In recent years, tasers have been hailed as an excellent non-lethal weapon for the police force to use to subdue unruly criminals. Unfortunately, both “unruly” and “non-lethal” have proven to be a bit subjective in practice. Police around the country have face controversy as they have used the weapons against unarmed persons who pose no risk to the officers and the public. Even worse, some people with medical issues have been hospitalized, even killed, by these supposedly harmless tools.
A federal court of appeals recently looked at this issue and has issued the most restrictive ruling yet regarding the police use of these weapons. The court declared that many uses of tasers violate the suspect’s rights to be free from excessive force. The court opinion seemed to imply that police should evaluate all aspects of a situation before using the weapon. Factors they need to be wary of include the suspect’s level of threat, the crime the suspect is accused of, and if the suspect is mentally troubled.
San Diego criminal lawyer Eugene Iredale, who argued the case, says it is a landmark decision and one of the clearest statements regarding the law enforcement tool’s use to date.
To read more about the court decision, see the article in the Modesto Bee. Image Via Oldmaison [Flickr]
A former volunteer wrestling coach from Westview High School has plead not guilty to molestation charges and other accusations, including rape by foreign object, sexual battery, committing a lewd act on a minor, false imprisonment and attempting to dissuade a witness. The offenses are believed to have occurred in February. Police began investigating after a girl came forward last month.
In 2006, California voters passed the proposition to put “Jessica’s Law” into effect. In theory, this meant that registered sex offenders would no longer be able to live within 2,000 feet of a school or park. Unfortunately, the vagueness of the law and lack of penalties for violations is making it impossible for police to enforce. More than 70 percent of the city’s sex offenders are violating the law.
The Escondido police have developed a new, highly-effective method of tracking graffiti artists. Now whenever the police receive a call regarding a tagging incident, they take pictures of the vandalism with a camera equipped with GPS. This allows the department to use a graffiti specialist to identify other graffiti pieces done by the same person and help narrow down his or her home area and track the vandalism.