12-year-old tased by police officer

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

Depends on what the 12 year old was doing.

If it is a kid at the play ground, and this kid gets in a shoving match with another kid, then no, the aggressor of the shoving match should not get tased.

If this same kid escalates the incident and brings a gun to the park with the intent to use it, then the least the cop should do is tase the kid to stop him or her from trying to use deadly force.

That is what I mean by "depends", it just depends on the nature of the situation.

But if it depends, then why did you say "Should a 12 year old child get tased? No?" That's the part that confuses me?

Then if this is the actual point to this thread, then we are debating an issue that has as many answers as people you can ask. In other words, it can be "infinite".

Seems pretty simple to me: If your local police department was going to review its policies concerning tasing or adopt new policies, what do you think the official policies should be:

• There are no circumstances under which a 12-year-old should be tased;
• A 12-year-old should not be tased unless the police officer first determines [list criteria here] and gives a clear warning;
• It should be left to a police officer's discretion to determine whether, under the cirsumstances, a 12-year-old should be tased; or
• Some other option.

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

But if it depends, then why did you say "Should a 12 year old child get tased? No?" That's the part that confuses me?

So, first what confused you was when I said "depends", and I explained what I meant by that.

Now, its the simple answer to a simple question.

Okay, here goes:

Should a cop, with no justifiable reason, walk up to some random, 12 year old kid, and tase him or her, for no reason. No. But, that is how I see it.

Clear now?

Seems pretty simple to me: If your local police department was going to review its policies concerning tasing or adopt new policies, what do you think the official policies should be:

• There are no circumstances under which a 12-year-old should be tased;
• A 12-year-old should not be tased unless the police officer first determines [list criteria here] and gives a clear warning;
• It should be left to a police officer's discretion to determine whether, under the cirsumstances, a 12-year-old should be tased; or
• Some other option.

Actually, here in Houston, we just went through a similar situation with car chases. When should a cop chase a suspect in the car.

The answer is: as long as innocent life / by standers will not get hurt. It is a judgment that is left up to the cop.

You are right, policies need to be reviewed and critically examined on a regular basis. But even the best policy review can not account for every possible situation that may, or may not, occur in a given situation.

The only way law enforcement can satisfy the parameters that you and DrPhil are proposing is if we can predict the future. If so, then we can work in
absolutes. Since we can't predict the future, we are left with what we currently have - doing the best we can with the most current knowledge.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

So, first what confused you was when I said "depends", and I explained what I meant by that.

Now, its the simple answer to a simple question.

Okay, here goes:

Should a cop, with no justifiable reason, walk up to some random, 12 year old kid, and tase him or her, for no reason. No. But, that is how I see it.

Clear now?

Forreal, sigmadiva? Wow.

The common sentiment is that NO ONE (adult or child) should be tasered at random and for no justisfiable reason. If that is the depth of your capacity for discourse regarding this topic then please spare us.

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

The only way law enforcement can satisfy the parameters that you and DrPhil are proposing is if we can predict the future. If so, then we can work in
absolutes.

Keep that in mind when a law enforcement officer pulls you over and, instead of telling you what you were pulled over for, physically forces you to get out of the car and searches your vehicle. Surely you will be understanding because...HEY...we cannot predict the future and cannot work in absolutes.

To hell with policies, procedures, the law, rights, etc.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

But if it depends, then why did you say "Should a 12 year old child get tased? No?" That's the part that confuses me?


Seems pretty simple to me: If your local police department was going to review its policies concerning tasing or adopt new policies, what do you think the official policies should be:

• There are no circumstances under which a 12-year-old should be tased;
• A 12-year-old should not be tased unless the police officer first determines [list criteria here] and gives a clear warning;
• It should be left to a police officer's discretion to determine whether, under the cirsumstances, a 12-year-old should be tased; or
• Some other option.

This assumes that the subject can be positively ID'd as 12, doesn't it? Especially for females, and I'll bet cross-racial IDs are even worse, telling the difference between a 12 year old and a 15-16 year old is not something which can be easily done.

Police officers aren't engaged in an age-guessing endeavor when they are arresting a suspect. They are responsible for their own safety first and second for the person they're placing into custody.

Such a progression probably isn't reasonable under all or even most circumstances. Your suggestion assumes the LEO has information which he typically doesn't have.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Kevin

This assumes that the subject can be positively ID'd as 12, doesn't it? Especially for females, and I'll bet cross-racial IDs are even worse, telling the difference between a 12 year old and a 15-16 year old is not something which can be easily done.

Police can generally determine that a person is under the age of 18 and there are procedures to guess the age range (if not the exact age) if no ID is present.

Originally Posted by Kevin

Police officers aren't engaged in an age-guessing endeavor when they are arresting a suspect.

Police officers are engaged in a number of things which includes gauging age range. That is one of the ways in which truancy, legal drinking age, and runaway laws and practices have always been possible both with and without an identification card.