Coachella 2009

Why do you keep referencing the Holocaust?  A druggie got naked at a festival, and refused to put clothes on.  That's far different from laws about Jews in Nazi Germany.  Of course those laws are unjust, and shouldn't have to be obeyed, but a law against public nudity?  That's a pretty damn simple one to follow.  I'm not saying laws should never be protested, but if you're gonna protest one that's very reasonable and easy to follow, don't expect sympathy when the police take you down.

As far as I see it, telling people they're not allowed to get naked in public is not a civil rights violation.  So it's an entirely different situation from these obviously racist cases you seem to love bringing up.


And no, I'm not advocating a death charge for this guy.  Where the hell did you get this idea?  He deserved to be arrested, and he wasn't complying…so something had to be done. 

just imagine if they tazed his penis.

wml7 wrote:
just imagine if they tazed his penis.

That'd be very difficult to do, seeing as how they'd have to navigate around the fat rolls, and hit a very small target on a very large moving man.

Tassering a non-violent offender went a step too far. Period.

I repeat:

Jaguar wrote:
Tasers have already killed on several occassions. They aren't as safe as the manufacturer would have one believe. That's quite evident with several somewhat recent tassering deaths. This is a serious issue outside of this incident that needs to be addressed regarding law enforcement. Add to that; and the scariest part of this whole thing; was that the taser wasn't just used but used over and over again. The shot to the heart was the worst part of the whole thing. All to a naked fool who broke a few laws though while not harming even a fly. Okay, so the whole world can see that there's nothing left to his manhood but that's not a crime.

Believe me, I am not at all anti-police force but I am very concerned about levels of police force.

Jaguar wrote:
Tassering a non-violent offender went a step too far. Period.

I repeat:

Jaguar wrote:
Tasers have already killed on several occassions. They aren't as safe as the manufacturer would have one believe. That's quite evident with several somewhat recent tassering deaths. This is a serious issue outside of this incident that needs to be addressed regarding law enforcement. Add to that; and the scariest part of this whole thing; was that the taser wasn't just used but used over and over again. The shot to the heart was the worst part of the whole thing. All to a naked fool who broke a few laws though while not harming even a fly. Okay, so the whole world can see that there's nothing left to his manhood but that's not a crime.

Believe me, I am not at all anti-police force but I am very concerned about levels of police force.

They tased him while he was escaping. Running away. When a suspect who has already disobeyed kind gestures by the police makes a run for it, tasing is justified. What were they supposed to do? Chase him through a festival of thousands of people? That'd be a total mess. And there were other people around, too, and the officers have to consider their safety as well. Now whether or not he was considered "harmful" or not is a matter of opinion in this scenario. But when a suspect flees from the police, he pretty much becomes a threat, whether we think so or not. That's the way it is (and should be). Bottom line is he tried to make a run for it and he got tasered. Had they done it simply to get him on the ground, it'd be a different story. But he tried making a run for it - that's all it should take right there.

Does no one seem to notice the guy reach for the cops belt (and therefore, possibly his gun) when they try to detain him? Totally justified.

Exactly.  The dumbass tried to escape.  He needed to be taken out, and he wasn't complying the easy way.  The cops were totally justified.  I don't even see how you can argue that the cops did anything wrong.  They gave the guy chances, and he kept on making an ass out of himself.  You're the only person I've seen/heard saying the cops used excessive force. 

Imagine the scene if that guy ran away, and several cops begin chasing him around a festival.  Seems chaotic to me.  And that's where he does become harmful to himself and others.

Wow. Make a run for it through the crowd. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I suspect there were a lot more cops at that festival than just those 3 and I doubt he'd been lost in the crowd since he'd stand out due to his blatant nakedness. Seems they could have radioed to the others if the guy did get away.

About me being the only one thinking it's excessive, other than Julian, there are only 3 of us who have bothered to comment. Gesh. Way to stretch a point. I will note that Julian did make a valid point that I did miss. Not sure where that came along with the tasering. Don't know if he went for the gun or just a grab to pull the guy down or maybe try to bring himself back up. Regardless, you guys also missed it. You both scare me since it's obvious that even without that potential, you still think it's okay to jump the gun all too soon.

All in all, it looked like lazy policing to me when 3 grown men can't hold down one out of shape naked guy.

I would bet a dozen donuts that ThatGuy could teach these guys a thing or two about how to deal with such a dangerous criminal without resorting to the use of weapons. Add to that, he and his staph would get the job done in a flash with barely a notice by others.

I should have clarified when I said you were the only one arguing that they went too far.  I've discussed this with numerous friends, and seen several other online discussions, and everyone seems to agree that the cops were plenty reasonable.

I don't think it's ok to jump the gun too soon, but I also don't think that that situation saw them jump the gun too soon.

I can agree that it was probably lazy policing, but the point is they tried to take him down, and he got up and tried to get away.  They didn't instantly whip out the tazers and zap him.

and here i thought the cure went long after the show.  ;D