Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Laminar · Apr 26, 2009, 09:58 AM

Well the taser threads are always good for a laugh or too.

I'm hesitant to link to the video due to its NSFW content, but if you Google "Coachella," it's the Huffington Post link.

Summary:
- Guy is drugged out and wants to be naked
- Police disagree
- Commence Tasing, also knee-drops into the ribs

Ready.....GO!

subego · 12:25 PM

The video won't play fast enough on my 2K3 PowerBook.

Judging by the textual setup, this could almost be in the regular lounge. Even the HP people seem to think he deserved it.

I like that the title of the video is "Naked Wizard Tased by Reality".

Edit: Hey, waitaminnit... Didn't this exact same thing happen to Patton Oswalt on Reno: 911?

Laminar · Apr 26, 2009, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by subego

The video won't play fast enough on my 2K3 PowerBook.

Judging by the textual setup, this could almost be in the regular lounge. Even the HP people seem to think he deserved it.

I like that the title of the video is "Naked Wizard Tased by Reality".

Edit: Hey, waitaminnit... Didn't this exact same thing happen to Patton Oswalt on Reno: 911?

I figured the content would get heated quickly and I'd save the mods some time and put it here in the first place. If it belongs somewhere else, I'm fine with that.

The whole crowd seemed to be booing the cops, the cameraman repeated yelled, "The whole world is watching!" I figured someone would hate cops enough to take the other side.

subego · Apr 26, 2009, 01:15 PM

Oh. I wasn't questioning your placement, I was surprised at the Post's take on it.

Right below the video it says "Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!"

Edit: when I said "textual setup" I meant the HP's, not yours. Sorry I didn't make that very clear.

Chuckit · Apr 26, 2009, 01:35 PM

"The whole world is watching" — and laughing!

I hate cops and think far too much stuff is punishable (like, it's Coachella, are there a lot of kids there these days?), but even I see that running from the cops like this guy was trying to do is just asking to be shot. You don't really leave them a choice. Though I kind of suspect the cop wanted to Taser the guy once he realized he was sitting on a naked man trying to put wizard clothes on him.

ThinkInsane · Apr 26, 2009, 01:59 PM

If I was sporting that tiny tackle, I'd damn well be keeping pants on.

subego · Apr 26, 2009, 02:06 PM

I never got a look, but I got an eyeful of love-handles waiting for the clip to buffer.

Laminar · Apr 26, 2009, 02:07 PM

Originally Posted by ThinkInsane

If I was sporting that tiny tackle, I'd damn well be keeping pants on.

Rumors say the drugs did it to him. I'd guess for that to happen, you can't have started out with much.

Rumor · Apr 26, 2009, 03:26 PM

He was given multiple opportunities to put his clothes back. The officers were being very reasonable. The guy was obviously very high (my guess would be MDMA) and not co-operating. So high, that once contact from the taser ended, he continues to fight. Often, after one or two charges, a person is subdued enough to put them in restraints, but this guy had too many drugs going through his system for it to affect him that way.

Tiresias · Apr 27, 2009, 12:05 AM

Originally Posted by ThinkInsane

If I was sporting that tiny tackle, I'd damn well be keeping pants on.

Tiny is not the word you want. It was microscopic.

Chuckit · Apr 27, 2009, 12:29 AM

I thought it was a third nipple.

Shaddim · Apr 27, 2009, 01:07 AM

Must be cold there...

Kerrigan · Apr 27, 2009, 01:26 AM

What a creeper.

olePigeon · Apr 27, 2009, 11:13 AM

He should put back on his robes and wizard hat.

sek929 · Apr 27, 2009, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by Laminar

Rumors say the drugs did it to him. I'd guess for that to happen, you can't have started out with much.

I've tried just about everything there is out there (with a few exceptions) nothing caused my junk to vanish.

olePigeon · Apr 27, 2009, 11:45 AM

Originally Posted by sek929

I've tried just about everything there is out there (with a few exceptions) nothing caused my junk to vanish.

