Tazer? or Taser? Use It? Don't Use It? A Final Thought

(Source:  Matt Slocum, AP)

My thoughts on the boy getting tazed are very simple, don't run on baseball field, don't get tazed.  

You can sit here and debate whether or not he should of been tazed, should he have been left alone to tire himself out, or should of been taken down old school like Goldberg used to do on WCW Nitro… via spear.  The bottom line is that the Officer that was on duty has one job, that's to protect people, and protect himself.  He did that, and did nothing wrong.  

Sure, you can say now that the kid had no intentions of doing any harm, but how is that any different if a Police Officer pulls someone over, and the cop is telling him to put his hands on the dash, and unexpectingly he reaches under the passenger side seat… what do you do then? You taze him, there could be a crack pipe, a Pez dispenser, or a .22 under that seat, at that time…NO ONE KNOWS! 

Same goes with FOR kid.  Let's say, for example, he DID do something harmful to a player or a coach, lets say he clotheslined Raul, Raul gets a neck sprain and is out 30 days.  Then, a report comes out and says "A Police officer was on duty the night of the incident, and was equipped with a tazer, but did not use it"? The Officer would lose his job, and everyone in the city would have the same response… "Why wasn't this kid tazed?"  He would be criticized for NOT doing exactly what he actually DID. You must look at the situation both ways. 

To end this rant… I've heard people say that "nothing ever happens to the players when someone runs around on the field."  Yeah, tell that to the Royals first base coach that was beaten up by a father/son duo in 2002.  Anyway, a tazer is FAR from "Lethal Force."  Don't break any laws, and you have no reason to worry about getting tazed.  All parties involved are fine, healthy, and living their lives… there should be no dispute about how it was handled, or how the same situation will be handled in the future.