Man Tasered for urinating on shop window

[Bluebear]

Police have Tasered a man who ignored directions to stop urinating on Fortitude Valley shop window early this morning.

The 24-year-old Bulimba man was arrested in Brunswick Street Mall about 4.30am and allegedly became violent towards officers.

Capsicum spray was deployed but had little effect, and a Taser was used to subdue the alleged offender.

He is due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on January 18, charged with public nuisance and obstructing police.


http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/man-tasered-for-urinating-on-shop-window/2007/12/24/1198344936956.html

[TwilightGardener]

1. No, he was tasered for becoming violent towards the officers.

[Bluebear]

2. Do write Google news and correct their headlines!

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&ncl=1125333321

[PSPS]

3. This is getting out of hand

Tasers are supposed to be an alternative to lethal force, not an instrument of compliance. The way the cops use them, it's as if they are a law unto themselves -- "do as we say or we pull out our favorite instrument of torture."

In this case, the man was apparently not sufficiently affected by "Capsicum spray," whatever that is. So what would they have done without the taser? Shoot him?

We're hiring either wimpy cops who can't physically subdue a person (even in pairs) or masochistic thugs who have no business being cops.

[Incitatus]

4. The taser is not supposed to be a substitute for a gun

Are you suggesting that if someone pulls a gun on a cop, the cop should use his taser?

[Bluebear]

5. No silly

Point being, tasers are potentially lethal weapons that should be used if an officer's life is threatened, not simply because the suspect is not "compliant" enough for the officer.

[Incitatus]

8. Too bad there isn't a video.

I have seen videos where very large suspects were resisting with violence and tasers were used. In those cases, I agreed, however, I do believe that cops overuse them, and in many cases their decision to use one is outrageous.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

6. pepper spray

The active ingredient in pepper spray is capsaicin, which is a chemical derived from the fruit of plants in the Capsicum genus, including chiles.

[jdadd]

9. A taser can probably be...

operated one handed...police don't have to put down the donut.

[orleans]

15. LOL n/t

[HardWorkingDem]

16. Tasers ARE NOT to be an alternative to lethal force...

and they are an instrument of compliance.

For what it's worth, if a person is not bothered by capsicum spray (pepper spray) then you better look out because more often than not, the person will be one tough cookie.

And why with the juvenile hyperbole of "shoot him" if a taser was not handy?

I think some people around DU should do a google link of people fighting with the police or turn on a little bit of Court TV and watch some clips of what cops have to go through on a regular basis.

[jmowreader]

18. "Capsicum spray" is pepper spray

Sometimes it doesn't work, like if you're on PCP.

Cops really don't like trying to physically subdue people who are on angel dust. You get hurt that way.

[enid602]

7. shocking

Isn't electricity and ANY sort of liquid a bad combination?

[Ken Burch]

10. Isn't it impossible to stop urinating in the middle of the process?

n/t.

[DiverDave]

11. Uh, no, not impossible.

eom

[Ken Burch]

12. Well, excessively difficult then.

And, of course, once the tasers hit, the urine flow would immediately start in again, this time uncontrollably.

[TankLV]

14. Again - NO - quite easy actually - take your hand - get a firm grip - apply pressure. DONE!

Very easy...

[TankLV]

13. Umm - NO. Ever use a tight squeeze? Try it - it works...

[TheMadMonk]

19. It also bloody burns like buggery after just a few seconds.

However from the story I would guess he was pretty much done by the time he was FIRST pepper sprayed and THEN Tazered.

And I don't have much sympathy (like about none at all) for people who use being drunk as an excuse for behaviour that would not be accepted in anyone else.

Intoxication LOWERS inhibitions. It does not ERASE them. People for the most part still know they are doing wrong. Being drunk simply makes it easier to ignore the "voice" saying "bad idea".


What people do when drunk varies greatly from culture to culture. This tells us that drunken behaviour is very much a LEARNED response. In the West an increasingly common LEARNED response is to act like an arsehole. And a violent one at that.

Absent some evidence that these particular cops have a history of less than optimal dealings with the general public I'd call this a fair cop and I hope they throw the book at the bloke.

[depakid]

17. New South Wales is engaging in a review of taser policy

his month, NSW police shocked a man when he lunged at them with a meat cleaver after a two-hour siege in Guildford. After being stunned he fell, breaking his arm, police said. In Queensland this week, police fired a Taser at a man after he would not stop urinating on a shop window. They said they tried other tactics, such as capsicum spray, to no effect.

Last month, a report by the UN Committee Against Torture found Tasers could provoke extreme pain, constitute a form of torture, and in some cases cause death.

The use of Tasers in NSW would not be suspended during the investigation, the spokesman for the Ombudsman's office said. "We are looking into the procedures in place and compliance with them by police. I can't at this time indicate whether we will make a public report on the matter."

There are a quarter of a million Tasers in use worldwide, mostly by prison and police officers in North America.
...........

NSW police consider Tasers a non-lethal option for some officers if other tactics - such as negotiation, batons, or capsicum spray - are inappropriate.

If an officer draws his stun gun, he must warn "Taser, Taser, Taser" before shooting. The suspect can see a red dot on his or her chest.

The Police Association argues Tasers would be more useful to general duties police than to the Riot and Public Order Squad. But some officers are privately concerned police might come to rely on them at the expense of other skills and weapons if they became commonplace, as they are in North America.

The State Government has said there are clear guidelines to ensure Tasers are only used if a suspects pose an immediate risk to themselves, the public or police.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/deaths-trigger-stun-gun-review/2007/12/25/1198345009103.html