View Single Post
Old 08-09-2009, 12:09 PM   #23
Agamemnon
#1 Goaltender
 
Agamemnon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Calgary
Exp:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by oilers_fan View Post
Fair enough, and while it wasn't directed at you, I stand by the comment. I'm not surprised. Two Calgary cops get assaulted last night, and nothing on CP about it. I really don't see the point in always bringing up these little incidents (usually from the USA) each time they hit the news (again, not directed at you, but everyone who posts them).
I don't see how playing tit-for-tat with news stories helps though. There should be hundreds of examples daily where cops have done the right thing, thousands even. We don't run news stories about those events because it's what their paid to do. In fact, as the only group in society that really has a monopoly on violence, every single action of theirs should be intensely monitored, discussed, and judged, both by the public and government (internal affairs and such). They're not heroes, they're paid employees, and as their employers (society/government), we should be watching every single incident.

I'm not sure the taser ended up being the greatest idea. If the cops didn't have the taser in that situation, would they have clubbed or shot these people instead? The taser allows a casual level of violence that is too easy for a cop to justify, imo. I'm not worried about the health issues so much as the grotesque authoritarian style of it, just zapping an individual who might be drunk or upset seems (to me) to degrade the civility of our societies.

I don't recall law enforcement being entirely stumped on how to arrest people prior to the taser.
Agamemnon is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Agamemnon For This Useful Post: