Legal Commentary

Police Misconduct Reports

By TChris

Raw Story collects a number of recent incidents of misused tasers, including an appalling account of police who tasered a 16 year old 19 times after he fell from a highway overpass. The boy had a broken back, which might explain why he refused to obey police commands and why he was making incoherent statements that officers apparently regarded as threatening.

The headline story in the Raw Story article concerns a San Marcos, Texas officer who stopped a man for speeding. The driver tried to explain that his dog was choking to death and he was rushing the dog to a vet. The officer's compassionate response:

"It's a dog, it's OK. You can get another one. Relax."

The dog died during the 15 minutes it took Officer Michael Gonzalez to write a citation. Moral of the story: if your dog (or other family member) needs immediate medical attention, don't stop for the police. No jury will convict you of eluding under those circumstances, and your family member is more likely to survive if you don't stop.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on August 18, 2008 (boomark / email).