64 y.o. Man Tased in His Own Home After Wife Calls Ambulance Because He Fell Down

[Facial_King]

If an officer orders you to do something and you REFUSE, then the officer is going to interpret that as insubordinance. Insubordination is nothing more than the refusal to comply with an officer's orders. And, anyone refusing to take an officer's orders are going to be treated as an unfriendly. Strike two.

First of all, a spouse pleading with an officer is going to have little or no effect. It has no bearing on the events that took place. Secondly, the officer REPEATEDLY told the man to stand up and the man REPEATEDLY REFUSED. Then, he follows that up by telling the police officer to leave, under no certain terms? He thinks he can order the police officer around? HA...strike three.

...and people wonder how police officers can fire their tasers in situations like this.

Like I said, I don't agree with the officer using his taser, but stop acting as if every police officer who fires their taser at someone is a power hungry asshole who is abusing their position of authority.

Did anyone say that (about "every officer who fires their taser")???

Anyway, while I - as usual - have problems with your dangerously excessive deference to authority figures, apart from that it's just nonsense to get "compliance" by tasering this guy. If 3 officers can't get a 64-yr.-old guy to stand up (but SHOULD they?? Didn't he injure his leg, for Christ's sake???!!) without using a taser-gun, then they are incompetent or far too weak for the job. How did tasering him help them to get him on his feet?? Wouldn't the guy just turn to dead weight?? Not very helpful when you want someone on their feet. He was already down - couldn't they have just put him on a stretcher or something??? He was injured.

Re: 64 y.o. Man Tased in His Own Home After Wife Calls Ambulance Because He Fell Down

Awwww, Isn't that special, Mr. McFarland and his wife were coming home after a ''fundraiser'', isn't that lovable squeezable and innocent of them giving back to the community and all. :clap:
Has the author broken you down and softened you up yet?
i.e. aren't you now automatically sympathetic toward Mcfarland after learning that he is charitable?

Well, clearly the author - or rather, the facts that the author provided as what's called "background" information to the story - did not have that impact on smart people like you Facetious, so what's your point?

You'd probably say that same shit if some cops got caught tasering and fucking a little black girl's corpse in the morgue.

"Oh, did they soften up all you bleeding heart liberals?? Now that you know it's a little black girl who was dead, you're gonna feel sorry for her that the cops were tasering her, right???!!"

 

[larss]

Right, so I have carefully watched the video, and the cops had no reason to tase the man. He was sat quietly until he decided to go to bed. Instead of just grabbing him manfully when he stood up (slowly and carefully, you'll note, the man was obviously still in pain after his tumble) and arresting him, they chose to use a taser him instead and yell at the man to stop resisting even as they the taser was activated. It is quite clear that the man did not have a gun on him - "If I had a gun I would shoot myself" is what he said therefore he had no gun.

This is a clear case of lack of training in how and when to use these weapons. In no case should they be used on a man with a known heart condition, and the cops were told quite clearly that he had such a condition.

I don't really blame the individual police officers for this. The blame lies squarely with the police department that equips their officers with weapons that they have not been properly trained to use.

 

[vodkazvictim]

I was really fucking hoping you were gonna say that.

:dunno:
Yeah, I know I should've read it properly the first time. I was just lacking the time to do it.
I'm pleasantly surprised nobody flamed me for that comment.

 

[Facial_King]

:dunno:
Yeah, I know I should've read it properly the first time. I was just lacking the time to do it.
I'm pleasantly surprised nobody Flamed me for that comment.

Oh, here - allow me!!!

:Flame::Flame::Flame::violent:

 

[ChefChiTown]

well chef when they kick in your front door how you gonna go?

in this case the police had no right to enter private property as they did.
they also cannot force psychiatric care on someone.
and they cannot arrest someone for refusing it.
when he told them to leave they should have left , he was within his rights. and if they wanted then they get a warrant and come back and KNOCK on the door.
that is protocol

and the wife making them aware of a heart condition is important and should have been taken into consideration.

They didn't kick in the front door. He was within his rights, but, from what I can tell, so were the police. You seem to forget that there was a medically related situation that was taking place. That gives the police the right to be there, especially if they were asked to appear by the paramedics who were already on the scene.

