How did we ever manage without tasers?

clipped from www.tmz.com Zachery Ty Bryan, who played Brad Taylor on "Home Improvement" -- is suing Choice Hotels International over an incident back in April 2008. Zach claims he was staying at a hotel in San Diego when he and a few friends went across the street to grab a Gatorade. When he came back just after midnight, Bryan's lawyer claims the hotel wouldn't let him upstairs, since the room wasn't in his name. Bryan's lawyer claims Zach tried explaining his wife was in the room, but the hotel refused to call her. He claims an off-duty manager, who was not involved in the initial argument, came out of nowhere and tasered Zach in the neck. Cops came but no charges were filed. A hotel employee tells us Zach went nuts on the staff, a lot of alcohol was involved, and tasering the dude was the only safe bet.

Choice Hotels and Noble House Trust may be learning to do that soon - as well as a hard lesson as to the price of turning your good name into a rapidly spreading oxymoron. "Oxymoron" is not a snide reference to Rush Limbaugh. It's an inherent contradiction in terms. Kinda like "Military Intelligence," and (in certain lights "Family Values."

As my sarcastic headline implies, I do wonder how the hospitality industry ever managed to deal with (allegedly) drunken guests who have forgotten their room keys. I am not entirely sure, but I'm fairly certain that assistant managers did not carry Glocks, as a general rule; certainly not in your better establishments. I believe they relied on... oh, what was that device? Oh yes.

A telephone.

Repeating:

Bryan's lawyer claims Zach tried explaining his wife was in the room, but the hotel refused to call her. He claims an off-duty manager, who was not involved in the initial argument, came out of nowhere and tasered Zach in the neck. Cops came but no charges were filed.

More on this as the story develops, as they say. I've contacted the firm representing Ty for specifics. It is worth noting that TMZ is an AOL thing and, if you are familiar with AOL culture, the hand holding the taser is never wrong.

For myself, I am very dubious that an off duty assistant manager is in any way authorized security personel or trained to judge when a "situation" has become an "incident" requiring force.

Aggravated Gun Fondling Caught on Tape

From Texas, naturally.



Texas Police officer walking away from a successful arrest is shown shooting himself due to fondling his Taser. It's far funner than if it had been his Glock - but one wonders if he should be carrying either weapon!

35-Year-Old Woman Tasered In Front Of Customers At Best Buy - News Story - WFTV Orlando

35-Year-Old Woman Tasered In Front Of Customers At Best Buy - News Story - WFTV Orlando: "'The woman is repeatedly told to cease and desist her conduct and activities. As the officer is trying to approach her, you can see her throw her hands up and her arms flailing. The taser is designed for incidents like that,' Chitwood said."


There are several videos that I could have embedded here; this one seems to be the best in terms of clearly showing the incident, as well as preserving a particularly astonishingly authoritarian statement by the Daytona Police Chief in defense of what is pretty clearly an indefensible use of force.



The next video includes direct and even-handed analysis by Cop Watch activist George Crossley.



After reviewing the cop-watch blog, I have come to believe that despite obvious "left of center" associations, they are scrupulously fair about this effort.

In other words, I don't think this is a source you should automatically discount, even if you reflexively disbelieve "liberal" sources.

Besides, a camera is not a "liberal" or "conservative" source. It's very clear in the video that the officer initiated and esculated a confrontation; while the suspect may well have been loud and profane, she never once touched or physically resisted the officer. While the Chief of police attributes the entire incident to "a lack of respect" on the part of the woman, it's pretty clear that no such respect for the civilian was on offer, so my response to both the officer and the chief is "sit on it and rotate."

Oh, and I do hope this one goes to a jury of your civilian peers.

Despite the charges laid against the "suspect," Elizabeth Beeland, it seems fairly clear to me that this is in fact a case of assault by an officer on a civilian. It's also quite clear from the video that the officer spent no time whatsoever attempting to assess or investigate the situation before - quite literally - throwing her weight around. See for yourself how very few seconds transpire between confrontation and tasering.

Her first response was to intimidate Beeland, it's pretty clear that the officer was uninterested in any response other than immediate submission to her authority.

In other words, the cop made the disastrously unwarranted assumption that Beeland was "a perp," even though Beeland had not behaved as a person fleeing arrest would have - continue to her car and flee. And needless to say, as it was her card, and she was distraught due to perfectly reasonable circumstances, it was entirely predictable that she would be both upset and confused.

Of course, one of the many hollow-sounding justifications for this incident is that Beeland was "disrupting business," and that may well be the real reason for this chain of events.

I have been unable to find any evidence of a statement on behalf of Best Buy regarding this incident, or what they might do to prevent such issues in the future, but customer relations do not seem to be a high priority with the firm., despite slickly produced protestations promises of Corporate Responsibility.

In the absence of any reassurance to concerned potential customers, I think it wise to assume that this is as much a product of store policy (though possibly that of a local or regional manager) as it is a matter of evident police over-reaction.

In particular, I would like to know exactly what the clerk said to the cop that may have predisposed her to such a precipitous and reckless use of force. In hopes of learning this and whatever else Best Buy might have to say about this incident, I've forwarded this story to NewsCenter@bestbuy.com, their public relations contact address.

tag: taser, best buy, Elizabeth Beeland, Daytona Beach, Florida, authority abuse, police abuse, taser abuse