Can Hillary Clinton really be that unaware of the irony in this statement? Maybe she just didn't notice the arrests of G20 demonstrators in Canada last week, or the increasingly common usage of sound cannons, Tasers, tear gas and rubber bullets against American citizens? Can she really be too busy to notice?
Intolerant governments across the globe are "slowly crushing" activist and advocacy groups that play an essential role in the development of democracy, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday.
She cited a broad range of countries where "the walls are closing in" on civic organizations such as unions, religious groups, rights advocates and other nongovernmental organizations that press for social change and shine a light on governments' shortcomings.
Among those she named were Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Venezuela, China and Russia.
Hmm. Secretary Clinton, do you suppose you're leaving some countries off that list?
"Some of the countries engaging in these behaviors still claim to be democracies," Clinton said at an international conference on the promotion of democracy and human rights. "Democracies don't fear their own people. They recognize that citizens must be free to come together, to advocate and agitate."
That's exactly right. Citizens should be able to advocate and agitate -- but they're not. Not here, anyway.
This is just plain disgusting. A 17-year-old kid, tasered for running onto the Citizens Bank field? What threat was he to anyone? Tasers can be deadly weapons, and taser use by cops is completely out of control. Tasers are supposed to be an alternative to deadly force, remember?
From the video, it sure looks like the cop shot the kid in the back - one of the zones Taser International recommends police avoid.
Fortunately for the city, this kid isn't one of the 479 people so far who dropped dead after being tasered:
For the first time in Phillies history, a fan running on the field at Citizens Bank Park was subdued by a Philadelphia police officer using his Taser gun.
With 44,817 fans watching in the stands Monday night, the teenage male, wearing a black baseball cap, red T-shirt, and khaki shorts, ran on to the field during the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals.
"This is the first time that a Taser gun has been used by Philadelphia police to apprehend a field jumper," Phillies spokeswoman Bonnie Clark said in a statement. "The Police Department is investigating this matter and the Phillies are discussing with them whether in future situations this is an appropriate use of force under these circumstances. That decision will be made public."
The fan made several loops in center field with security personnel and the police officer in pursuit. The officer appeared to fire several times before hitting the man. The man fell to the ground. He was then helped off the field.
The police officer "utilized his Taser" when a fan ran onto the field, said police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.
Running on the field during a game is a crime and has been for decades. Normally, such suspects are wrestled to the ground, escorted off the field, and arrested.
It was unclear Monday night if a Taser had ever been used on a Major League Baseball field to subdue such a suspect.
Vanore said the Police Department's internal affairs unit would open an investigation to determine if the firing "was proper use of the equipment."
I filed a complaint with the Mayor's office this morning and I strongly suggest you do the same. [UPDATE: The Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board apparently agrees with me.]
Real Americans don little tri-corner hats and carry on about "freedom" and "the constitution" but all they know about either one is what they learned at Disneyland. They are paranoid about a non-existent invasion of killer immigrants and are freaking out about a non-existent plan to send gun owners to Fema camps. They threaten to kill census workers who ask them how many times they flush their toilets.
But torture? Not a problem. Whether it's administered by the CIA or some minimum wage security guard, they seem to think electric shock, waterboarding or any other sick form of coercion worthy of the worst low rent dictator in the world is just ducky. But only if the subject is unarmed. If anyone tried this with a guy who was packing, the screams of horror at "the government" trying to disarm a law abiding citizen would be heard for miles around. I give up.
John Amato:
I was watching ESPN's First Take and Skip Bayless just loved the idea of taserin' that fan. So did Rob Parker. Yep, pretty soon parking attendants will be able to taser you if you park in the wrong spot. Susie was right to file a complaint.
In December of last year, a Florida county deputy was caught on CCTV after shocking a colleague with a Taser at the Collier County jail in an incident meant to be a joke. A female deputy showed a message on her iPod to Corporal Wilmer A. Arencibia, who then chased the woman and shocked her on the behind with his Taser. The woman, Arencibia, and other colleagues who witnessed the event were shown on the recording as laughing.
