Check it out here
A N.Y. city police officer stopped a minivan because he thought she was talking on a cell phone and was going 5 miles over the speed limit. When the officer approached the car, he saw that there were 2 children in the car. As the officer tried to talk to the woman in the van, he said she was being disorderly and he could not see her hands during part of the conversation. He felt that he needed to tase her, so he did it twice. He claimed he thought she was going to drive off and he didn't want to have a vehicle pursuit with children in the car. The officer's supervisor said there was nothing wrong with what he did, but the officer was suspended.
I have to agree with the civilian in this situation. She had 2 children in the car with her. To see there mother being hurt by a police officer could be very disturbing to them. I have to think that there would have been a better way to control this situation. A police officer is supposed to be a role model for children and they are supposed to help people, not hurt their mothers. I also think that the suspension was the right move for the officer's supervisor. He had to show some form of punishment for his actions.
I have learned a valuable lesson from this story. If you feel like you were not in the wrong when you are stopped by an officer, you still need to listen and cooperate with them. They are your authority. You can deal with the situation later with the court if you feel that it is necessary. I do think that this officer could have handled this situation better.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It's always more pleasant to learn from the mistakes of others. Less painful, too, as this case illustrates.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to agree with you, to a point. I wouldn't have wanted the officer tazing a woman with kids in the back seat; however, you have to understand what kind of danger officers can be in with a simple traffic stop. Some are paranoid nut jobs that will try to run over the cop, some are wanted criminals that will shoot them, even though most will obey the law and the officer. The officer can't tell the dangerous stops from those who will obey the law and not try to harm him or her.
This is true. I guess you can't judge a book by its cover. The mother could have been a crazy murderer and the cop has no idea. He does have to look out for himself. It would be nice to have seen the situation first hand. That could help clear up a lot of questions.
ReplyDelete