Since when is a gun the ONLY way to protect yourself? Buy a taser, buy a baseball bat, buy a billy-club. Invest in self-defense classes. Spend the $1000 on better locks or a thicker door.

You want to know what to do if someone burglarizes your house if you don't have a gun? Same as if you do have a gun... you're on your own, and you do your best to prevent yourself from being killed. If that means hiding in a closet, it's better that than dead.

I can agree that he whipped out the taser a bit early and that perhaps there should have been a warning given. "Hey, I will tase you if you do not step back."

Thing is though, I seriously doubt it would have changed a thing. Douchebags like that don't stand down in situations like that. In the Douchebag's mind, he is the evolved Nietzschian Superman genius, and the guards are part of the evil empire so there was simply nothing the guard was going to say to The Elevated One to convince him to step back peaceably and wait his fucking turn like the rest of the mere mortals.

Doesn't matter how right he thinks he is. It doesn't matter if he is ultimately right about everything he was ranting about. The rule is no cameras and he refused to comply. The guard did his job, maybe a bit too eagerly, but he did his job.

It's a dangerous world right now, to live without the protection of a government or a treaty with the government of your current location. Maybe someday it won't be, I know I hope for that.

But for a guy traveling in the domain of a foreign power, he wasn't very smart. The Bill of Rights applies to U.S. citizens. I don't know what sovereign associates of the State of Idaho get for protection.

I'm not sure there's a foreign country in the world where a U.S. citizen can act like that safely. And he claims to not even be one of those, so he's *really* going to have trouble.

I consider the taser largely irrelevant in this scenario. Getting tackled to the grown isn't a lot nicer. Until the world finally outgrows nationalism, he'd better pick a citizenship that will give him some backup in a government conflict.

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2 men vs. 1 man and they use a taser.

They clearly wanted to, they could have easily detained this man without use of a weapon.

Over here, weaponry is a last resort, used out of necessity. It's probably more to do with that psychology than "access to guns" that creates the guncrime incongruity.

I often think i would like to live in america one day, but every time i see videos of police i realise that i'd not trade our police for anything.

I don't mind being shouted down. I'd go as far as to say that the comments section on the sift has decreased steadily in quality year upon year, which is why my attendance also has. Fact of the matter is, no one can deny that this man did not NEED to be tasered, when 2 heavy set men were quite capable of arresting him without it.

Whether you think he deserved it or not is irrelevant.

If he wasn't presenting a direct danger to himself or other persons the taser was unjustified. Being an asshole does not count.

I don't really get this whole tazer deal.
2 older gentlemen on the heavy side guarding a door. Seriously you needed a taser? Seems to me these guys are just not fit for the position.

I work with a few security guards downtown that deal with all sorts of drug addicts, drunks, crazy people and outright idiots. They aren't issued anything.
I hear stories of them wrestling guys to the ground almost every week.

these 2 just wanted to test their new tazer and the situation was all the green lights they need.

justified? not even the slightest.

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I don't think they were justified in using the taser, but only because it was too early. I don't think he'd crossed that line yet where any physical action was needed.

But if you think a pile of guys wrestling him to the ground would have been safer (for him or them), I have to disagree.

two things:

http://www.food.com/recipes/polish-pork

In america, they've tasered for less.

The taser was over the top. They didn't need to do that They had enough people there to restrain him without using it.

It's perfectly possible to police without resort to weapons, our police do it all the time. There are times when they use their batons, but in the UK this would have just been dealt with without resort to weapons. What's wrong with Americans?

I definately wouldn't say that a taser is a "lazy cops" method. A taser prevents secondary targets from being affected (unlike pepper spray) and the cop in question definitely did not want to get into a wrestling match with the suspect while wearing a suit (where it would be unlikely that he would be able to control the situation). The suspect was warned and refused to back down.

As for cops in general being lazy, again I say no. I have two state police officers for friends and at lest with the Indiana state troopers the line is drawn when the possibility of injury to the officer would exceed the possibility of injury to the suspect from the taser. If its an old dude or someone who appears to have health issues they are obviously going to use more restraint than some young punk kid who will suffer some pain but will be back on his feet shortly.

I was speaking of the people above who think he should have been dispensed more pain for his behavior.

However... a taser is not simply for "detaining a suspect", although it may be used to do so. It's an extreme form of non-lethal (usually) force to be used when other means have failed or are untenable. UNCAT even classifies it as a torture device. Tasers are just another tool cops use to be lazy assholes, IMMHO, and I think it's unfortunate that they have become so ubiquitous and citizens so ignorant that they cheer for more when they see a guy get tased for merely being a jackass, which, I don't think, is against the law.

A taser is not for justice, it is for detaining a suspect. The cop was perfectly within his rights to detain the suspect.

I've railed against taser usage many times here. They're less lethal, not non-lethal.

again...still zero sympathy for the obviously antagonistic douchebag. He very quickly demonstrated that he wasn't going to be reasonable, claiming to be battered and claiming his rights were being violated and being needlessly obstructive when being asked simple questions.

Did you see the sign above the door? it was over a traffic violation. Fucking moron wasting the court's time because he feels his righteousness was slighted. Fuck him and I'm glad they put him down.

I'm sick of pricks like him with out of control egos. I'm honestly delighted that he experienced pain that maybe approaches how much he is a pain to others.