Investigators found the incident rather less amusing. Arencibia admitted during an internal investigation that his actions were ‘a spur of the moment thing’ and acknowledged his behaviour was improper. He was reprimanded and given a final warning. Aside from any questions of sexual harassment, is it any wonder so many Taser incidents in the States end up in tragedies when cops are treating Tasers as toys?
Via Raw Story, something that's become all too common - someone being tasered for something beyond their control. Let's hear them explain the rationale behind this one:
Police officers from two Chicago suburbs are being sued after one of them allegedly Tasered a man having a diabetic seizure because the diabetic involuntarily hit the officer while being taken to an ambulance.
Prospero Lassi, a 40-year-old employee of Southwest Airlines, filed the lawsuit (PDF) with a federal court in Chicago last week, following an April 9, 2009, incident in which Lassi was taken to hospital following a violent diabetic seizure -- and being Tasered 11 times while unconscious.
That day, Lassi's roommate found the man on the floor of his apartment having a seizure and foaming at the mouth, according to the statement filed with the court. The roommate called 911 for help, and police officers from the Brookfield and LaGrange Park police departments arrived to help with the situation.
As police officers were helping the paramedics move Lassi to an ambulance, Lassi -- still in the midst of the seizure and described as "unresponsive" -- involuntarily smacked one of the officers with his arm.
"Reacting to Mr. Lassi’s involuntary movement, one or more of the [officers] pushed Mr. Lassi to the ground, forcibly restraining him there," the complaint states. "[LaGrange Park Officer Darren] Pedota then withdrew his Taser, an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt a person’s control over his muscles, and electrocuted Mr. Lassi eleven times.
"Mr. Lassi remained immobile on the floor and was unable to defend himself during this attack. None of the other LaGrange and Brookfield Defendants attempted to interrupt Defendant Pedota's repeated use of the Taser."
The filing says that Lassi spent five days in hospital, and "as a result of this incident, Mr. Lassi has permanent scars on his skin, including a scar on his face. Mr. Lassi has also suffered, and continues to suffer, neurological and musculoskeletal injuries, among other injuries."
Via Raw Story, news that police use of this weapon is even closer - and more portable, so use will be widespread. I was writing about this in 2006. And no, it's more than "burning sensations" - when they did the tests, they banned metal buttons and zippers because they caused burns, and they also banned contact lenses because they could become fused to the eyeballs.
What brave Congress member will introduce legislation to stop this? Bueller? Bueller?
A powerful hand-held weapon being developed by the Pentagon could end up in police hands, says a report in a UK science journal.
The Pentagon's Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate has been developing the Thermal Laser System since 2005, with the purpose of developing a weapon that could disperse crowds or incapacitate individuals by causing them to experience burning sensations in their skin.
According to NewScientist magazine, the weapon has evolved into a rifle-mounted instrument, and there are plans for a hand-held model that could be used by police forces.
News of the possibility that police departments could obtain the burn weapon will likely concern civil-liberties advocates, who have been watching with alarm as the Taser conducted-energy weapon has gone into regular use in police forces across the United States.
A 14-year-old Tucumcari girl is recovering at an Albuquerque hospital after being shot in the head with a Taser dart by Tucucmari Police Chief Roger Hatcher.
Now, her parents say they want the police department to review its policies for using the Taser.
Her mother, Stacy Akin, said her daughter underwent surgery Friday morning at University of New Mexico hospital in Albuquerque. “One of the darts entered her skull,” said Akin, interviewed by telephone.
After a CAT scan, a hospital resident told her the dart was “in her brain a little bit, but not much,” Akin said.
Hatcher is on administrative leave at the moment, but claims he had no choice because she was running away from him toward traffic. I wholeheartedly disagree with anyone who says that they HAD to use a taser on a 14 year old girl who posed absolutely no threat to them. Of course, Hatcher had no way of knowing that the girl had any kind of medical condition, but that once again proves the inherent dangers of using tasers.
