Student shot at Georgia Tech

[Hawkmoon]

There's another interesting thought:

How much of the taser over-use and bias towards firearm use is due to how much worse a beating looks on video?

I wonder if this is another example of how lawyers have changed our culture for the worse. Do police only rarely go "hands-on" with a suspect because that might look worse (to a jury) than just shooting him?

Using physical force leaves all kinds of room for whether it was too much force and lots of armchair quarterbacking. Shooting means you feared for your life so you ended the threat. Murky justifications vs. a clear standard that can't be debated, only whether it was the standard applies.

That is perhaps part of it. IMHO another aspect is that, while the bad guys are bulking up in the prison gyms and then getting amped up on Lord knows what on the street, police departments are moving away from the stereotypical Irish cop and recruiting lots of women and Hispanics -- meaning a trend toward bigger, stronger bad guys against smaller cops. Greater disparity of force.

Some years ago my brother's ex-wife decided she wanted to quit working as a bank teller and become a state trooper. She was maybe 5'-2" and might have weighed almost 100 pounds -- in a winter overcoat. My brother is about 6'-2," was the starting center on the high school football team, then switched over to soccer and lacrosse, playing defense in both. S-I-L decided to show off one evening, so she invited bro to put her in a choke hold from behind so she could demonstrate how to throw an adversary.

Let's just say the demonstration was an abject failure.

Cop training has to be uniform, so they have to train for the lowest common denominator. They can't realistically expect a petite female officer to go mano a mano against the gorillas they encounter in the streets, so they train to use other "techniques." Like tasers, and bullets.

[RoadKingLarry]

Rodney King was tased. It had no effect.

We're gonna need a bigger boat Taser.

[Scout26]

Rodney King was tased. It had no effect.

PCP will do that to people...

What I remember from my Military LE experience was that one uses the end of the of the night stick as a push or prod weapon, not as a club or a bat (It was also helpful in various restraints.)

Having MPDO on a Friday or Saturday night and leading the charge into either Metropol downtown or the NCBrO Club on post, the fastest way to take the fight out of someone was a sweep of the nightstick across the shins.  Takes the fight right outta folks.

[grampster]

Nightstick to the shins or collar bone, or ribs, shoulders, or balls, behind the knees, on the knees, the elbow, the throat, and if you are losing, the head and face becomes a primary target.  Nightsticks were a very effective tool in the days before criminals becoming saints.  Good solid hardwoods at least 22 inches long, custom made to your grip, with a proper leather thong for wrapping your hand properly when gripping the stick.   If you were trained properly, submission was generally a safe bet.

[KD5NRH]

Some years ago my brother's ex-wife decided she wanted to quit working as a bank teller and become a state trooper. She was maybe 5'-2" and might have weighed almost 100 pounds -- in a winter overcoat. My brother is about 6'-2," was the starting center on the high school football team, then switched over to soccer and lacrosse, playing defense in both. S-I-L decided to show off one evening, so she invited bro to put her in a choke hold from behind so she could demonstrate how to throw an adversary.

Let's just say the demonstration was an abject failure.

Especially from that position, one factor is how much you're willing to hurt the attacker.  Suffice it to say I'm very careful about who I'm willing to play the uncooperative uke for when it comes to attacks from behind.  Things like an elbow to the short ribs or solar plexus, a reverse head butt or attacking the knees in very damaging ways come into play if it's real.

[Hawkmoon]

Especially from that position, one factor is how much you're willing to hurt the attacker.  Suffice it to say I'm very careful about who I'm willing to play the uncooperative uke for when it comes to attacks from behind.  Things like an elbow to the short ribs or solar plexus, a reverse head butt or attacking the knees in very damaging ways come into play if it's real.

S-I-L was too short to execute a reverse head butt on my brother. What would have worked (maybe) would have been a good stomp on the arch of his foot, but that wasn't part of their training.