skycop

Sure, Bars, nightclubs, locker rooms etc. the f-bomb is no big deal. A Best Buy during the Christmas holiday shopping season is disorderly conduct. I arrested a guy for the same thing at a Long John Silvers, he was pissed because his extra-crispy fish wasn't crispy enough. I told him to chill, he didn't and THOUGHT he could say whatever he wanted. I got a round of applause when I cuffed this guy "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

A histerical woman, dropping the f-bomb several times loudly in a crowded store doesn't warrant a police presence? I go to those type calls on a fairly regular basis. The officer evidently just happened to be there and was requested to intervene by an employee. And she apparently kept dropping the f-bomb and other things once the officer showed up. According to the posted article she was told to settle down several times and refused, causing a crowd to gather, annoyance and alarm to other customers and staff. That is disorderly conduct by the numbers, not a free speech issue. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

Nah, I say they tee-it-up, if they don't then the SA is a political hack. I read the article, please excuse me for not putting alot of confidence in the ACLU or Amnesty International. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

I'll never say never, or 100% things seldom are. But, I've been in the middle of HUNDREDS of situations where control was an issue until we arrived. The vast majority of situations require immediate attention, i.e. control. Once control is established then the situation is on it's way to being solved. Even very minor situations can spiral out of control, I've seen it happen. If we let the situation get out of control then we get blamed for that, the classic catch-22. I'm sure this lady is probably a decent person who got caught up in big misunderstanding. With that said her actions led to her arrest, I addressed that earlier. Could this have been handled better, sure, monday morning quaterbacking is always easy. I do give cudos to the police chief for backing his officer, many chiefs will throw an officer under the bus when things like this get dicey. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

Well heck, Question asked and answered! I wish it was always that easy in here

Aren't these the type of cops you and many in here are constantly complaining about? "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

Were you there? I must have missed the audio portion of the video, you've already started drawing conclusions. Again, how do you know she didn't listen? The officer could have done many things, again we'll see how the case shakes out. This womans actions drew the attention of the officer, I'm assuming the officer was working an off-duty detail at the store, but that is just a guess. It's not a question of surrender, it's a question of control. The officer is a walking, talking consequence. When a situation requires police intervention there is already a certain lack of control to the situation, or else the police would'nt be there. When the police arrive I can almost guarantee they will take control of the situation, not because they dig taking control, it's how they go home at night. Right, wrong or indifferent if this woman would have chilled out, followed directions she probally would have gone home with an apology from the store and a free gift card or something. Instead she apparently continued to rant and rave causing a scene, these things don't happen in a vacuum. My wife is a general manager for a large department store, she says the lack of civility of some people is shocking, over very trivial things. When the cops show up the situation is no longer trivial. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

I can say with some confidence that fighting with the police can be dangerous as well, but that would be common sense which many people lack. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

There are a couple of "if's" here. If the officer was using the taser to "calm down" the woman, that is an absolute misuse of force and I'm sure a violation of policy. If the officer was in the process of making an arrest then the taser use would likely be within policy. Like the chief said, if the taser was used to prevent a physical take down then that fits. Many in here don't like that but sometimes the truth hurts. I don't have much faith in media accounts, we'll see how the court case shakes out. Some of the comments in this thread have been amazing, I've debated this ad nausem. It's not about control (okay maybe a little bit) it's more about a lack of civility. The whole situation could have been avoided if this woman showed some sense in the beginning. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

I wear a VFW tie tack on my uniform, so far no negqative commnents, although I've had a couple people ask me what it is. When I answer they usally thank me for my service, it's nice to live in a (somewhat) red state. Some of our other guys where tie tacks with what branch of service they were in, again no complaints (yet). "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

It's funny, My older sister and I are in the same boat, I'm the screaming liberal, she is a conservative..... Really, we are in the same situation, makes for good conversation at holiday dinners. Me, cop and military guy (what a combo). Her, psychologist and (somewhat) a bleeding heart liberal. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

Uhhhhh............ Move this to SC, maybe some of those peeps will finally cut me a break!! "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