And, I'll get to the wife telling them about his heart condition later in my post.

everybody can play the monday quarterback role...
it annoys me when responses like "oh that stupid cop, leave the poor old man alone". We weren't there, so nobody knows for sure, but I can tell you that cops dont like to tase random people, or people who dont deserve it. TWO deputies chose to tase this guy, because they felt threatened, and the subject was not obeying directions.

We dont know if this old guy was in a rage, but he probably was. A really IMPORTANT part of this story that a lot of people are missing is the fact that the man stated he was going to shoot himself, clearly implies that there was a firearm somewhere in the house. If you are a cop, and you know an angry guy has a gun, AND hes not obeying orders, well tasing seems pretty reasonable.

When Mr. McFarland gets up to "go to bed" it was obvious that the officers felt he was going somewhere (maybe to grab a gun). The fact that he was tased three times is interpreted as overdoing it, but in reality I guarantee it was a response to Mr. McFarland still being uncooperative. Once your tased, and you still are not following orders from a cop, they tell you "stop moving, or your getting it again." If the dumbass still doesn't listen, guess what? He gets it again...

The REAL lesson of this story is not an exploitation of "police brutality" (even though that story is far more appealing than a routine crazy old man not getting along with cops), but that its probably smart to listen to the cops when they are pointing a taser at you.

What you say is exactly right, but, sadly, most people here will completely disagree with you for no other reason than having a stick up their ass about law enforcement.

Exactly. People with heart problems, epileptics (Liek me, as an example), if you know they have these conditions, and you do use a taser on them, it is way beyond excessive force. For people with a weak heart, it can be murder.

Do these police officers have no other ways to take him to the hospital? That is an old guy, are the officers incapable of handling him differently?

That taser-usage was clearly abusive.

How are the police officers supposed to know that he has a heart condition? Just because his wife said so? Come on, people. Get real. If police officers were that naive and trustworthy of everybody, they'd be fucking dead on the first day on the job.

How can anybody with a working brain think that an officer of the law is just supposed to take everybody's word for it, as if people don't lie - like nothing bad can happen?

Officer: (raises gun) Get your hands out of your pockets!
Person: Why?
Officer: Because I don't know if you have a weapon!
Person: Oh, ok. Umm, well...I don't have a gun?
Officer: (lowers gun) SIGH, PHEW. I was worried for a min...
Person: (quickly pulls gun out of pocket) POW!!!

If a situation like that happened, and the officer did what people are expecting them to do (which is apparently to be overly trusting of people and believe everything they say), then the police officer would be dead. Then, ironically, those criticizing people would then be changing their tune - "Stupid cop. Why would you just take that asshole's word for it and believe he didn't have a gun? Moron."

Police officers can't win. No matter what they do, people who don't like police will aaaaalways find something to bitch about.

dude.
common sense.
the man was just sitting there in HIS HOME.
He told the police that everythings ok, theyre not needed.
At that point common sense should prevail.
they should have left and that would have been the end of it.

When you are in your house and not breaking any laws, the police have no legal right to be there.
whether you say please leave officer sir or get the fuck out of my house pig is not relevant.
And being intoxicated in your house is not illegal.

this man was 100% within his rights, and a judge apparently felt the same.
And what exactly were the police gonna arrest him for in the first place?

common sense, the guy was just sitting on his couch in his home.
he said theres no problem , you can leave.
then they threaten him with arrest.
then they eletrocute him?

So you want a country where police can just enter homes without a warrant or probable cause and taze people?

I'm not saying all cops are shitty, but in this case they were clearly were wrong.

Did the cops have a right to be there? Eh, maybe, maybe not. The story doesn't say why they entered the house. My guess is that he made the comment of wanting to shoot himself while the paramedics were there. Which, if that was the case, it is standard procedure for the paramedics to call the police because people in the medical profession and law enforcement are trained to take every threat of suicide seriously.

So, put yourself in the officer's shoes for a moment. You get called to a scene, informed that a man might be suicidal. You enter the house and he starts yelling at you, telling you to get the fuck out. You calmly (because the officer was not rude at all) tell the man that you are taking him to the hospital for an evaluation because you are under the impression that he may be suicidal. The man starts screaming at you again, telling you to get the fuck out of his house. Are you honestly going to be like, "Gee, ok, Mister. Sorry to bother you. Have a nice evening!" and then leave? No, you're not. You're probably going to do your job and get him to the hospital.

Do I agree that they tased him? No, not really. But, this man was being combative and uncooperative. So, let's stop acting that he didn't contribute to this.

