop-uniform as an avatar, as that episode was EXACTLY on how cartman can't handle his authority as hallway supervisor and starts getting completely unreasonable and sucked in. Oh man.
    • acidbass, on 11/26/2007, -1/+4Whoop Whoop, The Irony poilice are here, and theyre gonna tase you.
    • DaveTehWave, on 11/26/2007, -0/+2Cartman dressed as a cop was from the first season - where it was established that he can't handle authority.
      The episode you're thinking of is the 'dog the bounty hunter' spoof. It furthered the fact that Cartman is an a-hole when he is given power.
  • fistulator, on 11/26/2007, -10/+5I had a hard time getting to the site but I finally was able to see the comments. What I'm surprised by is how on this "forum" there are immediately extremely negative comments which stereotype our nation's police officers as "PIGS", while on their forum I actually saw a fairly well-rounded mix of opinion. I definitely agree with CDRaff though, for those here that want to truly make a difference and not just whine about how mean-spirited _____ (insert military, police, or any other public servant), please make a difference by joining any one of them. Please accept the difficulties, the lower pay, and condemnation by a vocal minority and stand out to really make a difference, or at least extend to them a token degree of respect. Review the facts of the situation and offer solutions. There are definitely of number of unethical cops out there, b