Letters to the Editor
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I think the cops were wrong.
Hopefully the kid isn't injured. And maybe it's a useful, if painful, life lesson that "acting-up" can have unintended consequences.
That being said, I was pretty sure that if I did a little internet research on police "use of force" policies, I'd find that using a Taser would be considered just one step below using a gun.
Unfortunately, I'm apparently wrong about that. This is from the UCLA Use of Force policy, which allows a taser to be used whenever someone is physically resisting arrest or:
When a skirmish line is deployed and/or for pain compliance against passive resistors as allowed in UCLA Police Policy ยง 301.24 (Pain Compliance Techniques).
It's pretty incredible to me, that using potentially deadly force can be used as a "pain compliance technique."
And to think I started out today feeling so optimistic...