A Not-So-Shocking Column on the Taser Incident
Saturday, May 8, 2010
The only reason I'm writing about this is because everyone else has burdened me with their thoughts on it, so I'm just returning the favor. But I'm going to dumb it down a bit and just tackle what, in my opinion, are the three most important questions regarding the situation.
1) Was the use of a taser gun on a fan excessive?
In my opinion, no. A lot of people think it was, partially because it was a 17 year old kid running around the field, but I don't think that's relevant. For all the cop knew the kid was 27. Regardless of age, I think it does more good to "tase" someone running around the field than it does to tackle them. For one, it puts the cop in a safer position. Let's just imagine that the cop tackles the kid and hurts himself in the process. If he supports his family doing what he does, it will create a problem if an injury keeps him out of work for a while.
Of course, people are also concerned about the well-being of the kid, but you have to think that tackling him puts him at risk for injury more than a taser does. A taser, from what I've gathered, is meant to paralyze voluntary action for a short period of time, and after that, senses are restored and everything is back to normal. That being the case, I think it is more times than not safer to use a taser. But of course people say to me, "what if he has a heart condition?" Well, if you have a heart condition you should probably think twice before running on a field in front of 45,000 fans.
Lastly, from what I've heard, a cop is allowed to use a taser after he makes a verbal order to stop. So if that's the rule, then technically it was not excessive.
2) Was it necessary to use a taser?
No it was not. Even though I don't think it was excessive, I don't think it needed to be done. From the videos taken of the incident, it seems like the kid was running out of gas, and I think all you need to do is just surround him and steadily close in on him. Now of course if it seemed like he was running out on the field to cause harm to other people or any of the players then yes, by all means it's necessary to tase him, but when you see the video it becomes pretty clear that he wasn't out there to harm anyone. Then again, in the heat of the moment it's probably hard to tell.
3) What should be done to stop it?
It didn't make as many headlines, but the night after the taser incident another fan ran onto the field at the Phillies game. This one didn't get tased, but it became clear that getting tased isn't as effective as a deterrent as people may have thought. Some kids out there probably think it's awesome, and I'm sure this kid will be a legend when he goes to Penn State - everyone will want to hang out with the "Taser Kid." So if the fear of the tase isn't enough to keep people off the field, what is? For one, a nice hefty fine. The $500 or however much fine that was in place is clearly not enough. You have to put in a fine that will literally stop a person in their tracks. The Phillies have raised the fine to $2,500 and of course the prosecution that comes with running onto the field. This should suffice, especially considering that a person could get a maximum of a year in prison for running on the field. Just doesn't seem worth it to me. So in my opinion, the rest of baseball needs to follow the Phillies lead and put in some solid rules that are gonna stop these idiot fans who want their 15 seconds of fame. Of course, if a fan really wants to get on the field, he will, but let's make him suffer for it so he seriously regrets his decision.
1) Was the use of a taser gun on a fan excessive?
In my opinion, no. A lot of people think it was, partially because it was a 17 year old kid running around the field, but I don't think that's relevant. For all the cop knew the kid was 27. Regardless of age, I think it does more good to "tase" someone running around the field than it does to tackle them. For one, it puts the cop in a safer position. Let's just imagine that the cop tackles the kid and hurts himself in the process. If he supports his family doing what he does, it will create a problem if an injury keeps him out of work for a while.
Of course, people are also concerned about the well-being of the kid, but you have to think that tackling him puts him at risk for injury more than a taser does. A taser, from what I've gathered, is meant to paralyze voluntary action for a short period of time, and after that, senses are restored and everything is back to normal. That being the case, I think it is more times than not safer to use a taser. But of course people say to me, "what if he has a heart condition?" Well, if you have a heart condition you should probably think twice before running on a field in front of 45,000 fans.
Lastly, from what I've heard, a cop is allowed to use a taser after he makes a verbal order to stop. So if that's the rule, then technically it was not excessive.
2) Was it necessary to use a taser?
No it was not. Even though I don't think it was excessive, I don't think it needed to be done. From the videos taken of the incident, it seems like the kid was running out of gas, and I think all you need to do is just surround him and steadily close in on him. Now of course if it seemed like he was running out on the field to cause harm to other people or any of the players then yes, by all means it's necessary to tase him, but when you see the video it becomes pretty clear that he wasn't out there to harm anyone. Then again, in the heat of the moment it's probably hard to tell.
3) What should be done to stop it?
It didn't make as many headlines, but the night after the taser incident another fan ran onto the field at the Phillies game. This one didn't get tased, but it became clear that getting tased isn't as effective as a deterrent as people may have thought. Some kids out there probably think it's awesome, and I'm sure this kid will be a legend when he goes to Penn State - everyone will want to hang out with the "Taser Kid." So if the fear of the tase isn't enough to keep people off the field, what is? For one, a nice hefty fine. The $500 or however much fine that was in place is clearly not enough. You have to put in a fine that will literally stop a person in their tracks. The Phillies have raised the fine to $2,500 and of course the prosecution that comes with running onto the field. This should suffice, especially considering that a person could get a maximum of a year in prison for running on the field. Just doesn't seem worth it to me. So in my opinion, the rest of baseball needs to follow the Phillies lead and put in some solid rules that are gonna stop these idiot fans who want their 15 seconds of fame. Of course, if a fan really wants to get on the field, he will, but let's make him suffer for it so he seriously regrets his decision.
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