 

[vodkazvictim]

Oh, here - allow me!!!

:Flame::Flame::Flame::violent:

Wow, the very next post as well, anybody would think you had some kind of grudge against me...
:eek:

 

[ForumModeregulator]

for those who dont understand how police work operates in the REAL world, let me explain simply.

Welfare Check/Medical goes out. Paramedics arrive. Cops are already on the way to the scene anyways. Paramedics inform patient is intoxicated and suicidal. Cops evaluate the information, drunk, injuries to the body (unknown how), possible firearm, possible suicidal. Police at this point HAVE the right to be in the property at this time. ONCE THE INITIAL 911 call went out, officers have the right to enter when emergency services were requested. Remember cops, even though you hate them, show up and help save people's lives (it's their job...).

Cops try to find out whats going on. Mr Mcfarland refuses to cooperates and becomes verbally aggressive and refuses to follow orders. The orders were not outrageous, they did not tell him to do anything unreasonable. They requested he remain seated and he got tased for not following their orders. Thats all the media released, so thats all we know for sure. We can not speculate on what else was said or why the taser even came out in the first place.

And that is probably the biggest point to make here. THE MEDIA is going to exploit this situation for publicity, not only for the station but for Mr. McFarland as well. That's their job. They make cops look brutal, because it makes a story, fuck what it does to public perception...They feed us small little clips, and a poor sappy interview of the victim, and guess what people are outraged. I can not blame those who hate cops, when they are fed this type of bullshit day in and day out. Because in the end the only "TRUE" interaction you people have with real every day cops is what you see on the media. I doubt any of you have actually ever witnessed a REAL arrest of a REAL criminal. Its nothing to take lightly, and I would love to see how you would deal with such a situation. But anyways, back to the topic. Once the real FULL footage of the taser video, along with the reports of the officers involved comes out, we will see who was truly in the wrong.

 

[Facial_King]

^^^ Oh wow, thanks for setting everybody straight.

 

[krs123]

What a joke!

 

[meesterperfect]

longer video, possibly full:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZJVAmPCkVE

oh wait, thats not it.
its here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48YJJ1D4Y2s

I've expressed my feelings already.
but ask yourselves if tasing in this situation was necessary.
i mean, there was no indication of violence by the tasee.

I'll tell you, if i have to watch this video again i'm gonna kill myself.
whats this? the police just entered my apartment.
AHHHHH, AHHHHHH! AHHHHHH!
stop resisting stop resisting!

 

[Facetious]

''Section 5150 is a section of the California Welfare and Institutions Code (specifically, the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act or "LPS") which allows a qualified officer or clinician to involuntarily confine a person deemed to have a mental disorder that makes them a danger to him or her self, and/or others and/or gravely disabled. A qualified officer, which includes any California peace officer, as well as any specifically designated county clinician, can request the confinement after signing a written declaration. When used as a term, 5150 (pronounced "fifty-one-fifty") can informally refer to the person being confined or to the declaration itself. . . ''

continued

You'd probably say that same shit if some cops got caught tasering and fucking a little black girl's corpse in the morgue.

"Oh, did they soften up all you bleeding heart liberals?? Now that you know it's a little black girl who was dead, you're gonna feel sorry for her that the cops were tasering her, right???!!"

This is almost as inappropriate and erratic as Mcfarland's ''If I had a gun . . .'' statement.

Rep to you anyway cause I did get a kick out of it.

 

[iammaic]

Ok, I can't say that I agree with this officer's decision to shoot this guy with a taser, but why do people constantly seem to ignore parts of the story that clearly paint a picture that could easily lead to an understandable misjudgment on the officer's part?



How is the officer supposed to know "how" that guy was saying what he said? If a police officer hears someone say "If I had a gun, I'd shoot myself in the head", one would naturally assume that it would be interpreted as "I want to kill myself". He's not a fucking mindreader for fuck's sake. It's PROTOCOL to treat people like that with caution and treat them as a serious suicidal risk. Strike one.


If an officer orders you to do something and you REFUSE, then the officer is going to interpret that as insubordinance. Insubordination is nothing more than the refusal to comply with an officer's orders. And, anyone refusing to take an officer's orders are going to be treated as an unfriendly. Strike two.



