To use the Taser or not? Many local PA and NJ police face this question…
Oct 22nd, 2007 | By Michael L. Saile, Jr., Esq. | Category: Blogs, Criminal & TrafficA Philadelphia man was killed a few weeks ago. Actually, it wasn’t a man, it was a 15 year old teenager holding a iron (the kind you use on your clothes, not your tires). The Philadelphia Police were called to the scene for an alleged domestic dispute. The Philadelphia Police shot and killed the boy.
The Philadelphia community was up in arms at the Philadelphia Police for killing the boy. Immediately, questions were asked as to why the Philadelphia Police did not use a less lethal alternative to subdue the boy with the iron. The community claims that pepper spray or at least a Taser could have been utilized to subdue the boy until police could get him under control. It turns out, the Philadelphia Police officers who work the street everyday do not have Tasers. Only upper-ranked officers, who do not usually work the beat, have these Taser weapons. This is probably due to the cost of these alternative weapons.
If you do not know, a Taser is meant to be a non-lethal weapon that delivers a large jolt of electricity to a person. The electric shock is so large that the person falls to the ground and is at least momentarily immobilized. Police departments all over the world are now making use of this tool.
This tool is not perfect though. It has led to many, many deaths. Some people’s bodies are not meant to take an electrical shock of that magnitude. Older people and people with heart problems could easily be killed with this weapon. The problem is that some police officers have been using the weapon more frequently than absolutely needed. Some police officers have been labeled “Taser happy”, using the weapon too often. This type of activity has caused much debate and lawsuits against police departments.
For a local example, a Warwick, Bucks County woman was Tasered during a routine traffic stop. The Warwick Pennsylvania Police suspected this woman to be under the influence of alcohol and asked her to turn the car off. Some kind of argument occurred and the police officer Tasered her five (5) times.
This woman made a claim against the Warwick Police Department alleging that her civil rights were violated. The Warwick Police Department agreed and decided to pay this woman $16,000 for her troubles.
These are two different types of issues facing local PA & NJ police departments. Should police officers use Tasers or not? Are there other less dangerous weapons available to subdue a person? Should police officers be help personally responsible if they clearly break established rules and injure or kill someone? What do you think?
The author of this Law Blog, Bucks County PA & Mercer County, NJ criminal attorney, Michael L. Saile, Jr., Esq. of Saile & Saile LLP, Attorneys-at-Law practices both New Jersey and Pennsylvania criminal, traffic violations, and DUI/DWI/DAI law. Check out our website for DUI penalties. We handle all NJ Municipal Court cases including DUI in the following NJ Municipal Courts: Hopewell Township, Ewing Township, Trenton, Lawrence Township, Hamilton, Pennington, and other Mercer County, Burlington County, and Camden County, NJ courts. We also handle lower bucks county DUI and traffic violation cases in the following towns: Bensalem, Southampton, Richboro, Newtown, Levittown, Langhorne, Doylestown, Warminster, Trevose, Feasterville, Warrington, Bristol, Fallsington, Morrisville, Yardley, New Hope, Holland, Washington Crossing, PA, and other Bucks County courts. We handle DUI cases in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery County, PA. We are located just outside of Philadelphia in lower Bucks County.
i think they should definitely be issued tasers. firearms should only be used when the officer feels that their life is in immediate danger. i’ve never seen a life threatening clothes iron before.
whatever happened to the good old days when cops just beat the crap out of dissidents with their billy clubs?
I wonder what kind of irons it was. Was it a 1920′s iron iron, those things are heavy, or was it a cheap plastic iron that weights less than 1 pound you can get at sears?
Assuming it was a modern less then one pound clothes iron, I do not understand the need to shoot to kill.
Couldnt the police aim for the arm or the leg?
Beisde, it wass only a domestic dispute. The cops should go in with like 5 or 6 officers and overpower the guy.
Aren’t police officers trained in hand to hand combat?
I hate to assume this, but I assume the person shot and killed was black and the officer was white?
The police are out of control! The Philadelphia story and the Warwick Township story are just two examples of their abuse of power. Pepper spray would have done the trick for sure in the Warwick incident and I do not know all of the facts in the Philadelphia story to comment further. What was left out of the summation by Mr. Saile in the Warwick Township case was that the woman who got tasered by the police was originally pulled over for window tint! She did not break any traffic laws nor was she speeding, run a red light, weaving, driving erratically or anything else of that nature when she was pulled over. Only for Window tint! Does Warwick Township have nothing better to do then to bother law abiding citizens for something as stupid as window tint?? There is nothing in the PENDOT rule book and nothing on the PA law books saying what the acceptable amount of window tinting is allowed under any law. You car will pass the state inspection with “illegally” tinted windows, so right there should tell you that there is no rule or law in place for window tinting. The Warwick police go by some rule of thumb that they deemed acceptable and they feel the need to bother people who are not breaking any motor vehicle law other then the fact their windows are too dark for their liking. So now they have to pay for their non-sense finally!! If they had let this woman alone, the whole taser incident would not have occurred. I can see if she ran a red light, was speeding or was weaving in her lane, fine..pull her over, then site her for the moving violation and give her a ticket for the window tint too, but to just stop somebody for window tint should be a crime against the police. I know Warwick Township and nothing goes on there crime wise, so the police look for anything to make money and there is no way to fight the window tint ticket, without paying some sort of money or fine to the township. I am glad that Warwick Township Police got what they had coming to them. I hope they have to pay a whole lot more for their non-sense. Then maybe they will give up this rediculous cause of stopping innocent people for something as dumb as window tint.
Ok i believe the taser thing was to much i agree but with the police but tinted windows are a big issue in the safety of the officer there have been many cases and i searched that troopers and even local cops are being attacked and shot at when approaching a motor vehicle on a traffic stop so i agree with the ticket for the tinted windows really no car should have them because they make visiblity very hard at night and the car behind u cant see the car in front like they should and no if a cop writes a ticket they dont get extra pay on there salary i wish it was like that for when i get through my academy training and start full time but it doesnt and theres no actual number given to officers and if they dont reach it they dont get more pay they have a number the department wants them to reach though which is never very high to reach or impossible to reach