Check your training !!

...On July 19, 2008, Ozark police found 16-year old Mace Hutchinson lying under the Highway F overpass at U.S. 65. Officers say they ordered him to turn over. When he didn't comply, they used electric stun guns [PLURAL?] on him up to 19 times because, they say, he became "combative" with them. Hutchinson and his family say he couldn't have done what officers asked [nor been "combative"] because he had a broken back and heel from falling off the bridge. ... Christian County Prosecuting Attorney Ron Cleek ... says he is prepared to file felony assault charges if the investigation finds an officer used unwarranted force against Mace. [LINK]


I'm not saying that tasers were brought to Earth from Hell by Satan himself, but if they were - then what exactly would be different? Anything? Anything at all?


Hey! Free advice to Ozark officials - check your training materials. Read them over very carefully. One word out of place (or more likely, badly written from start to finish) might shift much of the legal blame from the (idiot none-the-less) police officer(s) to the Ozark police force.

Let me ask - were these officers freshly trained? Remember - stupidity rubs off. It seems as if some of it might have rubbed off onto the involved officers. Did Taser helpfully provide the training material and/or recommend the 'certified' Master Armorer {rolls eyes} trainers? Any Taser involvement at all?

You're probably looking at a 7- or 8-figure lawsuit. What was that about tasers saving money?

Other jurisdictions might save themselves the trouble of a massive lawsuit, not to mention the moral issue of attacking their own injured citizens, by reviewing their training materials and programs to ensure that they include some common sense direction, ethical, moral, legal, and first-aid type instruction that might help to preclude such stupid incidents.

Keep in mind - according to everything I've read, these officers would have had to have been trained all about taser. And then they reportedly tasered an injured lad 19 times.

Check your training.

Please.