First of all, a spouse pleading with an officer is going to have little or no effect. It has no bearing on the events that took place. Secondly, the officer REPEATEDLY told the man to stand up and the man REPEATEDLY REFUSED. Then, he follows that up by telling the police officer to leave, under no certain terms? He thinks he can order the police officer around? HA...strike three.

...and people wonder how police officers can fire their tasers in situations like this.

Like I said, I don't agree with the officer using his taser, but stop acting as if every police officer who fires their taser at someone is a power hungry asshole who is abusing their position of authority.

I agree, some people jump on the police and don't know the whole story. they just see OLD MAN in the headline in the story. I work security and I worked at a gated community once and the rules were if your not on the list of visitors to resident homes, we had to check ID and call the resident's house. I worked with an retired NYPD officer. had a old woman come to the gate and she was not on the list, so i requested her ID. she got angry ohhh my handbag is in the trunk. the retired police officer told me let her through, i told him to go over to the chair and sit down. this is my gate not yours and I am going to do my job. so he got angry and i told him i don't care. she got her id said she was going to complain to the director of security. i gave her my name and i asked her when she would do it and i would be there also to tell my side of the story. she shut up after i had said that, got in the car after i got permission for her to go through.

according to some people cops are taser crazy, well what happens if they don't have them?? people beat on the cop cop uses pepper spray or a baton. people don't know the whole story because they were not there or just read a portion of it in the newspaper. recently a cop was shown on TV hitting a woman outright, but no one said anything about the abuse he was receiving verbal and physical. but like i said people see OLD MAN in the story and the police are in the wrong.

 

[meesterperfect]

i hear what youre saying.
but watch the full video.
tell me if # 1 the guy seemed suicidal and if the police had reasonable cause to force him to go to a physiatric ward.
# 2 necessity to tase the guy, especially considering his age and medical condition told to them by the wife, which there was no reason to doubt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48YJJ1D4Y2s

he wasn't cooperating.
meaning he didn't want to go to a hospital.
then they decided to arrest him.
he didn't cooperate with that.
personally i don't blame him but regardless why not just grab the guy and cuff him instead of tasing him repeatedly?
i do see the necessity of tasing a violent resister, but an old guy who's just sitting? no.

 

[ChefChiTown]

i hear what youre saying.
but watch the full video.
tell me if # 1 the guy seemed suicidal and if the police had reasonable cause to force him to go to a physiatric ward.
# 2 necessity to tase the guy, especially considering his age and medical condition told to them by the wife, which there was no reason to doubt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48YJJ1D4Y2s

he wasn't cooperating.
meaning he didn't want to go to a hospital.
then they decided to arrest him.
he didn't cooperate with that.
personally i don't blame him but regardless why not just grab the guy and cuff him instead of tasing him repeatedly?
i do see the necessity of tasing a violent resister, but an old guy who's just sitting? no.

Not every scenario that revolves around the threat of suicide ends up with a crazy person holding a knife to their rib cage, threatening to take their own life. Believe it or not, suicidal people can often act very normal. So, to say that this man wasn't "acting" suicidal, which should somehow erase any justification for a police officer wanting to make sure he gets help, is kind of a moot point to make.

Plus, why can't people realize that the officer was walking into a scenario in which he was notified that a potentially suicidal man would be present? How exactly do you expect that conversation to go?

Officer: We're going to take you to the hospital to make sure you're ok.
Man: No.
Officer: Stand up. We're taking you to the hospital to make sure you're ok.
Man: Why?
Officer: You said that if you had a gun, you'd shoot yourself. We're afraid you're suicidal and want to prevent you from killing yourself.
Man: Oh. I see. Well, I'm not suicidal, so there's nothing to worry about.
Officer: Oh, well...cool. I guess we'll see you later then. Have a nice day.
Man: Thanks, you too.

Come on. That shit is NEVER going to happen. People lie to the police aaaaall the time, every single day, every single time they're present.

Officer: Do you have any idea as to why I pulled you over?
Person: No. I have no idea.

LIE!!! For the most part, everyone knows damn well why the police officer pulled them over. They just try to play stupid and act as if they have nooooo clue what's going on. When, in all reality, they know exactly why the police are involved. But, even though they know exactly what's going on, they still lie. Why? Because, people lie aaaaall the time, especially to the police. So, if an officer is called to a scene which contains a potentially suicidal person, the officer isn't going to take their word for it if that person says "What? ME? KILL MYSELF? Maaaan, you crazy. I'm not going to kill myself." They're going to assume that person is lying and do their best to get them help. And, believe it or not, that's why he was tased. Not because he was being violent, not because he was attacking the officer and certainly not because the officer wielding the taser was acting as a power hungry, authority abusing animal...but because the officer HAS TO assume that a potentially suicidal person is lying when they say that they're not going to kill themselves and because that officer is doing whatever he can in order to get them help.