Gain 300 pounds.

Chuckit · Apr 27, 2009, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by sek929

I've tried just about everything there is out there (with a few exceptions) nothing caused my junk to vanish.

Looking at that dude naked does it for me.

Laminar · Apr 27, 2009, 01:06 PM

What? No one is pissed at the cops? "How dare they??" "I can't believe they'd abuse their power like that?" "I hate cops!"

I thought better of you, PWL.

Uncle Skeleton · Apr 27, 2009, 01:15 PM

I'll do it. Why did they skip handcuffs and go straight to tasers? It was 4 against 1 and he wasn't even throwing punches.

Chuckit · Apr 27, 2009, 02:11 PM

The guy wouldn't stop trying to get free (wiggling, curling into a ball, etc.). Four against one is useful if you want to beat somebody up, but less so for peacefully subduing him if he won't stop fighting. I guess they thought the Taser would be less likely to lead to somebody getting injured.

Uncle Skeleton · Apr 27, 2009, 03:46 PM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Four against one is useful if you want to beat somebody up, but less so for peacefully subduing him

I would buy that if they didn't have handcuffs. They whole purpose of handcuffs is that you can't "wiggle free" even if you keep trying.

Kerrigan · Apr 27, 2009, 03:48 PM

My friend and I had to subdue a mutual friend in order to take his keys (he was drunk and wanted to drive). It took ten minutes, involved lots of kicking and screaming, and nearly turned into a fist fight. Subduing someone without resorting to violence is not as easy as you think.

Then imagine doing this with a loaded pistol on your belt -- quite risky.

Tasing him was a reasonably good judgment call. It was either that or hitting him with the nightstick.

Uncle Skeleton · Apr 27, 2009, 04:14 PM

I don't buy that either. Watch the movie again. At 1:40 they clearly have him by both wrists, for almost a full minute, and he's not getting free or even trying. At 2:30 they have him by the hair, head shoved against the ground face down, again arms not moving. Either of these positions it would have been possible to cuff him without any trouble. They then knee drop him, and at this point they reach for the taser, NOT the cuffs! He's lying on his back when they get the taser out (they are all standing). The cops are clearly out of line in this case.

If you're saying that having a gun is a liability, then just give your gun to another officer and dive in! That is absolutely no excuse.

ThinkInsane · Apr 27, 2009, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton

I would buy that if they didn't have handcuffs. They whole purpose of handcuffs is that you can't "wiggle free" even if you keep trying.

That's absolutely true. Once they are applied. Getting someone into handcuffs is the fun part. They could have beat him into submission, that's the other option. It's obvious from the video he was incapable or unwilling to comply. Try this experiment- get three of your buddies and a pair of cuffs. Have the three biggest guys try and cuff the smallest, but the guy getting cuffed has to resist, really resist (tell him once you have him hooked-up, you're going to leave him naked on a registered sex offenders front porch with "insert here" written on his butt cheeks- he'll fight) and see how easy it is. More than likely, the guy being restrained and at least one of the guys doing the restraint will receive an injury of some sort, but at least you'll have a clear perspective of the reality of putting a resisting subject in hand cuffs. I think you'll be surprised at how hard it actually is to get a struggling person into bracelets if they really don't want to be. Now try that with a sweaty nekkid guy hopped up on who knows what and see if you wouldn't see the logic in lighting him up instead.

Uncle Skeleton · Apr 27, 2009, 05:21 PM

Originally Posted by ThinkInsane

They could have beat him into submission

They already had him in submission before they took out their tasers

Try this experiment- get three of your buddies and a pair of cuffs. Have the three biggest guys try and cuff the smallest

With the smallest starting out on the ground, on his stomach, with one man holding each wrist and the third holding his hair? Because that's how they had him in the video before they got out the tasers.

I think you'll be surprised at how hard it actually is to get a struggling person into bracelets if they really don't want to be.

