Tased and confused

We’ve all seen the video of the University of Florida student getting attacked with a stun gun after resisting arrest at a John Kerry forum last September. We laughed as the student pleaded “Don’t tase me, bro” before getting zapped. We continued to chuckle as he squirmed in pain while getting stunned. Sure, it’s funny to see an annoying guy get shocked because stun guns are pretty funny – that is, until they do more damage than intended.\nWake Forest University researchers recently counted 270 people who have died in police custody after being stunned. It should be noted that being zapped wasn’t the proven cause of the deaths, but it is an odd coincidence. Just this past Friday, police officers in Florida used a stun gun on a middle-aged man who was wandering naked through traffic. He “resisted arrest,” so the officers popped out the stun gun and gave him a jolt. This “jolt” ended up sending him to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Considering the man was a registered sex offender who had been arrested in Broward County 10 times in the past six years, it’s hard to have sympathy for the guy. OK, maybe that one’s a bad example ...\nBut it seems every report of a death via the stun gun includes the term “he/she resisted arrest.” Are this nation’s police forces so weak that they must rely on stun guns to hold people down to slap on hand cuffs? \nSix police officers surrounded the University of Florida student who was “resisting arrest,” for example. Are we supposed to believe that six trained, fit officers could not handcuff this kid? Come on. While the stun gun is an excellent alternative to hand guns when, say, Los Angeles Police Department officers are chasing someone down a street, it should be the absolute last resort to gain control over someone resisting arrest. If the person isn’t running from you, what’s the point of injecting volts of electricity through his or her body? The way police are using stun guns today, it seems more like an egotistical power trip than a way of protecting the community.\nThis is perhaps most clearly seen in the blurry, night vision footage of a random police officer asking a driver he just pulled over to “get back in the vehicle, sir.” The driver doesn’t comply, and after the officer makes the request a couple more times, he snaps out his stun gun and shoots the driver to the ground.\nIn November, the United Nations Committee Against Torture even ruled the stun gun was a “form of torture.” I’m not saying we should “take it easy” on criminals. My ideal prison system would not cost half as much as it does now – rice, bread, water and some beans for protein are all inmates should be fed for the duration of their sentences (regardless of the crime), as far as I’m concerned. And there’s nothing wrong with officers knocking people around who won’t follow directions during an arrest. But using a stun gun to get someone to stay still is just a pathetic misuse of power.