17-year-old epileptic tasered (12x !!) for having a seizure

[Facial_King]

I can't say I'm surprised to see this happened in Texas:

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_Taser_0518.3dae5bb.html

So, what do ya think?

 

[jamrak]

I think that, in consideration of the contribution you've made to posting taser related news with indefatigable pertinacity, you can easily change your middle name to Taser_King :angels:

:wave2:

 

[Peter Gazinya]

Indefatigable pertinacity?

Post of the week, right there.

jamrak has a point. Do you have a "google alert" for all things taser?

None of this surprises me, most cops are just dip shit rednecks who got beat up in high school. Before these fucking tasers came along they actually had to use knowledge, tact, and some mental and physical skills. These tasers are just their fucking crutch and probably should be outlawed.

 

[BlueBalls]

Im sorry but thats so funny.

 

[dave_rhino]

Do they let any old retard become a police officer these days?

 

[sputnikgirl]

^^yes, you don't even have to have a criminal justice degree where i'm from...they had an ad in the newspaper a few weeks back wanting people with a GED between the ages of 18-35 to apply for the police force...granted, i live in a rural area, but i'm sure it's hard to get officers to work for what little salary they get paid

 

[gunslingingbird]

Indefatigable pertinacity?

Post of the week, right there.

I second that!

Before these fucking tasers came along they actually had to use knowledge, tact, and some mental and physical skills.

That's right. Before tasers, they used to get about 4 or 5 cops together and beat the living fuck out of people with their night sticks.

 

[Becks...poamr]

I hope the police get sued and they have to pay up.

Asshats.

 

[Peter Gazinya]

I hope the police get sued and they have to pay up.

Asshats.

I hear ya but it's not like the officers pay out of their own pocket, it comes from taxpayers. It's like saying "I hope the citizens of Jerkwater, TX get their asses sued off"

 

[gunslingingbird]

I hear ya but it's not like the officers pay out of their own pocket, it comes from taxpayers. It's like saying "I hope the citizens of Jerkwater, TX get their asses sued off"

If the police department gets sued, what you said is true. If a lawsuit names each cop personally, the money comes from each cop's personal assets.

 

[Facial_King]

If they did taser this guy TWELVE times, that's way excessive, and I think some criminal charges of some sort are warranted. Aside from that though, they ought to lose their jobs and be locked out of any law enforcement jobs in the future.

 

[Facial_King]

Indefatigable pertinacity?

Post of the week, right there.

jamrak has a point. Do you have a "google alert" for all things taser?

None of this surprises me, most cops are just dip shit rednecks who got beat up in high school. Before these fucking tasers came along they actually had to use knowledge, tact, and some mental and physical skills. These tasers are just their fucking crutch and probably should be outlawed.

No, I really don't have a google alert or anything for these stories. All of these stories I've just come across on the Yahoo news pages (which collect news from a bunch of different mainstream sources). But I have noticed the recurring theme of these stories, for sure....

 

[senob44]

I agree, fuck these tasers!!! I think they should have shot him instead. j/k

Seriously, 12 times is way too much. I think tasering him once or twice was warranted, and when that didn't work, they should have stopped.

I think maybe next time he has a seizure, his parents and loved ones can take him to the hospital instead, because we can't have him punching those that are trying to help him. But since that will never happen, I don't know what they really can do, other than roll with the punches and lay off the taser. Maybe he could have some sort of medic-alert bracelet that can alert the paramedics to his combative nature during seizures.

 

[Facial_King]

I agree, fuck these tasers!!! I think they should have shot him instead. j/k

Seriously, 12 times is way too much. I think tasering him once or twice was warranted, and when that didn't work, they should have stopped.

I think maybe next time he has a seizure, his parents and loved ones can take him to the hospital instead, because we can't have him punching those that are trying to help him. But since that will never happen, I don't know what they really can do, other than roll with the punches and lay off the taser. Maybe he could have some sort of medic-alert bracelet that can alert the paramedics to his combative nature during seizures.

He's having an epilectic seizure, so he can't control himself at all. Expecting compliance from a person who's experiencing what's basically a crisis event, where they're literally out of control due to no fault of their own, doesn't seem fair to me. Even one or two shocks with a taser - which apparently is ineffective in gaining compliance, and may have a dangerous interaction with the nervous system of the person having the seizure - is not warranted in my opinion. Use of the taser in that situation is equivalent to a pointless punishment.

The idea for the bracelet seems like a good one, though. It would need to be pretty distinctive though (so as not to confuse it with these trendy Lance Armstrong-type rubber things), and recognizable from a distance of at least one flailing arm. Maybe there is already such a thing?

 

[senob44]

I agree with what you say that he really shouldn't have been tasered at all, except for one thing. From the story, it seemed like the paramedics and police weren't really sure what was going on with him. There was mention that it could possibly be a drug reaction or just that he was in a frenzy. I think if they knew for sure that it was an uncontrollable seizure, then there is no excuse to use the taser. I just give them the benefit of the doubt on the first one or two tazes that maybe they didn't know for sure. After that it should have been obvious.

 

[Facial_King]

It's possible they didn't know, although the article isn't completely clear on what the boy's brother told the paramedics (other than he was claustrophobic). It does say that the epileptic kid was muttering gibberish. It also says that the paramedics had him in a gurney with his legs strapped in. I can understand why they might have felt compelled to call police but looking at the pic of the kid, he isn't a muscle-bound human weapon. Making the (fairly safe) assumption that the kid was still strapped in to the gurney from the waist down when the cops arrived, I can't understand how or why the team wouldn't be able to restrain him (his arms) without utilizing a taser (or a night stick, or pepper spray).

But this isn't the first time something like this has happened (Yes, I googled seizure and taser together):

http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/epilepsyusa/beloungea.cfm
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/20/diabteic_tasering/
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/20/2062.asp
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004136915_apwataserlawsuit21.html?syndication=rss

This case is clearly quite a bit more complicated, but I found the vid (2nd link, for those interested) disturbing, in any event:
http://www.wingcomltd.com/Articles/taser.htm
http://digg.com/lbv.php?id=3699639&ord=1

(Obviously the text was done by someone connected to the deceased, but the vid itself appears to be the unedited police vid - and I can't see HOW it would exonerate the large group of officers clearly involved)

 

[Becks...poamr]

I hear ya but it's not like the officers pay out of their own pocket, it comes from taxpayers. It's like saying "I hope the citizens of Jerkwater, TX get their asses sued off"

I...never thought of that.