Awesome police work...

... NOT.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/11/12/child.tasered.ap/index.html

If you can't subdue a 6 year old boy and secure a piece
of glass from him, should you really be wearing a police
uniform? Should you even be able to consider yourself
a normal, functioning adult?

So, the kid's already slashed himself up some, and continues to do so in front of the cops.

What would you have done, smart guy?

Ok, this is the correct usage of a stun gun. It is the exact situation it was designed for.
A couple years ago the situation could have escalated to a point where he started threatening people and they could have shot him if he did not back down.

Would you rather he be shot?

I'm sorry, were stun guns designed to subdue a 6 year old? Do we know the effects a stun gun designed to subdue 200 lbs adults have on children? The officer is lucky the kid didn't go into cardiac arrest.

I gotta say, this more than likely prevented any further injury to the boy. Physically subduing him could have easily turned out worse.

Do you have any idea how Tasers actually work?

They should have shot him.... one less maniac shithead left for the jail system and our tax $$ to support.

They should have pelted him with utility balls.

Not so much "hardcore" as "severely emotionally disturbed and in need of care."

Nope, that is not how stun guns work at all. The amount of electricity involved is nowhere near the amount that can permanently damage a tiny rabbit, let alone a 6 year old.

Stun guns used pulsed modulation of high voltages to interrupt the stronger nerve impulses to voluntary muscles.

High Voltage low current.
Kind of like a very painful static electricity shock only tens of thousands of times a second.

Here goes a quote from the article:

"waved a piece of glass, holding a security guard back"

A six year old boy, holds a security guard at bay with a shard of glass until the cops arrive. I'm I the only one who thinks that is out of this world odd.
I don't know about where you live, but around here, six year old boys are small, fragile and don't have the mental capacities of adults.

The police should never had to have even thought about using a taser. It should have been over with before they even arrived.

Maybe I'm wrong.

The high voltage does not really have anything to do with the impact of the weapon, but more to do with the ability to make contact with the nervous system of a human. You need high voltages to make the spark "jump" from the taser prongs through the few microns of dead skin cells that are supposed to insulate your body from such a shock.

maybe they should have offered him a juicebox?

Yes, you are.

The boy was threatening to hurt himself EVEN MORE THAN HE ALREADY HAD. Had the security guard advanced on him, he more than likely would have come out of this worse than he already did.

Fools rush in.

what about this... in a stern pissed of voice

NOW SEE HERE YOUNG MAN!

you know any kid gets all wide eyed and drops what they're doing in fear of being punished. I meen... If your I dunno... 46... and the kid is 6.... and you have to shock him with the power to stop a T-Rex behind a fence... I meen... I dont want to see how they treat their own children.

Bottom line...
WTF

Tasers run @ 50,000 volts, but only ~1/10th of an amp. They are powered by 8 AA flashlight batteries. Tasers won't even disturb a pacemaker.

Ever get a static electricity spark in dry weather? If you can see it, it's at least 25,000 volts (but virtually no amps, and very very short duration).

Tasers deliver the charge for 5 full seconds, at 26 watts (125 milliamps).

This was a prime example of proper use of this weapon to prevent further injury to the child and police officers.

I don't know if you are wrong, but you were not present for the altercation. Who knows, the kid might not just have been throwing a tantrum, he could have been cutting himself and swinging the sharp object around wildly and had backed himself into a corner. In that case you can't just "subdue" him without risking harm to yourself. Especially a security guard - they are not paid to risk harm to themselves needlessly, usually they are specifically instructed not to do so.

I'm wondering if any of the people who are so up in arms over this have ever had to deal with an emotionally disturbed child who is not only out of control, but armed and hurting him/herself. They don't listen to reason, and they don't think about punishment.

"the power to stop a T-Rex behind a fence"???

You have no idea what you're talking about, as usual.

And then the parents would have sued the shit out of security guard and the school. I still like my utility ball idea but I think the taser was a fine plan B.

Jesus, did anybody actually READ THE ARTICLE???

The kid had already cut himself on the face and hands when the police arrived, and they attempted to talk him down. They only resorted to the taser when he began cutting himself on his leg.

THEY STOPPED HIM FROM INFLICTING FURTHER HARM ON HIMSELF.

Now, I'm not used to finding myself on the side of the police, but in this case I think they actually acted appropriately.

Yes, I read the article. I think that most people who actually read it and understand basic police procedure will agree with you (and me).

One of the few times that i will agree with Stiles...

none of us were there so we have no idea what was happening just what the police department released, they was no mention on the size of the child, i don't know about you but i have seen some big 6 year olds...you rush that kid he is either going to stab himself with the glass, stab the cop with the glass or put it down and that would not be a risk i would have taken, i think using the taszer was probably the best option, the only other one would have been to spray him with OC spray but it would have hurn a lot more and he probably would have been able to still wweld the glass...there are a lot more departments using Taszer these days...just imagine what the outcome might have been if that department had not had them...

Tasers are not certified for use on children and in fact have been determined to be contributing factors in multiple deaths. On a healthy adult, they're pretty safe. Six year old with obvious disorders? Nuh uh.

I thinkt the whole {i]How could you do that to a little boy crap is utter nonsense. The kid is emotionally disturbed and a danger to himself and others the safest outcome is whatever it is. A Taser designed for someone with a fully developed system and four times the body mass is still an unacceptable risk.

The numbers are all well and good. I still don't see how a policeman or anyone could assume 1/10th of an amp woundn't be dangerous to a small human being. See any testing done on anyone that age? I defy you to provide me with physical research analysis. And it was a six year old go up tackle the kid. Police are WELL TRAINED in physicly subduing armed subjects without the use of tasers.