Once again - I don't agree with the officer's decision to shoot this man with a taser. They could've handled it with manpower and taken the man to the hospital by force. So, I'm not supporting the officer's decision to use a taser in this situation. I am, however, pointing out that the officer wasn't some run of the mill, power hungry asshole with a badge. Anyone who thinks so is dead wrong.

 

[Facetious]

Right, so I have carefully watched the video, and the cops had no reason to tase the man. He was sat quietly until he decided to go to bed. Instead of just grabbing him manfully when he stood up (slowly and carefully, you'll note, the man was obviously still in pain after his tumble) and arresting him, they chose to use a taser him instead and yell at the man to stop resisting even as they the taser was activated.

I agree 100 % up to this point, however . . .

It is quite clear that the man did not have a gun on him - "If I had a gun I would shoot myself" is what he said therefore he had no gun.

Of all the bizarre if not completely irresponsible things Mcfarland could have said in the face of public safety / EMT people, ''If I had a gun I would shoot myself in the head'' has to be amongst the most provocative. Do you really think that the medics were in any position to measure each and every word that Mcfarland said after hearing him say key words such as "gun'' and ''shoot myself"? I surely don't.
The paramedics were likely very anxious to get the hell out of there.

Mcfarland is definitely a piece of work and I'm sure that he's very well know in his community.
The man is the embodiment of a serious accident waiting to happen. :eek: :1orglaugh

 

[Facial_King]

This is almost as inappropriate and erratic as Mcfarland's ''If I had a gun . . .'' statement.

It's neither inappropriate nor erratic. The facts of the matter speak for themselves, and speak to the obvious conclusion that the police are at fault for a major overreaction. It matters that the guy who got tased was 64 years old and had already injured his leg. It matters that the taser was obviously unnecessary. It also matters that the police weren't called in the first place, an ambulance was. It matters that the entire context of the situation indicated that he was simply an injured guy who needed help with his leg, that he didn't need to be arrested or apprehended or any such "law enforcement" garbage. It matters that people will often say extreme things when they are in extreme pain; it also matters that they shouldn't have to (and can't) walk on eggshells with their words when they're in extreme pain, so as not to elicit ridiculous and inappropriate overreactions. When someone says they're in such pain that they want to die (or that they "would" kill themselves if they could), that's a sign that they need HELP reducing the pain, NOT that they need some paramilitary force storming into the person's home and electrocuting them. Ever been in an hospital or hospice?? Jesus, I guess there should be SWAT teams constantly circling those places. Who knows who might have smuggled a gun in so that they can shoot themselves in the head when the pain gets really bad!!!

Duh.

 

[ChefChiTown]

It's neither inappropriate nor erratic. The facts of the matter speak for themselves, and speak to the obvious conclusion that the police are at fault for a major overreaction.

The man was insubordinate. Fact.
The man was yelling at the police. Fact.
The man said "if I had a gun, I'd shoot myself". Fact.
The man appeared drunk. Fact.
The man was blatantly defiant of police orders. Fact.

Funny how the anti-taser people seem to completely ignore their precious facts when they go against their argument.

It matters that the guy who got tased was 64 years old and had already injured his leg. It matters that the taser was obviously unnecessary. It also matters that the police weren't called in the first place, an ambulance was. It matters that the entire context of the situation indicated that he was simply an injured guy who needed help with his leg, that he didn't need to be arrested or apprehended or any such "law enforcement" garbage. It matters that people will often say extreme things when they are in extreme pain; it also matters that they shouldn't have to (and can't) walk on eggshells with their words when they're in extreme pain, so as not to elicit ridiculous and inappropriate overreactions. When someone says they're in such pain that they want to die (or that they "would" kill themselves if they could), that's a sign that they need HELP reducing the pain, NOT that they need some paramilitary force storming into the person's home and electrocuting them. Ever been in an hospital or hospice?? Jesus, I guess there should be SWAT teams constantly circling those places. Who knows who might have smuggled a gun in so that they can shoot themselves in the head when the pain gets really bad!!!

