Police use Tasers on pregnant woman in her father's own home

Evergreen Park (IL) cops use taser on pregnant woman:

www.msnbc.msn.com...

I've become, over the years, strongly opposed to the use of tasers among police forces. From everything that I've read or seen, it seems like cops use these weapons whenever it is convenient... and NOT as a substitute for serious firearms. In short, from all the videos I've seen of taser-firings, it seems like the cop is always using the weapon as a substitute for words, not for guns. To be honest, I'd rather see cops who had NO tasers and only were equipped with firearms.

At least, that way, the cops only shoot when they have to. If they had no tasers... they'd be forced to do their jobs instead of just stunning the person they weren't happy with.

In case I wasn't clear above (because of my wording)...

The argument for tasers is that they're used in place of firearms. This position holds that they save lives because no real ammo is being expended...

However... it seems like the police often use tasers in situations that would normally require only an additional second of conversation to resolve. For instance, I'm thinking of several episodes of Cops where the police simply stunned a guy because they were scared of him (and in cases where he wasn't being violent at all).

What the hell are they doing shooting tasers at a pregant women?

Is it me or have the police in the states been having a bit of a 'beat the crap out of everyone' week?

From what I have read it seems they are getting more and more heavy handed. Training for when the NWO kicks in I guess.

Originally posted by 7th_Chakra
What the hell are they doing shooting tasers at a pregant women?

Is it me or have the police in the states been having a bit of a 'beat the crap out of everyone' week?

From what I have read it seems they are getting more and more heavy handed. Training for when the NWO kicks in I guess.

My thinking is that maybe that 2nd amendment isn't such a good idea. If I'm a cop, I want to return to MY family at the end of the day. Too many weapons, not a good idea.

exactly.

Everyone has a gun. When the times comes there is going to be a LOT of shootin'!

That is an unconstitutional comment... you know something, the only people that would be dumb enough, or smart enough, to shoot at a cop, would be criminals. criminals do not abide by the second amendment. If it weren't for the second amendment, a lot of innocent civilians i know of would have died had they not had their firearms for protection. I would be scared of a society where only the military and police had guns. There is no balance of power at all then. Sure, we may not have ICBM's in our back yard to ensure a balance of power against the government... But when you consider that a bunch of farmers defeated what was then the finest army in world, during our revolution, we really do not need too much to take a stand if we had to. There are more corrupt police officers here in this region i live in, than you could imagine. A cop not 50 miles from here shot an unarmed man because he didnt like how the guy looked. It is not a good idea for only the cops to have weapons. See how easy it was for Hitler's SS and Gestapo to round everyone up? I am not going to welcome that road.

Originally posted by intrepid
My thinking is that maybe that 2nd amendment isn't such a good idea. If I'm a cop, I want to return to MY family at the end of the day. Too many weapons, not a good idea.

We need to get the facts straight. There are reports that the father and daughter refused to turn the music down, and assaulted the officers. The officers(allegedly) told them they were going to use the taser. The father/daughter team(allegedly) shoved the officers and resisted arrest. It was at that time that the officer used the taser. It was after the taser was used that the woman stated she was pregnant.

The police are still interrogating witnesses. Until after the investigation is completed, I would be hesitant to say the police tasered the woman for no apparent reason.

Originally posted by Goldbaron357
That is an unconstitutional comment... you know something, the only people that would be dumb enough, or smart enough, to shoot at a cop, would be criminals. criminals do not abide by the second amendment...

We've already been down this road...
Not that I don't agree, but it's been done already.

Madison ran into the home, and one of the officers followed. That officer then allegedly shot Madison with the Taser gun twice in the abdomen, despite being told by witnesses that she was pregnant.

The article doesn't say how many months pregnant the woman was, only that the officer was told by witnesses that she was pregnant. It may not have been readily apparent to the officer that that was the case. Regardless, it doesn't sound like the officer just tasered her for no reason. I would also like to see the result of the investigation before I start criticizing the officer's judgment.

As for tasers, I think it's good to provide a non-lethal way for officers to deal with situations. When used CORRECTLY I think they can be a valuable tool. However, the potential does exist for them to be used as a substitute for verbal diffusion. Personally, I think they should be a last resort when someone refuses to cooperate and are putting themselves/others in danger, but not directly threatening people (i.e.: A drunk with a lead pipe swinging at officers).