So don't even try them?

shifuimam · Apr 27, 2009, 05:33 PM

Holy crap. That is one sad looking package.

I don't get people who try to run from, resist, or otherwise incite police officers. They're the ones with the weapons - seems to me you're better off submitting to them for the time being and dealing with your opinion about your arrest at a time that's less conducive to you getting your ass kicked (or electrocuted).

Kerrigan · Apr 27, 2009, 06:43 PM

Hopefully it will be a learning experience for this man; apparently he has not yet developed a mature idea of what it is to be an upstanding citizen. He needs to learn how to hold his liquor/weed/whatever, and maybe get a friend or two so that he doesn't keep making an idiot of himself in public.

ThinkInsane · Apr 27, 2009, 07:27 PM

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton

They already had him in submission before they took out their tasers

Until he's in cuffs, he's not secured. He hadn't submitted, start watching from about 2:45. At 3:05 he gets off the ground and heads for the crowd. That's when the light him up. He then continues to resist for at least another minute and a half.

With the smallest starting out on the ground, on his stomach, with one man holding each wrist and the third holding his hair? Because that's how they had him in the video before they got out the tasers.

Like I said, give it a try and see. Once in training it took seven guys to get me cuffed and they ended up having to double cuff me at that because they still couldn't get my arms together. And that was with me just struggling, not kicking, punching and biting.

So don't even try them?

Why exactly do you think they took him to the ground in the first place? Just for kicks? They were trying to get him cuffed and he resisted. It's not that they didn't try, it's that he was naked, sweaty, and more than likely trippin' balls on something. They could have pepper sprayed him, but it probably wouldn't have been all that effective and he still would have resisted. They could have given him a nice swift strike or two to the thigh with a baton, and he would have been hating that one for a good week or so. In the "good old days" they would have used a wrist breaker which he would have regretted for about six weeks.

I've been sprayed with OC, struck with batons, and tased in training and certifications, and I will take a taser hit ANY DAY over those alternatives. Despite the hysteria that surrounds the device, it's a lower echelon use of force than pounding the bloody hell out of him. There's significantly less risk of injury from a taser than from joint locks and applied choke holds.

And those guys were pretty patient with him. All he needed to do was cover that ridiculous nubbin, a reasonable request in my ever humble opinion, and there wouldn't have been an issue in the first place.

Uncle Skeleton · Apr 27, 2009, 08:26 PM

Originally Posted by ThinkInsane

At 3:05 he gets off the ground and heads for the crowd.

You mean right after the bald fat-ass did a knee-drop on him instead of getting out the cuffs?

Like I said, give it a try and see. Once in training it took seven guys to get me cuffed and they ended up having to double cuff me at that because they still couldn't get my arms together. And that was with me just struggling, not kicking, punching and biting.

After they had you face down on the ground by your wrists and hair? I'm skeptical.

I don't doubt that it's hard to subdue someone who doesn't want to be subdued. The only part I don't believe is the part where that person starts out face down on the ground with 3 cops on top of him.

Why exactly do you think they took him to the ground in the first place? Just for kicks? They were trying to get him cuffed

I'm having a hard time believing that was their goal when I can see them get him on the ground and still not get their cuffs out. What was stopping them at that point?

smacintush · Apr 27, 2009, 08:45 PM

Hey uncle, did you even WATCH the video?

They had one cuff on him between 1:40 and 2:00 while he was still standing and they couldn't get the other on because he was struggling. Seriously stop with the cuff thing.

Uncle Skeleton · Apr 28, 2009, 02:05 AM

That's not a handcuff, that's the paper bracelet for entering the event. You can see it on him in the first few seconds when the camera is on his right, and you can see it on all the other people in the video who aren't police.

smacintush · Apr 28, 2009, 03:24 AM

Oh yeah, you're right. The first time I watched it the video was smaller than the one I just re-watched.

