How should law enforcement officers handle criminals/mentally ill peop

[sideshow]

I voted for number three so as not to offend anyone.

[Topaz]

Well, criminals are one group and mentally ill is another. If you are talking about what happened in Vancouver, I wonder if the guy was having a panic attack of some sort? I think if someone had been there that could have talk his language he would have been calm down some. I think the taser should only be use as a last resort because the police don't know if the person has health problems that would lead to them dying if they were hit by a taser. Each police department, should have a professional to deal with mental ill people and probably martial arts could be use to subdue the person without killing them.

[fellowtraveller]

cops should:

1. ensure their personal safety

2. ensure the safety of the public

3. limit the damage to the crook/nutjob, but never at the expense of 1 and 2 above.

[Drea]

I think what's happened since the Taser became a tool... the police are now lazy. They don't have to physically subdue the subject they just point the taser and shoot, easy peasy. Being a police officer is a dangerous job. If you are afraid, don't become an officer.

Now imagine if our firefighters decided their jobs were too dangerous -- "sorry but we are not going to save your baby, it's just too dangerous for our firefighters". "Here we'll send in this body sniffer robot -- it'll clamp right around the baby (but it's safe don't worry!) and drag him out of there". See now no one has to go in to a burning building and firefighters can be cowards too!

Firefighters don't become firefighters if they are afraid of tall buildings or fire. Police officers should not become police officers if they are afraid of conflict.

[Oleg Bach]

I voted for number three so as not to offend anyone.

Crimminals and deranged people do what they please anyway. They are called politicians. BUT - they know how not to get bullish at the airport and to keep a low profile while they are going about their dirty buisness. Far as the folks you are talking about - I say Morphine - huge amounts to be placed in the water and freeze the bastards brains into a passive dreamy state...jeeez I hope the mission in Afghanistan is successful - hate to use synthetic means.

[bush_cheney2004]

...Firefighters don't become firefighters if they are afraid of tall buildings or fire. Police officers should not become police officers if they are afraid of conflict.

Hmmm...no tall buildings where I live and the firefighters have no need for someone who does not respect/fear fires. Police officers are not required to sacrifice their lives for public safety, unless they want a medal and well attended funeral. Also wreaks havoc with insurance rates.

[fellowtraveller]

I think what's happened since the Taser became a tool... the police are now lazy

nonsense.

Tasers and mace were developed/deployed in the recognition that cops were severely damaging and/or killing too many people with conventional means:clubbing them unconscious or employing the dangerous sleeper/choke hold. Tasers/mace also made it safer for the cop, they didn't have to get too close to a dangerous and violent person. Another benefit was that society was calling for more women in police forces and conventional methods of subduing people were much more dangerous for physically weaker female police.

[bush_cheney2004]

...Tasers/mace also made it safer for the cop, they didn't have to get too close to a dangerous and violent person. Another benefit was that society was calling for more women in police forces and conventional methods of subduing people were much more dangerous for physically weaker female police.

Excellent observations.....we could go back to the bad old days clubbing 'em like a baby seal or discharging .38 specials / 9mm handguns and just forget the non-lethals.

[Guest American Woman]

Tasers and mace were developed/deployed in the recognition that cops were severely damaging and/or killing too many people with conventional means:clubbing them unconscious or employing the dangerous sleeper/choke hold. Tasers/mace also made it safer for the cop, they didn't have to get too close to a dangerous and violent person. Another benefit was that society was calling for more women in police forces and conventional methods of subduing people were much more dangerous for physically weaker female police.

Good post. You hit the nail on the head.

Edited November 18, 2007 by American Woman

[shavluk]

As this posts originator , bob is it? is just a cop or cop wannabe /bully posting here on tax payer time and money ,, well ,, I will just boycott any of his twisted spin-doctor attempts to take the heat off of their latest blunder.

Have fun constable just don't waste tooooooo much of our taxpayer money spoon feeding to the dense with blind eye's as there really isn't that many here that stupid.

This thread will again point out those needing to be just ignored as extinct DNA in the future.

[old_bold&cold]

Tasers are for the most part non-lethal. There are many in this world who are very susceptible to cardiac arrest even with mino shocks. The police know this and conveniently forget to mantion it in their stats on the weapons. The taser should be the weapon of last resource and if there are several officers available they can over power the man easily without doing him harm. I would suspect taht the four cops crushed this man as each were over 250 pounds and all were fully on top of him. So of course he was crushed to death, and it is the fault of the police. They used way more force then necessary and all should have to stand trial for this killing. It is that simple. All 4 should never again be able to be in the police forces or security fields ever, as they have already shown that under pressure they use bad judgement.

There is a time when a taser would be of use and that would be only in life threatening situations. Not because a suspect is upset. None of the 4 officers there were in fear for their lives and the suspect was not acting to take his own life. So in hindsight this was a police committed murder.

I worked in electronics for a long time and it is a hobby with me now and yes I have gotten shocks many times and probably have some resistence to them. It is not that I do not react but I just do not react as severely as others. A taser would probably take me down but not kill me. My wife on the other hand does not do well with any shocks and even small ones and she will collaspe. A taser hit on her would proabably kill her. Teh police need to be made responsible for the taser use in any situation other then life threatening and loss of pay and rank should all be part of the punishment for their errors.

I have no problem with the taser being there for use, I just do not think they are there for use in non life threatening situations. If the police can not respect that and start doing it right, then the tasers should be taken away from them completely.

[jennie]

I think if I was a cop, I would want to find a translator before doing anything. It is unbelievable that one was not provided in the 10 hours he waited in the airport!!

[Oleg Bach]

I think if I was a cop, I would want to find a translator before doing anything. It is unbelievable that one was not provided in the 10 hours he waited in the airport!!

Come to think of it...Tasers were devised as a survivable application of deadly force. They were an electronic gun originally to be used in the place of a gun...somehow they have become a toy and cops like testing them out. maybe there is a little sadism going on here.

[Moxie]

Come to think of it...Tasers were devised as a survivable application of deadly force. They were an electronic gun originally to be used in the place of a gun...somehow they have become a toy and cops like testing them out. maybe there is a little sadism going on here.

What utter nonsense. Spend a day in their shoes, day in day out dealing with the scum of society. Spousal abusers, crooks hyped up on crack are a real treat to deal with. Young offenders that mock the law as they steal car after car. Days spent tracking down the scourge of society, daily drudgery that police officers deal with to keep our streets reasonably safe and you have the gall to "Libel" them as sadist.

[old_bold&cold]

What utter nonsense. Spend a day in their shoes, day in day out dealing with the scum of society. Spousal abusers, crooks hyped up on crack are a real treat to deal with. Young offenders that mock the law as they steal car after car. Days spent tracking down the scourge of society, daily drudgery that police officers deal with to keep our streets reasonably safe and you have the gall to "Libel" them as sadist.

We pay a first Class constable nearly 4 times what the average wage is for Canadians, and if they are not up to being able to do the job in the way it is supposed to be done, then they need to go look elsewhere for jobs. Yes they haev a dirty job some times, but are well paid accordingly. So I have no pity for them who say it is so tough they cn not handle it without acting out. That to me is grounds for immediate dismissal from the job. That is not libel that is saying the true facts.

[Leafless]

Well, criminals are one group and mentally ill is another.

All criminals are mentally ill or they would not be criminals.

Mentally ill is no excuse for breaking the law.

No one enforcing the law has the capacity to determine at an instant who is relatively harmless criminal ill, or who is violently mentally ill.

The law simply must be enforced, at all cost, for the protection of members of society and the police officers themselves.