Four Teens Struck By Tasers Following Fight Near Miami

[Judi Lynn]

Published Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Four Teens Struck By Tasers Following Fight Near Miami
Action comes days after Miami-Dade department revises stun gun policy.

The Associated Press

AVENTURA -- Four teenagers were hit with Taser stun guns during an altercation with police outside a movie theater, officials said.

A group of teens who were involved in a fight in a movie theater were being led outside by an off-duty police officer Saturday night in this Miami suburb when the officer was attacked by another group of youths, Aventura Police Chief Thomas Ribel said.

More Aventura police showed up at the theater and another altercation took place. Ribel said 11 or 12 people were arrested on charges from trespassing to battery on a police officer, and two officers suffered minor injuries.
(snip)

Ryan Pedro, a Miramar High School student who was arrested but not hit with a Taser, said he and his cousin had just seen a movie when police started ordering them to leave. Pedro said they started to walk outside when police arrested him on a trespassing charge.
(snip/...)

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050118/NEWS/501180342/1004

[Racenut20]

1. We are all so happy here in Florida about

The various Police/Sheriffs/Highway Patrol Departments spending their "Homeland Security" cash grants on stun guns, or teasers as they call them. I suppose that is the relationship? You tease instead of punching someone? So you use a teaser gun instead of shooting them with a 9 mil???? Great.

[oscarmitre]

2. I'm missing something

Where's the problem?

[Racenut20]

3. Some of the victims have been a bit young. Like Jr high kids.

[Red State Rebel]

4. I don't see a problem

It's a temporary disabling electrical shock. I saw a report on these from a local police department and they indicated that since they started using them their reports of injured officers has dropped 100 percent.

I'd much rather see them use this than physically take on suspects.

[Massachusetts]

5. Geheime Staatspolizei tactics

and it figures Ol' Jeb is the gov.

Oh, and how about those Red Sox! (edit)

[lostnfound]

6. Three people died in Florida last month from tasers. nt

[Judi Lynn]

8. Here's a map showing taser deaths up to 2004.

I've been trying to find more recent information, but this is all I've got right now.



I think there were three pre-teen children killed in Florida, also in the last few months, one possibly either 6 or 8 years old, another 10, and can't remember the last. Sick business.

Tasers were only supposed to be used in extreme cases which might have formerly lead to the officer's using a gun, as an attempt to cut down on the wild number of police shootings of unarmed citizens.
That's the way I understood it. Sheesh.

Shot for fighting at a theater? Since I can remember, I've heard of kids fighting at theaters, skating rinks, dances, drive-ins, after school, school athletic events, concerts, you name it. That's not the place for officers stepping in to shoot or tase anyone.

[Red State Rebel]

9. When people choose to be physically violent

in the presence of police, they are choosing a physical response.

If you were at that particular theatre and ended up getting injured by one of those thugs, would you be complaining because the police weren't doing their job in containing the situation?

I think the priority should be to get a violent situation under control before it becomes necessary to use gun.

[lostnfound]

12. Don't underestimate the power of the example being set for society's young

If you were at that particular theatre and ended up getting injured by one of those thugs, I would be complaining that the thugs were not raised better. I would not be blaming it on the police. I do not want to live in a police state.

A taser was recently used on a 10-year old for refusing to stop playing his game boy at school. TO A MAN WITH A HAMMER ALL THE WORLD LOOKS LIKE A NAIL.

We can expect them to be routinely used to control crowds in a few years, perhaps after the economy busts and protests become threatening. It will be like the lottery to determine whether or not it is lethal -- for some, it will be lethal -- and we will shrug our shoulders and say 'oh well'.

The issue is not about the police, it's about some company that saw a way to make money getting their product approved by bribery and corruption, and not testing it, and having no public debate about what kind of society we are shaping for the future.

[DukeBlue]

13. IMHO

Tasers are much safer than a physical fight, K-9 use, or use of a S&W .40 to stop a fight.

I remember people going into Anaphylactic Shock from pepper spray and dying here.

[Occulus]

14. They've killed several people in the past few months.

These things are not 100% safe, and you never know if it'll kill someone until it's used on them.

I don't like this trend at all. Police are muc too happy to use these on a whim.

[ladjf]

7. Sheriff's dept. in Jacksonville, Fl. is purchasing $1.8 million

in TASER to be used by SCHOOL patrol officers. All but two school board members approved.

1. Several deaths have occurred in Georgia as a result of TASER use by police.
2. TASER company is being investigated for giving large stipends (a.k.a. kick backs) to police personnel in cities that have purchased
TASERS.


If a school student were to be killed by a school policeman using TASER, the awards going to the parents would make the recent catholic priest scandals look like a small claims court case.

What are they thinking? Where are the educators in the area? Aside from the risk of lawsuit, has anyone thought about the psychological
impact it would have on the students to see the guards armed with high powered stun guns?

I have been in education for 40 years and have never seen a case of student misbehavior that required police restraint.

[biftonnorton]

10. Student Misbehavior

runs gamut from talking in class to Columbine tragedy. Probably in there somewhere would be a case that requires police restraint.

[ladjf]

11. Might have posted twice. If they use the TASERS 10 times

next year it would cost $180,000 per incident.

[Occulus]

15. A couple years back,

some five year old down south somewhere was cuffed and stuffed for kissing a classmate. It was shocking.

We are treating our schools more and more like prisons and our schoolchildren are being required more and more every year to think and act like "little adults". They're not little adults, of course, and that's where all that punishment logic goes out the window.