Friday, January 1, 2010

How Quaint

The 9th Court of Appeals has ruled that the police do not have the right to torture citizens they find inconvenient with Tasers:
A federal appeals court on Monday issued one of the most comprehensive rulings yet limiting police use of Tasers against low-level offenders who seem to pose little threat and may be mentally ill.

In a case out of San Diego County, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals criticized an officer who, without warning, shot an emotionally troubled man with a Taser when he was unarmed, yards away, and neither fleeing nor advancing on the officer.
(emphasis mine)

I'm sure that some will find this an outrage. After all, aren't police supposed to use potentially lethal force on people who don't comply immediately, like the kid who did not obey orders to get up because he had a broken back?

Hoocoodanode?

Needless to say, this cop still has his job, because, after all, law enforcement investigates itself in such instances.

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