If you get bored, skip to 0:04. What we see is a 267lb police officer, chasing a 120lb girl out the front door of a police station. Danielle Maudsley was arrested and handcuffed without from a nonviolent traffic incident, and fled out the front door of the station when the opportunity presented itself. Daniel Cole then decided that in her handcuffed state 4 feet in front of him, she ought to be tasered to prevent escape.
End result? Danielle cracked her head open upon the asphalt, and is now a 20 year old woman in a coma with little prospect of awakening.
The reaction?
From the Tampa Bay Times:
"This week, two state agencies cleared Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Daniel Cole of any wrongdoing in the September incident, which occurred as Maudsley tried to escape from an FHP station in Pinellas Park.But several experts and researchers who reviewed reports and video of the incident said the case raises questions.
They are troubled that Cole tasered Maudsley, a suspect in two hit-and-run crashes who had drugs in her system, while she was handcuffed. They also noted that Cole was just steps behind Maudsley when he fired the Taser.
"It just doesn't make any sense," said Greg Connor, a professor at the University of Illinois Police Training Institute who specializes in use of force. "I don't see where it's going to be that hard to apprehend her.""
Lest we assume this is a 100% isolated incident, the use of Tasers by Police officers in Florida resulted in 65 deaths in the past 10 years, the second in the nation behind California's 92. This is an issue with the state. With reactions like this from state overseers, this will continue.
Other thoughts on tasers: Erstwhile Playthings, Moral Danger of Non-Lethal Weapons
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