Taser Used On Man Trying To Save Pets From Burning Home

[kpete]

Source: WTAE


Taser Used On Man Trying To Save Pets From Burning Home
Homeowner Uses Garden Hose To Fight Flames In North Belle Vernon


NORTH BELLE VERNON, Pa. -- Police said they were forced to use a Taser on a man who was trying to rescue his pets from a house fire in Westmoreland County.

Firefighters learned that 11 exotic snakes were inside one of the two homes that caught fire in North Belle Vernon on Monday.

..................

“I was outside, at the end of the garden hose, trying to spray down the side of the house to keep it from spreading so rapidly,” said Baker.

Police on scene said they tried three times to get him away from the fire to protect him, but he resisted so they were forced to subdue him with a Taser.

Read more: http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/r/24902879/detail.html

[AnArmyVeteran]

1. Sickening what the cops did. I would do everything to save my pets too.

[Warpy]

7. Yeah, but they were trying to save his life

I'd probably get stupid trying to save my cat, too, but I'm not trained to cope with fire and collapsing walls and all the other stuff fire & rescue is trained to do.

[Vincardog]

18. You don't have to deal with so many collapsing walls when you are outside spraying it with a hose

[Warpy]

19. You don't know that.

You also don't know the kind of fire it was.

He really needed to get out of the way and let the professionals do their jobs.

[Vincardog]

20. The professionals weren't there yet. He was soaking the house waiting for the FD to arrive.

Are you happy that the PD TASERED the man to keep him from protecting his own property?

[hlthe2b]

2. Well, I admit to some hypocrisy once I heard it was snakes...

but, I guess one person's pet puppy is another's pet snake?

Damn, though... How wrenching to think they might do this to someone trying to rescue their dog --or their child. I know the firefighters are trying to save that person, but maybe, just maybe, they have a right to risk their life to save what is dear to them. :shrug:

[Downwinder]

3. You must be protected. We may have to kill you to do it. But we will

protect you.

[mikelgb]

4. "but he resisted so they were forced to subdue him with a Taser."

forced my ass who the fuck forced them?

the only one "forced" was the guy forced-by-taser by the police who DECIDED to zap him

[superconnected]

5. +1000

[Supply Side Jesus]

22. or let him go in and suffer injury or death

THAT FUCKING FORCED THEM

[PavePusher]

43. Yeah, who needs freedom of choice when the authorities are here to make your decisions for you? n/t

[Gormy Cuss]

6. Wait, WHAT?

Forced to taser him because he wouldn't let them "protect" him?

[Supply Side Jesus]

28. yup, get the fuck away from a burning structure.

Sometimes protection isn't a cuddly hug

[Gormy Cuss]

38. Tasers aren't cuddly hugs.

They're also not protection.


eta: I see downthread that you think this is acceptable because you get tased in training. Maybe that's why you've lost perspective on how unexpected and unwelcome it is for the rest of us.

[tomhayes]

8. In other news: Man burned alive due to police negligence

Y'all would have been mad about that too.

Should police go back to clubbing people with nightsticks? - it's always the TASER that gets in the news.

[sgsmith]

9. If the guy was outside

Working to save his property and had an escape path if the fire got too much, why shouldn't the police let him use the water hose?

May have been a futile effort to prevent the fire from spreading, but we won't know that will we?

Guess the next thing we'll see is the the homeowners in California being forcefully prevented from trying to save their homes from wildfires.

[_ed_]

13. There's

nothing that makes me worry about our country more than when I hear people reflexively defending the state, and the agents who do violence on its behalf.

[Supply Side Jesus]

23. next time we'll just let him die then

then we can see the "reflexive" reactions at work

[tabasco]

37. It's called freedom.

You're so brainwashed you don't know what it is.

[_ed_]

39. Freedom?

Heard of it? If I want to risk my life, I'll goddamn well do it without interference from the state's executive goons. What's next: will a cop taser me next time I rock climb because I might hurt myself?

I can't believe people on a so-called "progressive" website so reflexively support the government over the individual.