Duh.

Honestly, I don't think a lot of that stuff matters. Hindsight is 20/20, which is why I say that.

First of all, the man's age plays very little part in this. Just because he is 64 years old doesn't mean that he's incapable of committing suicide. It also doesn't mean that he's incapable of owning a gun, acting in a violent manner or starting a physical altercation with police officers. And, it certainly doesn't mean that he's incapable of hurting or killing an officer in a physical struggle. So, his age is no excuse as to why he didn't deserve to be shot with a taser.

His previous leg injury also has no bearing. If his injury was that bad, the medics who appeared on the scene would've informed him that he needed to go to the hospital. Which, we can only assume (because it doesn't say in the story) that they never told him such a thing. So, if that's the case, his injury wasn't bad enough to warrant any sort of leniency from the police.

The police were called. I think you are failing to realize this. Was it a criminal situation? Nope. Were the police called initially? Nope. But, they were called. And, we can only assume (once again, because it's nowhere in the story) that the medics were the ones who contacted the police, as they feared the man's suicidal comment might be a serious one. So, you can't say that the police were never called to the scene, because they were.

Also, in regards to the context of the situation...you are, once again, failing to realize the reality of the context you speak of. The context is NOT "innocent, helpless injured old man calls ambulance, police arrive for no reason at all and shot him with a taser just for fun". The context of the story is...

Injured man calls ambulance.
Medics arrive.
Injured man says "If I had a gun, I'd shoot myself".
Medics take his threat seriously and call police.
Police arrive.
Man gets angry that police arrive and scream at them to leave.
Police inform the man, calmly, why they're at his house.
Man gets verbally combative and defiant.
Police warn man that he will get tased if he doesn't go to the hospital.
Man continues being verbally combative and defiant.
Police warn man again.
Man continues being verbally combative and defiant.
Police shoot man with taser.

Do I agree with the use of the taser in this story? No, I don't. And, I've said that a few times already. But, it's not like the police had no business being at this man's house. They were there because the man was pegged as potentially suicidal, therefore, making it police business. It's protocol for public safety employees to inform the police if a person appears suicidal. Therefore, giving the police a huge reason to be at that man's house. And, anybody who doesn't see that is just choosing to ignore that fact for no other reason than that they hate the police, no matter what they do or don't do.

 

[Facial_King]

The police were called. I think you are failing to realize this. Was it a criminal situation? Nope. Were the police called initially? Nope. But, they were called. And, we can only assume (once again, because it's nowhere in the story) that the medics were the ones who contacted the police, as they feared the man's suicidal comment might be a serious one. So, you can't say that the police were never called to the scene, because they were.

I didn't say that, Chef. I said, "It also matters that the police weren't called in the first place, an ambulance was." Obviously the police were called. If the EMTs were simply "following procedure" then it was up to the police to make a judgment call as to this guy's threat level (as he was in need of treatment for an injury, laying in his own home) and do what was necessary to ratchet the tension DOWN, not up. The appearance of the cops was one thing, electrocuting the guy is another.

Injured man calls ambulance.
Medics arrive.
Injured man says "If I had a gun, I'd shoot myself".
Medics take his threat seriously and call police.
Police arrive.
Man gets angry that police arrive and scream at them to leave.
Police inform the man, calmly, why they're at his house.
Man gets verbally combative and defiant.
Police warn man that he will get tased if he doesn't go to the hospital.
Man continues being verbally combative and defiant.
Police warn man again.
Man continues being verbally combative and defiant.
Police shoot man with taser.

Do I agree with the use of the taser in this story? No, I don't. And, I've said that a few times already.

Although, the way you went through that list - as though everything just makes so much obvious sense - then I have to wonder why you don't agree with the use of the taser in the first place. Ok, whatever, so you don't agree with the use of the taser. So, we don't disagree, you just want to characterize the critiques of the taser use as those from people who (simplistically) "hate the police". Get off of that knee-jerk defensiveness. I don't "hate the police" - I hate police misconduct. And I consider tasering unarmed men in their own homes - when they've done nothing actually wrong - to be misconduct.

I can understand how a guy (yeah, esp. if he was drunk and ready to go to bed) who injures his leg and instead of getting some treatment is suddenly being accosted by some cops who are telling him that he has to go with them might be a wee bit frustrated and want to tell the cops to fuck off. He's in his own home and has done nothing wrong - other than defy (oh my god!!!) the orders of cops who he, quite understandably, does not want in his home (since, again, he hasn't done anything wrong).