Either way I'm not seeing what you are seeing. They we're clearly trying to control his arms and they never got both of his hands behind his back when he was face down though they were clearly trying. He flopped onto his back first.

As ThinkInsane said, they COULD have continued with the struggle, but to do so runs the risk of endangering the cops or a bystander.

shifuimam · Apr 28, 2009, 11:24 AM

Originally Posted by ThinkInsane

I've been sprayed with OC, struck with batons, and tased in training and certifications, and I will take a taser hit ANY DAY over those alternatives. Despite the hysteria that surrounds the device, it's a lower echelon use of force than pounding the bloody hell out of him. There's significantly less risk of injury from a taser than from joint locks and applied choke holds.

There's also this point.

I'm not entirely convinced that Tasering is as brutal and inhumane as the videos on YouTube make it appear to be.

Seems to me that an electric shock is going to do a lot less damage overall (and psychological trauma) than, say, getting the crap beaten out of you with a baton.

I don't know what electric horse/livestock fences use, but I accidentally backed into a horse fence once. It scared the bejeebus out of me, and made the side of my body that contacted it go completely numb for a few seconds, but it wasn't that traumatizing. I mean, I realize that a Taser also has the little needly things that jab into you, but that seems a lot less painful than dealing with a broken kneecap a week later.

Interesting video of some B-list celebrities getting Tased:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UncMrAt5gE4

Uncle Skeleton · Apr 28, 2009, 11:28 AM

The cases of tasers being fatal have all been in people apparently a lot frailer than the naked wizard, I'll give you that much.

Chuckit · Apr 28, 2009, 12:35 PM

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton

The cases of tasers being fatal have all been in people apparently a lot frailer than the naked wizard, I'll give you that much.

Tackling people like those cops did can also be fatal. Anything is fatal to some subset of people — Tasers are not particularly likely to kill.

Eug · Apr 28, 2009, 12:43 PM

Originally Posted by subego

The video won't play fast enough on my 2K3 PowerBook.

G4s suck.

I should know, as I have 5 of them.

Chuckit · Apr 28, 2009, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by Eug

G4s suck.

I should know, as I have 5 of them.

It's not the G4's fault that everybody uses lousy FLV.

ThinkInsane · Apr 28, 2009, 09:29 PM

Originally Posted by shifuimam

There's also this point.

I'm not entirely convinced that Tasering is as brutal and inhumane as the videos on YouTube make it appear to be.

Seems to me that an electric shock is going to do a lot less damage overall (and psychological trauma) than, say, getting the crap beaten out of you with a baton.

I don't know what electric horse/livestock fences use, but I accidentally backed into a horse fence once. It scared the bejeebus out of me, and made the side of my body that contacted it go completely numb for a few seconds, but it wasn't that traumatizing. I mean, I realize that a Taser also has the little needly things that jab into you, but that seems a lot less painful than dealing with a broken kneecap a week later.

Interesting video of some B-list celebrities getting Tased:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UncMrAt5gE4

It sucks pretty hard, for a very short time. That being said, I have a freakishly high tolerance for pain, but I wouldn't want getting tased to be my full time job. On the other hand people seem to think it's akin to being strapped into the electric chair. It ain't.

Your nervous system shorts out for a second and your muscles convulse. And it really sucks. If you could think clearly you'd be sure you could crush coal into diamonds with your rectum at that point. The probes are really nothing at all, they have little barbs on them but the don't penetrate very deep and you can pull them right out. Every cop carrying a taser has been tasered, it's part of the certification, so they aren't doing anything that haven't had done to themselves. Like this

shifuimam · Apr 29, 2009, 09:48 AM

Oh, I'm sure it sucks balls when it happens.

Getting beat with a billy club in an attempt to subdue you, however, is going to leave bruises and possibly other lasting injuries. Getting tased allows the officers to keep a safe distance and subdue you more safely. An electric shock isn't going to cause lasting injuries, unless you happen to be one of the unlucky few who have oddly died from getting tased.