From the moment we are brought onto this earth we are shaped, molded and formed to co-exist successfully in the prescribed circle of social structure. We are conditioned at the very start of life to hold certain values, attitudes and beliefs, carry them into our actions and choices .We are taught about authority and safety first. We understand who and what authority is.
As individuals we are expected to abide by the hierarchy of social structure, and should any of us fall short of what is acceptable and what is not, we do so knowing that there is a consequence to our actions and our decisions. If we have wronged, we will be punished, whether we own up to it willingly or not. There is a universal understanding in what is right and what is wrong, it is simply a matter of choice.
In forms of authority, we were groomed with mixed messages about Law Enforcement but we tend to evade questioning even the most overt wrongs when it comes down to it. On one hand, we are told they are the good guys – they are here to help, we will be safe and they will protect us. We can rely on them, we can trust them, it’s their job to care. Than on the other hand we learn fear. Even the simplest of things, such as a squad car following behind us is terrifying. If we need to call for their help, we will be judged by them, by our neighbors – in some cases our family and friends. Nothing good comes from calling the police – nothing.
The theory that they are here to protect us, so far in my experience is a myth. Still we hold certain ideals of law enforcement. We expect that they are going to be good at their positions, that they can deal with a variety of people and situations, that they will try to save a life before take a life, and hold firm to every heartfelt word of their prescribed oaths….maybe a few really do, but not in my experience.
We generally like to think of police as “better” people, since they hold this privilege and power., not given to “just anyone” after all, they are trained to be good officers. Time and experience continue to show us, that when one of them makes even the most fatal mistake – we give them a little time off, make sure they don’t fall behind on their bills, and until it fades from the attention of the public they can’t go back on duty.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once said “an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere.” Never will there be a truer statement. Every minute that passes us by someone is wounded, and re-wounded by circumstance. For anyone to believe or defend that we don’t have a very grave problem that runs up and down the branches of a system designed to serve our best interest, would be an argument of idealism.
It is always in the light of tragedy that we temporarily turn our attention to an issue, a happening, a wrong and start questioning it, even if we are silent about it. More often than not, we have no idea what is really happening anywhere – silence is still golden in certain circles – so is it not than our civic duty to call into question police officers and police powers – along with the integrity or the lack thereof when the situation calls for it?
In the decade since law enforcement agencies introduced the original “stun gun” as a primary weapon of choice for law enforcement – its evolution has been incomparable to any other police tool. Yet, like everything else in this world (with the inclusion of all scientific considerations) the true test of effectiveness only comes via time and experience. Experience required modifications, and so came about a more intense weapon, a widely used and highly favored “alternative to using deadly force” – the taser.
Despite certain similarities, the taser differs in deliverance and magnitude. Capable of being fired from a range of distances up to 20 feet, the 2 prongs attach to the body or clothing and transmit 50,000 volts of electricity to the body’s central nervous system, impairing brain functions instantly, incapacitating control over body just long enough for law enforcement to gain control over the person, or so is the principle.
The immediacy of the shock is known to cause heartbeats to elevate from a range of 72 bmp’s to a sudden 220 bmp’s, in short disbursements. Additional to the physiological and metabolic responses, the body itself sustains physical injuries, often multiple. To date, no studies have been conducted to evaluate any long-term effects this may have on the brain or physical health, and all evaluations so far, were bought and paid for by Taser International, Inc. themselves, so you decide if you would be interested in their findings. I’m not.
However, it is not the weapon itself that is an issue; it’s in whose hands it is in that we should be concerned. It is in loose policies and protocols, it is in police powers and personal discretions, it is in burned out officers, or those who vibe power trip through every fiber of their being. We have a problem with abusive, inept police officers – we simply do.
An article in a Georgia newspaper first caught my eye. On the night of May 23, 2010, 18 year old Clifford Grevemberg was sitting outside of a Tybee Island bar, while his brother ran in to order food to go. Because he was underage he wasn’t allowed in, so he sat on the curb and waited. His brother had only been gone a few minutes inside. In that time, 4 Tybee Island Police officers approached him twice to ask for his identification. As he stood, he was shoved to the ground and was tasered twice.
Arrested and taken into custody although no initial reason given, later reports stated the boy was arrested and charged with drunk and disorderly. What the officers would later learn was that Clifford is autistic, he also has a serious heart condition that has and continues to require constant monitoring, Clifford was not drunk that night or any other, he can’t drink. So, was it all in fun?
May 2010, a 94 pound, 10 year old boy was tasered by a police officer multiple times outside of the Tender Teddies daycare. He had been throwing a fit and was entangled in a physical confrontation with 2 female daycare staff. Present were the officer’s Captain and the 2 females. The officer was penalized for this in typical fashion when it was realized he failed to include the incident in his report.
In Miami Dade, 2 police officers responded to a 911 call from the Kelsey Pharr Elementary School regarding a suicidal 6 year old boy. 6! The child had cut his leg with a piece of glass he held and was threatening to do further harm to himself. There were 5 highly regaurded professional adults in that room, and the action they took was to taser the kindergartner. What is wrong with this picture?
In November of 2009, Ozark, Arkansas, Police Officer Dustin Bradshaw responded to a 911 call from an upset mother who couldn’t get her 11 year old daughter to take a shower. ( I know! Right?) Officer Bradshaw arrived to find the child throwing a tantrum on the floor and a screaming mother, who at one point told the officer to just “tase her ass”. Officer Bradshaw managed to pick up the girl and carry her to the couch, however when he put her down she let out a kick – that he took in the groin. That resulted in the child being tasered and brought to a juvenile center. I see two adults that need some serious questioning in this case.
I understand that what law enforcement officers represent and put on the line for any one of us at any given time, and that is not to be undermined. There is a debt we cannot repay to those who wake up each day, kiss their loved ones goodbye – possibly for the last time and see the worst there is to see running the risk of their own lives and not all police officers lack integrity or compassion, but could I ever trust or have faith in someone who can’t even negotiate with elementary school children – without such invasive violence?
