Hundreds mourn Tasered Miami graffiti artist

[MEGATRON]

lmao at capital offense.  Stephen must be bored as he is trying awfully hard to stir something up in this thread.  It is unfortunate that the dude died from being tased, but if he had simply obeyed the police officers, use of the taser would have never been considered.  Regardless, my guess is that will not stop Stephen from calling everyone who disagrees with him stupid.

[thelakelander]

I really don't see what all the commotion is over this (on whether the kid committed a criminal act or not).  The general lesson to take away from this is to not vandalize property that isn't yours.  Everything else could have been avoided by that simple act.

With that said, is using a taser in a situation like this necessary?  Are tasers supposed to be killing people?

[MEGATRON]

But apparently you think that cops are also allowed to kill people for running or 'disobeying' them.

You are the one being stupid here, Stephen.

[MEGATRON]

Perhaps I am.  Would you care to explain what you meant by this comment?:

Should have tried obeying the police officers.

Yeah, I meant he should have obeyed the police and not run.  How is that so difficult for you to understand?

[TheCat]

We had an incident of "excited delirium" near us a couple of months ago that fortunately turned out very differently.

We heard shouting and a crashing noise outside and looked out from our upstairs windows to see a young man wearing only underwear rolling around on the ground, waving his arms and shouting.  He was sweating profusely and was very flushed.  He had actually pulled a door in a nearby vacant house off it's hinges and broke the lock just by pulling the door knob.

JSO arrived very quickly as well as an ambulance.  When he started to struggle with them, they backed away and just blocked his path by surrounding him from a few feet away.  The officers talked with him very calmly for a while and when he got calmer, persuaded him to get on a gurney so that he could be taken to the hospital.  As they rolled him away he was waving his arms and shouting that he loved the world.

I was very impressed with how the JSO officers handled the situation.  They did not get violent with him or use their tasers.  They seemed to understand his condition and how to deal with it.

Turned out later that he lived not far away and had taken some drug.

I had never heard of excited delirium before and had I not seen this incident it would have sounded fishy to me.

It's refreshing to hear when our police handle situations with wisdom!

[carpnter]

I really don't see what all the commotion is over this (on whether the kid committed a criminal act or not).  The general lesson to take away from this is to not vandalize property that isn't yours.  Everything else could have been avoided by that simple act.

With that said, is using a taser in a situation like this necessary?  Are tasers supposed to be killing people?

The investigation will determine whether the use of the taser was warranted.  There is an allegation that the kid charged at the cops

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57597515/fla-teen-dies-after-being-shocked-by-police/

If that is true then the use of the taser was justified. 

The fact remains that had the kid not been vandalizing the building he'd still be alive today.  Sure it was a misdemeanor but the cops saw him vandalizing the building so it is their job to arrest him.

There is risk with anything the police use, the taser is the safest available option they have.  The goal is to reduce the risk to the officer without the officer having to use his firearm. 

[TheCat]

This thread is disheartening. It's a bit unbelievable, this level of cold heartedness.

How is this kid's death justifiable? Because he drew one letter on a wall? Because he ran from the police? So, kill him?

The opinions shared on this thread are the type of attitudes that scare me the most when I think on the future of our country (and our city). These positions demonstrate a distinct lack of a moral compass that is then justified, somehow, by worshipful attitudes towards murder, punishment and prison.

[MEGATRON]

Perhaps I am.  Would you care to explain what you meant by this comment?:

Should have tried obeying the police officers.

Yeah, I meant he should have obeyed the police and not run.  How is that so difficult for you to understand?

why should he have done that?

So, in Stephen's world, its perfectly OK for criminals to flee from the police when they are caught violating the law. 

[MEGATRON]

This thread is disheartening. It's a bit unbelievable, this level of cold heartedness.

How is this kid's death justifiable? Because he drew one letter on a wall? Because he ran from the police? So, kill him?

The opinions shared on this thread are the type of attitudes that scare me the most when I think on the future of our country (and our city). These positions demonstrate a distinct lack of a moral compass that is then justified, somehow, by worshipful attitudes towards murder, punishment and prison.

You are confusing the issues.  No one has sad that the kid dying is not a tragedy.  No one.  The police did not try to kill him (notwithstanding Stephen's attempt to paint this as some sort of cold blooded murder).  They tried to apprehend a criminal fleeing from them.  Unfortunately, it appears that the use of the taser, in this instance, may have caused the death of the criminal.  The sad thing, and the point I have been trying to make, is that his death could have been avoided if he had simply not resisted the arrest.