Akin also said her daughter has epilepsy. The girl’s father, Donny Martinez of Amarillo, said his daughter takes medication for the condition. Read on...
June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Taser International Inc., the largest stun-gun maker, lost a $6.2 million jury verdict over the death of a California man who died after police shot him multiple times with the weapon. The defeat is the first for Taser in a product- liability claim.
A San Jose, California, jury yesterday said Taser had failed to warn police in Salinas, California, that prolonged exposure to electric shock from the device could cause a risk of cardiac arrest. The jury awarded $1 million in compensatory damages and $5.2 million in punitive damages to the estate of Robert Heston, 40, and his parents. The jury cleared the police officers of any liability.
His parents sued Taser, alleging failure to warn of the dangers of the weapon, and Salinas police officers, claiming excessive force. The jury ``exonerated the police because they said the police didn't know repeated exposures could kill someone,'' Burton said. Read on...
I understand that law enforcement officials have difficult jobs and often find themselves in life or death situations. There are times where the use of these alternative weapons can save lives, but it seems, as in this case, as withothers, if improperly used or in the wrong circumstances, they are deadly. Amnesty International has laid out some recommendations for the use of tasers, which I quite agree with; law enforcement agencies should treat them as deadly weapons:
Amnesty International calls on all governments and law enforcement agencies to either cease using TASERs and similar devices pending the results of thorough, independent studies, or restrict their use to situations where officers would otherwise be justified in resorting to deadly force where no lesser alternatives are available. Read on...
The Shawnee County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday released the identity of a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. employee who died Sunday after being tased by a sheriff's deputy.
The man who died was Walter E. Haake Jr., 59, of Lawrence. However, the sheriff's office released no other details about what led to the tasing at the Topeka Goodyear plant.
Early reports indicated Haake had been suffering from a medical condition and had resisted emergency personnel's efforts to subdue him. The sheriff's office said after several attempts to control Haake, a deputy used a Taser on him.
Haake was taken by ambulance to a Topeka hospital and later pronounced dead.Read on...
Here we go again. We've covered some of the recent incidents involving tasers, and just last week an 11 year old girl was tased in school to "stop a violent temper tantrum." This one ranks right up there with the worst of them and is sure to reignite the taser debate. I realize that all the facts of this incident haven't been released, but it was known that this man suffered from a medical condition that was serious enough that his employer was trying to keep him from driving himself home -- this should have been a no-brainer and the deputies should have found a better way to handle this situation.
*Update: New details have been released and it appears Haake had fallen down some stairs at home before going to work that day and he was actually tased 3 times before being thrown to the ground and handcuffed. He quickly became unresponsive and they performed CPR for 20 minutes before they removed his handcuffs.
By now most of you have seen the "don't tase me bro" video, watched morons like Brian Kilmeade from Fixed Noise endorse the use of tasers and brutal violence against protesters or heard of the growing number of incidences involving tasers around the country. This video, of what should have been a routine traffic stop in Utah, ended up with a young father face down on the highway with his screaming, pregnant wife and young child in the car while 50,000 volts of electricity shot through his body. He was tased and immediately arrested -- all without having been read his rights or warned that he was in danger of being tased.
The driver, Jared Massey, refused to sign a speeding ticket because he believed he had slowed down before his vehicle passed the speed limit sign. The officer became visibly upset and that's where things went downhill. More details from ABC News.
It appears that our happy go lucky UCLA taser man has a history.
The UCLA police officer videotaped last week using a Taser gun on a student also shot a homeless man at a campus study hall room three years ago and was earlier recommended for dismissal in connection with an alleged assault on fraternity row, authorities said.... In May 1990, he was accused of using his nightstick to choke someone who was hanging out on a Saturday in front of a UCLA fraternity.
