Shush police, get tasered.

[naterator]

Another day, another taser tale:

Mr. Chappel was cited for disorderly conduct. On the citation, Trooper Osrodowski wrote: "defendant did create offensive condition by an act which serves no legitimate purpose to wit: the defendant did in a Yellow Cab shush a trooper while the trooper was givin [sic] him verbal commands to exit the vehicle."

So offend a cop, get 50,000 volts, anybody care to defend this, or can we all agree for once that this was excessive?

Spoiler :

A Washington County man who was asleep in the back of a cab claims he was shocked with a Taser because he "shushed" a state trooper when the man tried to wake him.

Phillip S. Chappel, 29, of Washington, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the state police, as well as Trooper Jeffrey Osrodowski, claiming the officer had no reason to take aggressive action against him.

On Aug. 8, 2008, Mr. Chappel and a friend attended a pre-season Steelers football game, and then they "continued to enjoy a post game celebration."

Early the next morning, the men hired a cab to take them back to Washington, but both men fell asleep during the trip.

According to the lawsuit, the cab driver, presumably, was unable to wake them.

So, he drove them to the state police barracks on Murtland Avenue in Washington, arriving just after 2:20 a.m.

"When the trooper attempted to wake Mr. Chappel, he 'shushed' the trooper and fell back asleep," the lawsuit said.

The trooper again tried to wake him, and Mr. Chappel "shushed" him again.

At that point, the lawsuit said, Trooper Osrodowski fired his Taser at the sleeping man.

The complaint said that the Taser sent 50,000 volts of electricity through Mr. Chappel's body and argues that officers are trained to use the weapon only when subjects are resisting arrest or being aggressive.

"At no time did Chappel pose any threat to the officer or to himself or others," the lawsuit said.

Mr. Chappel was cited for disorderly conduct. On the citation, Trooper Osrodowski wrote: "defendant did create offensive condition by an act which serves no legitimate purpose to wit: the defendant did in a Yellow Cab shush a trooper while the trooper was givin [sic] him verbal commands to exit the vehicle."

The charge was later dismissed by a magisterial district judge.

Mr. Chappel claims he sustained a variety of injuries in the incident, including burns, numbness, scarring and post-traumatic stress.

He also notes in his lawsuit that he's had an implanted pacemaker since he was 13 months old.

The suit includes civil rights claims for violating Mr. Chappel's First Amendment rights to freedom of expression, as well as retaliation and battery.

 

[Red Door]

BUT HE WAS A THREAT BECAUSGe HE WAS GOING TO WAKE UP AND KILL THE COPS.

No, just kidding, let's be serious, that was a bit excessive.

 

[warpus]

The training cops receive for taser use really needs to be re-examined. This should be a last resort tool, only used when somebody is resisting arrest - and it is hard to apprehend him otherwise. It should not be a fun tool for trigger-happy cops to use cause they're lazy.

 

[Truronian]

This is clearly police brutality, lets just be glad such incidents are rare enough that they still are considered news.

 

[GoodGame]

Shame that it wouldn't be legal for the cabbie to just have robbed the two passengers. Would have served them right.

 

[Ayn Rand]

Can't judge, because the article quite lazily didn't bother to put in the police's side of events. It's amazing how much of a difference there can be between the report of a drunk and that of a police officer.

I'm not taken in by the version of events put forward in a lawsuit that is trying to grab compensation.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Western police is so brutal, yet the West dares to criticise our Russian police American corporate overlords in their delusion are planning at that very moment to invade Russia and institute a police force that would taser Russians to death

 

[bestrfcplayer]

Really? ANOTHER taser story? I thought we had enough of them already.

 

[Virote_Considon]

Well, if it woke the man up...

 

[Samson]

Can't judge, because the article quite lazily didn't bother to put in the police's side of events. It's amazing how much of a difference there can be between the report of a drunk and that of a police officer.

I'm not taken in by the version of events put forward in a lawsuit that is trying to grab compensation.

Would you agree that if the guy was either close to or actually asleap and was tazered then it is police brutality?

 

[Frank Drebin]

i'd rather believe a whore is still virgin than trust a police report.

 

[negZero]

I can 50000 volts is meaningless its the amps that tell how much of punch those volts will give. When will you people learn that basic science lesson. Also why did the cab driver go to police to wake 2 guys up way not you know find a heavy metal band, or recordings of the South Africa World Cup that should have woken them up.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Can't judge, because the article quite lazily didn't bother to put in the police's side of events. It's amazing how much of a difference there can be between the report of a drunk and that of a police officer.

I'm not taken in by the version of events put forward in a lawsuit that is trying to grab compensation.

The typical conservative appeal to authority. Yes, we can trust them to tell us the truth, but not the grasping civilians!

 

[Winner]

The training cops receive for taser use really needs to be re-examined. This should be a last resort tool, only used when somebody is resisting arrest - and it is hard to apprehend him otherwise. It should not be a fun tool for trigger-happy cops to use cause they're lazy.

I hope our crops never get their hands on tazers, that would be a disaster. They're barely mentally capable of handling a baton.

 

[bhsup]

Tempted to side with the cops on this one. Why should the cop risk trying to physically remove the drunkard (possibly stoned hopped up on God knows what druggie loser as well) and risk physical injury without first incapacitating him.

 

[Bugfatty300]

The typical conservative appeal to authority. Yes, we can trust them to tell us the truth, but not the grasping civilians!

A grasping civilian who was piss drunk at the time...

I'm split on this.

The only other option was to climb into the car and drag them out which puts you in an extremely vulnerable state and well tasers are supposed to be used to in order to avoid physical confrontation. They aren't supposed to be last resort. (The last resort is the sidearm)

 

[Traitorfish]

Tempted to side with the cops on this one. Why should the cop risk trying to physically remove the drunkard (possibly stoned hopped up on God knows what druggie loser as well) and risk physical injury without first incapacitating him.

Because he's an American police officer, not the goddamn KGB. They're meant to be a bit better than that.

 

[Formaldehyde]

I miss the good ole days when the cops would have prodded them with batons to wake them up. Or perhaps they would have used a slightly more creative technique, such as employing a portable air horn for maximum comedic relief.

But the overwhelming weapon of choice for getting even with those who piss cops off is now the taser. Who would have thought that nearly every cop in the US would now be issued the equivalent of a cattle prod to help assure immediate compliance with their every whim?

 

[Bugfatty300]

Taser vs physical force

I don't really see a difference. People die from complications scuffling with police and people die from complications after being shocked by police. Both are violent acts of force. One can result in a policeman being disarmed and murdered with his own gun. The other can occasionally result in death of a suspect who could have preexisting condition.

Would the trooper have been gentile and peaceful when he yanked the drunks out of the car and onto the pavement? Would the drunks have fought back? Is physical violence safe for a pacemaker?

 

[dosed150]

I hope our crops never get their hands on tazers, that would be a disaster. They're barely mentally capable of handling a baton.

great typo there, ive got an image of an army of corn running round the czech republic whacking people with batons