Dear Joseph,
” A police officer has either the obligation or certainly the authority to arrest a drunk driver. If the drunk driver resists arrest the police officer needs to enforce the arrest with physical means. And the resisting arrest criminal is responsible for what happens.
And if a criminal grabs and obtains an officer’s weapon, the officer is absolutely obligated to retrieve it however necessary.”
Yes! Yes! Agreed!
It was their discretion to book him. Once he resisted, they hesitated way to much and he made fools of them. If you pull a taser do not yell your are going to get tased. Tase him as fast as you can. That is what it is meant for. Do not check if he is still struggling. Hold him down until he is cuffed. Once he get the taser you have to stop him while you have the chance. Stand your ground and get a good shot. Chasing him was absolutely the stupidest part.There was no chance of one cop subduing him. Once he gets away, do not shoot at people in a
parked car.
Why did this happen? Too much hesitation, again and again. Probably because of what was going on around the country. They tried to be nice so there would be no trouble. The suspect was ready to resist. (What a thug. The cop is being nice, and he still did not want to be arrested.) The cops had fooled only themselves. They could not get over their mistake, until they were being shot at.
This is the problem with excessive policing. These officers were no match for the suspect. They relied on his compliance. If you need his help to arrest him, than just give him a warning and put his name into the system. Unless, there is a danger in letting him go. Then it is the Police’s duty to use whatever means, to stop the suspect immediately. In sum, if there is false incentive to arrest people (To pay court fees and bail. Religious or racial oppression. ) then routine arrests become deadly, due to the suspicion of the populace. Once the cop set his intent to arrest (or book) irrespective of the crime, it is just a drop of resistance away from a death struggle. Largely because the suspects are well endowed to resist and the Police are poorly trained. I do not fault the Police. This is their job description, though it should not be.I fault the city councils and DA’s that mak a career of it.