To Gain And Maintain Control

by digby

One shouldn’t second guess authorities. After all, this is America:

Officer Bo Peters is the taser training officer on the Grand Rapids Community College police force.

He’s watched the video of a Lansing police officer firing a taser into a 43-year old man in handcuffs causing the prisoner to fall face first onto the concrete pavement.

“I’m not going to even try to guess what was going through his head at the time,” he says.

Officer Peters isn’t second guessing the actions of the Lansing police officer who fired the taser or his two-week suspension by the Lansing police chief. But he says just because an individual is in handcuffs, doesn’t mean the taser shouldn’t be utilized.

“You are using the taser to gain and maintain control,” says Officer Peters. “If they still pose a threat to themselves and others, the use of the taser could still be appropriate.”

On August 16, 2009 Lansing police were called to end a verbal argument between 43-year-old Rocky Allred and his ex-girlfriend. After escorting Allred out of the woman’s home, the situation escalated because the officer didn’t want the man to get behind the wheel. There was an angry exchange and Allred was arrested. He was tasered while standing in handcuffs surrounded by three officers.

The handcuffed man fell to the ground and broke his jaw, a tooth, and received a cut that needed eight stitches to close.

The officer made a mistake because modern torture techniques require that you not leave any marks or break anything. That would be excessive force. Shooting people full of electricity only causes horrible pain and temporary loss of motor funtion and that’s fine.

h/t to glp

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