I've always wanted an AK I've got an SKS but, the AK is THE assualt rifle. Fun to shoot and historical all at the same time. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

Aw, come on Bill, I mean I've seen Austin Powers, aa...a.....and I have a British friend... Very well put, .............from you........ "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

No more dangerous than other uses of force, I pull a baton, bad guy pulls a gun etc. Good tactics SHOULD prevent that from happening. Tactics and skydiving have something in common, in rare circumstances one can do everything right, and still end up dead. No, essentially you are using a huge bluff, if someone calls you on it, then it causes more problems than it solves. Also now the weapon is out, not secured in the holster in case the situation turns physical. The bottom line is that the weapon is out, you should already be justified in it's use should the situation arise. The taser does have that effect. The red-dot on the chest is a great compliance tool. Plus if it's used it falls in the physical force catagory, and it doesn't leave a small bloody hole on one side, a large gaping hole on the other. A fine line with the time factor, I think we both agree on the communication aspect. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

Then there would be a much larger "rash" of suspect and officer injury. In departments that started using tasers there have been drops in suspect and officer injury in the 40-80% range. The taser fits between empty handed and physical force, sometimes between physical and deadly. There are times it comes directly after verbal, such as preventing a physical confrontation at side of a busy highway. I'm not speaking of this situation specifically just in general. I've stated in the Utah case the trooper went to the taser too early, Austin Texas as well IMHO to the extreme. I've said that technology does not replace communication skills. Every situation is different, all it takes is hesitation for a split second then deadly force may have to be used. It comes down to training and supervision. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

I absolutely agree in this case. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

There is a great video taken in Yuma Az dealing with that issue. A REALLY big drunk guy and a smaller deputy, the deputy keeps retreating as the big guy says "I'm going to kick your ass". The big guy says shoot me as he advances, finally the bad guy says "fuck it, I'll shoot you" and walks toward his house. The deputy hit him with the taser, and game over. I had my jaw broken in 1989, after the bad guy broke my jaw, he got me in a head lock. I started to get dizzy and I thought I was going to pass out. I assure you, I was about half a second from shooting this guy when I got real pissed. I shook loose and we duked for a while before my backup arrived. I ended up breaking his collar bone with nothing but my arms and fists. Now I WOULD get sued for that. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

You do realize that I only work 8hrs a day. If I would have known the stigma, I would have came up with a different handle. Dirk Diggler was already taken............. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

Uhhh..............hmmmm......... Dude, do we need to have a talk...... "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

Another, tried to do this pic in the first post. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

Okay, It's just my back, but he's taking the leap. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

No, shows they are not perfect however the alternative is worse. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

WOW, I hear crickets now on this thread. DSE did a service to detractors by speaking the truth. The one thing common in all these threads is compliance. Some are incapable due to mental issues, that is another thread. Others choose to argue or fight, again a losing proposition. Yesterday in a nearby town, a troubled young man drew a knife and came at the police. A taser was deployed and was ineffective, the kid kept coming and got shot by the officers. Luckily a non-fatal wound. This is a the perfect scenario for taser use. My guess would be the taser malfunctioned or electrical continuity was lost, that is just a guess. The kids lawyer is already claiming excessive force, soooo........it's the proverbial shit sandwich, and guess who is the meat. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

Yep, after he took his whole family hostage. He let them go, stepped on his porch and blew his brains out in front of us (I was a SWAT guy at the time). Very frustrating when you have a 3 year old girl with her hymen broken and you can't prove shit, all the while the family is covering for each other. The child is too small to tel you who did it. A four month old infant I tried to give CPR to, the child was gone, but still alive enough to aspirate in my mouth. We had a bridge jumper and another attempted suicide going on at the same time. It was two hours before I could clean up. And that only happened because I was at the hospital checking on the suicide attempts. Your post was better than I could have ever put it. The above examples have all happened personally to me, most of them within the last six years I've been a supervisor. I have plenty more, these are the ones you touched on. I'd make this post longer but I've got to leave shortly. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"