Tasered Homeless Man Catches on Fire

[sabra]

Source: AP

Ohio Police Say Officers Struggled with Man Inhaling from Aerosol Can

(AP) Police in Ohio say officers using a new Taser stun gun briefly set a homeless man on fire while trying to subdue him.

A police report in Lancaster (LANG'-kuh-stur), about 30 miles southeast of Columbus, says one officer had seen the man inhaling a chemical from an aerosol can Monday night. That officer and another then struggled with the suspect, and the Taser was used. A flame appeared on the man's chest, and officers patted it down.

Police Chief David Bailey says 31-year-old Daniel Wood was not seriously hurt.

The department's policy warns against using Tasers when flammable chemicals may be present. Bailey says officers acted appropriately.

Wood was charged with abusing harmful intoxicants and other counts. Court records do not list his attorney.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/19/national/main5251739.shtml

[WriteDown]

1. Ugh....

Nothing worse than inhalants.

[Dogtown]

2. So, *ignoring* the warning was *appropriate*?

Was it a warning or a backhand suggestion?

[izquierdista]

3. "Acted appropriately"

I suppose other policies, like not unloading a clip in a schoolyard, are mere suggestions as well.

[Soylent Brice]

4. K&R

[BootinUp]

5. Don't burn me up bro! nt

[Demit]

6. ooo, you're wicked.

:rofl:

[damntexdem]

7. 'Charged with abusing harmful intoxicants,' yes indeed:

we had to destroy the village in order to save it.

[valerief]

8. Oh, those cops sure do know how to have fun with their victims.

Damn, they give *all* cops a bad name with that behavior.

[biermeister]

9. tase first, read directions later.

[caseymoz]

10. So many officers are "acting appropriately" these days.

It should be standard slang for "beat the shit out of" or "set him on fire with a Taser."

[skypilot]

11. This is off-topic but...

...does anyone else think it's odd that the writer thought he had to provide a pronunciation guide for "Lancaster"?

[KansDem]

12. I grew up in southern California

Out there Lancaster is (was?) pronounced like Burt's last name.

But I also knew about the other pronunciation as well...

[jasi2006]

13. Tasering is more like Nazis than health care reformers. nt

[crim son]

14. Excellent observation. n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. Dang! I saw that on CSI once, only it ended very badly in that case.

[Joanne98]

16. I guess cops are to stupid to know about chemicals!

[MadMaddie]

17. So there are a couple of things that bother me about this story

of course the first is ummm....don't discharge the taser around flammable liquids...that's a no brainer. The chief is supporting the misuse of a weapon....that's just insane.

the other thing is
<snip>
the suspect was abusing harmful intoxicants
<snip>

I don't mean this in an insensitive way but at what point is a persons free will his free will?
Was he harming anyone else?
Would he possibly end up in an emergency room or dead? probably but that is his own free will...
yes he is someones brother or son but he is ultimately the person that has to decide to quit.

The police arrest him, he spends several weeks in jail and he gets released to go out and do the same thing....