Bad Apples

In way similar to, but probably not as reprehensible as the torturers of Abu Ghraib prison, police officers, as we have tried to bring attention to, have been accused of torturing suspects in an effort to coerce compliance.

In one of the most brazen acts of political sabotage I have ever seen, even if it was a Hillary Clinton event, two Bibb County, Georgia, officers threatened attendees of the event to disperse or be tased. So, apparently, the event had almost 150% more people than had signed up for the event, and the crowd outside must have been pretty boisterous. Regardless of my objection to making people register to come to a political event, these two officers were not merely being "discourteous," but were actively engaged in violations of constitutional rights. I mean, we do still have the freedom of assembly, right? The two officers are apparently highly decorated, and in typical good ol' boys fashion, won't even receive a suspension with pay.

A similar incident happened in Vancouver, BC, last night with the Queen's representative in Canada, Governor-General Michelle Jean is being met with anger and protests as she tours the province. As the Governor-General was meeting with local leaders on ways to combat violence, police were outside tasering a protester who got too pushy.

Another alleged bad apple is Corporal Rudy Torres of Frederick County, Maryland. Demonstrating that statistical discrepencies are usually reflective of underlying trends, this particular police force has been disproportionately enthusiastic about using their taser devices, and Corp Torres has under his belt more than 10% of the total use of the department, out of a total of 218 times using 171 tasers in 2007. A more typical rate of use based on these numbers would be more like .6% of all taser uses. One can only hope that the litigation surrounding the death of 20-year old Jarrel Gray sees some justice done.

In an example of messy reality conflicting with a very controlled situation, and the resulting conflicting legality, an Orange County man, described as having a condition that impairs his thinking, is tasered in the course of being subdued (with video badness) by officers, and was later cited for battery on a law enforcement officer with violence. However, if the person can't be held responsible for their own actions, what legal responsibility does this place onto the officer to prevent harm? For instance, why aren't law enforcement officers trained in more mediation and jujitsu?

What is torture? In Toronto, Canada, the founder of Taser International, Thomas Smith, offers some clever spin on the nature of the Taser. “'We were taught electricity is bad,' said Smith. 'Don’t put your finger in the socket. But really, electricity is life.'” Regardless of how true the statement may or may not be, it is ultimately irrelevant. Later, out comes another particularly wonderful example of the straw man logical fallacy.

When one deputant said the UN has expressed concern that taser use is tantamount to torture, Smith objected. “We don’t want to see torturous devices used,” he said. “But if the UN is going to define torture as causing pain, then a baton is torture, stepping on a nail is torture.”

Except the standard for torture is far more robust than Mr. Smith is protraying it. The definition for torture in the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Degrading Treatment or Punishment is as follows, italics added for emphasis.

Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.