Tasers - Activists Use Race Card

The Houston Chronicle ran a headline, “HPD Use of Tasers in 14 Cases of Verbal Aggression Debated”, today, followed with, “Police saw imminent assault, but activists say free speech involved”. The facts; never let the facts interfere with an agenda, bear out that when Officers used Tasers to subdue potentially violent individuals there have been no serious injuries to any citizens and that in each case the use of that level of force was justified. Local Houston Activist Quanell X along with LULAC, the NAACP and the ACLU have voiced their protest based on their claim that the Police Department has “somehow” violated the right to free speech by zapping citizens for simply “voicing opinions” and that an alarming 90% percent of those zapped were minorities.

There were 14 cases marked as “questionable”, according to the article, where Tasers were alleged to have been used to “violate free speech”. That would mean that 14 out of control individuals had to be restrained from injuring themselves, some other citizen or a police officer when simple conversation had no effect. It would also mean that the use of limited force prevented serious injury to anyone and that the all 14 of those citizens were returned to society undamaged so that they could continue to enjoy their God given rights, as guaranteed under the Constitution. Did anyone ever explain the need for individual responsibility for being a citizen to those 14 out of control individuals? As a side note, I want to thank those involved in the Abu Grabe Prisoner Abuse Scandal for further eroding public trust when dealing with authority figures. Your reckless acts have made it easier for the public to believe that police officers go out of their way to inflict pain at the expense of the citizens they are entrusted to serve.

Quanell X and other activists would better serve their community by proclaiming the serious nature of being combative in the presence of a law enforcement officer instead of painting the issue as racially motivated. In every case where a Taser was used to stabilize a confrontational situation it was because verbal instructions did not work. Rather than accept the fact that violent citizens are their own worst enemy it is so much easier to blame the police officers charged with keeping the peace. I want to thank Quanell X, LULAC, the NAACP, the ACLU and the Houston Chronicle for avoiding the real issue; “individual responsibility” for one’s actions; not the color of your skin.