[MEGATRON]

Perhaps I am.  Would you care to explain what you meant by this comment?:

Should have tried obeying the police officers.

Yeah, I meant he should have obeyed the police and not run.  How is that so difficult for you to understand?

why should he have done that?

So, in Stephen's world, its perfectly OK for criminals to flee from the police when they are caught violating the law.

That doesnt even remotely sound like an answer to the question.

Frankly, I am not sure what question you are asking.  Maybe this is the answer for which you are looking: do not resist arrest.

[MEGATRON]

This thread is disheartening. It's a bit unbelievable, this level of cold heartedness.

How is this kid's death justifiable? Because he drew one letter on a wall? Because he ran from the police? So, kill him?

The opinions shared on this thread are the type of attitudes that scare me the most when I think on the future of our country (and our city). These positions demonstrate a distinct lack of a moral compass that is then justified, somehow, by worshipful attitudes towards murder, punishment and prison.

I don't get the impression anyone is saying that the death is justified. I highly doubt cops use tasers with the intent to kill. I think people are saying it was the kids choice to run as opposed to comply with the officers request. As someone mentioned, the cops job is to try to apprehend someone the see commuting a crime. Which is what they tried to do with a device that is not intended to kill someone.

I would disagree with you here, apache.

Should have tried obeying the police officers.

Yep, Stephen trying too hard.

[MEGATRON]

Perhaps I am.  Would you care to explain what you meant by this comment?:

Should have tried obeying the police officers.

Yeah, I meant he should have obeyed the police and not run.  How is that so difficult for you to understand?

why should he have done that?

So, in Stephen's world, its perfectly OK for criminals to flee from the police when they are caught violating the law.

That doesnt even remotely sound like an answer to the question.

Frankly, I am not sure what question you are asking.  Maybe this is the answer for which you are looking: do not resist arrest.

or what?

Or sometimes you may get tased.

[MEGATRON]

so then cops do have the right to kill you?

I'm just going to stop now.  Let me know when you want to have a sincere discussion that does not involve gross simplification of an issue.

[thelakelander]

I really don't see what all the commotion is over this (on whether the kid committed a criminal act or not).  The general lesson to take away from this is to not vandalize property that isn't yours.  Everything else could have been avoided by that simple act.

With that said, is using a taser in a situation like this necessary?  Are tasers supposed to be killing people?

The investigation will determine whether the use of the taser was warranted.  There is an allegation that the kid charged at the cops

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57597515/fla-teen-dies-after-being-shocked-by-police/

If that is true then the use of the taser was justified. 

The fact remains that had the kid not been vandalizing the building he'd still be alive today.  Sure it was a misdemeanor but the cops saw him vandalizing the building so it is their job to arrest him.

There is risk with anything the police use, the taser is the safest available option they have.  The goal is to reduce the risk to the officer without the officer having to use his firearm. 

I've never been tased and hope I never have to.  However, I've always been under the impression that they aren't intended to kill people. Am I wrong in this assessment?

[Liberals Are Evil]

Its ridiculous that anyone would think that the police were trying to kill the vandal by using a Taser on him.  Tasers have been used on tens of thousands people, including every cop that carries one.  People also die from pepper spray.  The Justice Department has documented hundreds of deaths by pepper spray.  A few years ago, the ACLU pressed California's Supreme Court to classify pepper-spray as dangerous and cruel, likening it to "a kind of chemical cattle prod on nonviolent demonstrators resisting arrest." The organization further claimed that its use "constitutes excessive force and violates the Constitution."

Are we supposed to take pepper spray away from cops, and civilians?

The bottom line is when you do a crime, you must be prepared to face the consequences, even those unintended. I remember several years ago, police were chasing a graffiti "artist" (vandal) in New York.  While being chased, he ran in front of a cab and was killed.  Of course, people blamed the police.  No blame put on the vandal.

I know that those of the liberal bent (and I do mean bent) don't feel that anyone needs to be responsible for anything.  Its never their fault.  Its circumstances, a lousy childhood, a mental disorder, someone bullied them, and on and on and on.

Maybe liberals will win.  Maybe responsibility will be a thing of the past and anyone suggesting that people take responsibility for their actions will be sanctioned and ostracized.  After all, the police could have just said, "Won't you please stop and come with us?  We know its not your fault.  You are just expressing yourself on someone else's property.  They should appreciate your art.  No one is angry with you."

I'm sure he would have quietly joined the police in the back of their squad car.

You damn liberals!