Some say that Tasers are a step forward because it is good for police to have more non-lethal options, while some argue that they are too risky because police tend to resort to the Taser even when it isn’t really necessary.  I think this item might be evidence in support of the latter position.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported recently that police had tasered a 40-year-old man whom they encountered while he was out walking his dog.  They decided to investigate after noticing that the man was completely naked.  According to the report, when the officers asked the man what he was doing, they did not get the answer I would have expected, "I’m out walking my dog in the nude, Sherlock.  What are you doing?"  Instead, the man responded, "Allah told me to watch a Bruce Willis movie and [then] walk the dog."

But police refused to accept that simple explanation.  They claimed the man became belligerent and refused to follow police commands, and noted that "[h]e was obviously having some sort of emotional distress."  (Well, he had just seen a Bruce Willis movie.)  "It was unfortunate we had to use the Taser," one officer said, but "it was the only way we could subdue him without having to hurt him."

This just in — police in Florida are apparently unable to subdue a lone, unarmed, naked and outnumbered man without the use of advanced technology.

Link: Tallahassee Democrat