 

[ChefChiTown]

I didn't say that, Chef. I said, "It also matters that the police weren't called in the first place, an ambulance was." Obviously the police were called. If the EMTs were simply "following procedure" then it was up to the police to make a judgment call as to this guy's threat level (as he was in need of treatment for an injury, laying in his own home) and do what was necessary to ratchet the tension DOWN, not up. The appearance of the cops was one thing, electrocuting the guy is another.

I know you didn't say those exact things and I apologize if I seemed as if I was putting words into your mouth - I do. And I won't sit here and try to act as if you did. It was just a point I was making. Anyway, a police officer's job isn't to necessarily lower the tension of a situation - it's to handle a situation. If a bank was being robbed, a police officer isn't going to cater to the bank robber's needs and do whatever is necessary to lower any tension involved. A police officer is going to do whatever they feel is necessary, whether you or I (as regular old Joes) agree with it or not, to handle the situation - not necessarily make it as less tense as possible.

Although, the way you went through that list - as though everything just makes so much obvious sense - then I have to wonder why you don't agree with the use of the taser in the first place. Ok, whatever, so you don't agree with the use of the taser. So, we don't disagree, you just want to characterize the critiques of the taser use as those from people who (simplistically) "hate the police". Get off of that knee-jerk defensiveness. I don't "hate the police" - I hate police misconduct. And I consider tasering unarmed men in their own homes - when they've done nothing actually wrong - to be misconduct.

I can understand how a guy (yeah, esp. if he was drunk and ready to go to bed) who injures his leg and instead of getting some treatment is suddenly being accosted by some cops who are telling him that he has to go with them might be a wee bit frustrated and want to tell the cops to fuck off. He's in his own home and has done nothing wrong - other than defy (oh my god!!!) the orders of cops who he, quite understandably, does not want in his home (since, again, he hasn't done anything wrong).

I don't think you hate the police, especially for no unwarranted reason at all. You don't like tasers. Well, you don't like tasers, at least when they're involved in stories like this. And, when you don't like tasers, you don't like the people who use them. In this case, and in other cases, that means you don't like the police officers who are holding the tasers.

Anyway, I don't think this guy should've been shot with a taser. I mean, the police could've easily attempted physical force before attempting to light this guy up with high voltage. I don't care that he was 60+ years old, I don't care that he was previously injured and I don't care that all of this happened in his own home - to me, that has nothing to do with it. There were, what? 3 police officers? And, they didn't even attempt to physically control this man? To me, that's sad. 3 vs. 1 usually means a victory for the party with the larger numbers (unless Bruce Lee or Wolverine is the "1" involved in that situation). And, because of that, I don't agree that the first choice of shooting this guy with a taser was necessary. The only thing I'm saying is that I completely understand HOW a taser could be involved in this situation.

Do I support this officer's use of a taser? No. Do I support the man's actions in this situation, including his lawsuit against the police department? No. Both parties acted poorly and both parties are at fault for their own respective reasons. Nobody is wrong and nobody is right. It's just one of "those" situations where everybody just needs to wrap it up, go home and move on with their lives.

I'm just trying to make a point that the police officer who pulled the trigger in this story isn't some jacked up, power hungry bad guy with a God complex. He was doing his job. That's it. Did he handle the situation in a manner that everyone would agree with? No, he didn't. But, did he do anything wrong? No, absolutely not.

 

[Facetious]

Nobody is wrong and nobody is right. It's just one of "those" situations where everybody just needs to wrap it up, go home and move on with their lives.

Sort of off setting penalties as it were? Yeah, unless or until we find out that there's another dimension to the story we haven't yet heard, I'll have to agree, wrap it up already, this happened more than a year ago.

What I would like to know is . .
√ Was Mcfarland cooperating with the paramedics or was he having a conniption fit?

√At what point did the Sheriffs office receive the information about Mr. Mcfarland and his curious statement about shooting himself if he had a gun, did I miss that part somewhere in this story? Did one of the medics step outside after helping Mcfarland in the house and advise the dispatch center that Mcfarland may be suicidal and to dispatch the deputies? How did the deputies know with such certainty that Mcfarland was worthy of a psych evaluation, how was that information transferred?

We'll likely never know