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. The headline is wrong. It should read:

Police Use Taser On Man Trying To Save His Home

He wasn't trying to enter the building - he was outside, spraying his house with his garden hose, in hopes of keeping the fire from spreading BEFORE THE FIREFIGHTERS ARRIVED.

This is nuts.

[valerief]

11. Gee, those tasers really come in handy, don't they? Next they'll be tasering people

at crosswalks who don't move fast enough.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Supply Side Jesus]

34. We are tased at least once a year

and we get the handcuffs slapped on a lot during training at least twice a year. weird...
nice violation of rules btw...

get a clue

[w4rma]

14. He should sue the police for that. (nt)

[Lochloosa]

16. He would lose.

[Supply Side Jesus]

24. +1,000,000,000,000

:thumbsup:

[lumberjack_jeff]

15. "Police stand by while homeowner burns to death. Shocking video at 11."

[d_r]

17. Well thanks so much

"Police said Baker will not be charged with any crime following the Taser incident."

[Supply Side Jesus]

25. They could charge

Interference or other applicable offenses.

[Supply Side Jesus]

21. Cops were justified

While I don't blame the home owner for trying to rescue the pets, he put himself in great harm trying to go into a burning structure. Once the Police came on scene, it became their responsibility and liability. Should they have allowed him to go inside and suffered injury, the Cops would have lost everything for FAILURE to act. They had to physically remove him three times, more than ample warning.

The members shouting their opinions on how horrible the cops were apparently have no idea what a cops responsibilities are. His safety is THEIR responsibility.

[Downwinder]

26. You have a link to "trying to go into a burning structure?"

I did not see the statement in the OP.

[Supply Side Jesus]

27. his statements indicated his intent/efforts to go inside

it is obvious, i can provide a link to the story again if you like.

a nice little wash by the 4th estate goes a long way, i look forward to the report.

[Downwinder]

29. From the OP.

“I was outside, at the end of the garden hose, trying to spray down the side of the house to keep it from spreading so rapidly,” said Baker.

[Supply Side Jesus]

31. and then what happened...

he is just spraying water when the cops tase him? what did they physically do three times? the home owner sure doesn't talk about that for some reason.

[Downwinder]

33. Reading the story the way you do.

The Officers said, "get away from the house. We want to save the lot."

[Supply Side Jesus]

36. LoL

:rofl:

[RamboLiberal]

30. Post it - this is a local story

And nowhere have I seen that this guy wanted to go inside. He was spraying the side of his home which was next to the burning house to try to keep the fire away from his house.

[Supply Side Jesus]

32. his statements indicated his intent/efforts to go inside

[RamboLiberal]

35. Post his statement that proves it

or are you a mind reader?

Damon Baker was tased by a Belle Vernon police sergeant. The sergeant pulled up to the fire scene and saw him trying to put the flames out. The sergeant ordered him to stop, but he refused to listen and the officer tased him.

"I was outside at the end of the garden hose trying to spray down the side of our house to keep it from spreading so rapidly," he said.

"He told me to stop it, told me to get away. I refused. He drug me away.

"He had ahold of my shirt. I slipped out my shirt. I tried to get back to the hose to keep putting water on the house. He kept pushing me back, pushing me back.

http://kdka.com/local/North.Belle.Vernon.2.1898913.html

I sure don't read he wss trying to get in to the house. I also saw local TV interviews with the guy - he sure didn't sound like he was trying to go in to the house.

[_ed_]

41. You're just defending the state

over the individual. It's a false choice: either they let the man burn in the house or they taser him.

Ever heard of de-escalation? If these cops can't control a situation like this without resorting to deadly violence, then they need to find other work. What would these clowns do if they faced a real tense situation, just start spraying bullets everywhere?

[UpInArms]

40. the village had to be destroyed in order to save it

eom

[Lasher]

42. Even Pee Wee Herman saved the snakes.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XvMfQwvThCg/R5Ym7noKMUI/AAAAAAAABxE/Ywgfj8usEYQ/s320/pee-wee+snakes.jpg