Ah, St Louis.

[theweaselking]

What the police officer and the rapper agree on is clear: Ali Jones was driving his Corvette on a learner's permit with expired plates, he made an illegal lane change, and got pulled over.

The police officer then arrested him rather than issuing a ticket, Jones became verbally agitated and demanded an explanation, and, when he was handcuffed and in the back seat of the patrol car and completely incapable of resisting, the officer hit him with his taser.

46 times - or, at least, leaving 46 separate, distinct electrical burns.

The cop also claims that Jones tried to kick him and that he damaged the police car. The police department has not released the video they have of the traffic stop to confirm this[1]. He also claims that he struck Jones only once, although the distinct pattern of burns all over Jones' sides and back seem to prove that to be a lie.


[1]: And I shouldn't HAVE to say this, but I will anyway for the inevitable person who will try to claim this is Ali's fault for kicking the cop: Even *if* the cop is telling the truth and Jones kicked him and Jones kicked the cop, the cop is *still wrong* for hitting a helpless prisoner 46 times with a taser.

Comments

[unnamed525.livejournal.com]

Maybe he "kicked" him when he got tazed and his muscles reacted out of his control ...

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Possible, but not the point. I'm willing to accept 100% that Jones really did try to attack the cop while handcuffed and tried to damage the car, for the sake of argument. Even if that's true, the cop is still wrong.

[lots42.livejournal.com]

???

I've seen COPS. People can and do resist and/or freak out while handcuffed. While in and out of the back of a police car.

[mazarinade.livejournal.com]

Perhaps not wrong the first time, the full facts are not yet in evidence (and handcuffed does not mean helpless in all cases) but the 45 times after that? Criminal.

Fortunately, the video will Tell All.

I liked the euphemism 'Preliminary Investigation', though, for 'We asked the cop'.

[torrain.livejournal.com]

Thank you for putting a smile on my face, though I suspect it was unintentional.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

I thought of a solution to this. Design the taser to give a minor shock to the police officer, that way they'll only use it when needed.

[torrain.livejournal.com]

*raises hand* I'd like to come down firmly on the side of *not* requiring officers of the law to suffer muscle spasms while attempting to perform their duty, thanks?

[zenten.livejournal.com]

How about squirting something icky smelling on their shirt?

[ryusen.livejournal.com]

Have it record/transmit a date, time, and possibly GPS coordinates, when ever fired .p

[zenten.livejournal.com]

That requires their boss to give a damn though.

[torrain.livejournal.com]

Why would you do anything icky to a cop who's doing his job?

[torrain.livejournal.com]

Who is required to give a damn if using a taser just makes them smell bad?

Also, why are you assuming it will only be their *boss* who gives a damn? I see no evidence that Taschner's superior officer was going out of his way to spread the news story, and people seem to be putting effort into circulating it anyway.

[aimisdirty.livejournal.com]

Most LEOs have to be hit by LTL devices before they are allowed to use them. When I did my private LTL course, even, I got the pepper spray and taser both used on me.

[aimisdirty.livejournal.com]

Meh. The investigation has not been concluded, so it is impossible to say either way. I highly doubt that this was a case of the police officer torturing someone with a taser. He simply may have not left it in contact for long enough to put the suspect out of commission. Or, the suspect may have yanked away repeatedly before it was in contact for long enough.

Tasers aren't magical devices that you can brush against someone to stop them. You have to run the current through them for a few seconds. It sounds like the officer was using it as a contact device. Would it be better if there were only one set of burns from the hooks shooting into the flesh/clothing of the suspect?

By the way: Taser burns are burns - but they aren't that bad. It's much easier to use accidental excessive force with a baton.

Or... y'know... not.

[chrisrw109.livejournal.com]

While a taser isn't a magical device, taser burns are a direct result of the transfer of current i.e. you don't get significant burns left behind unless significant current is transferred. Also Tasers don't do a gradual ramp-up Contact = Energy Release and the effects are almost always immediate. In fact, leaving the Taser in prolonged contact with a suspect is also dangerous/excessive, and the issue even here isn't the burns it's the excessive force and the risk to the suspect from Tasing them an excessive number of times due to the damage that can do and the chance they can hurt themselves.

So, giving equal credence to both the officer and Ali the officer was way over the line. (And this is coming from someone from a law enforcement family)

Re: Or... y'know... not.

[aimisdirty.livejournal.com]

Your conclusions, knowing nothing about the case beyond a media report, astound me. Because of course, news media never /ever/ lies or reports inaccurately.

(And this is coming from someone who has direct experience with the aforementioned device and violent suspects who try to bullshit their way out of things later.)