Another taser story

[shesulsa]

By Kelly Adams of The Columbian
The Vancouver Columbian
March 31



Washougal, Wash. Olga Rybak, the Russian immigrant shocked a dozen times by a Taser fired by a Washougal police officer, has been awarded a $200,000 settlement.


Rybak received the jolts during an Aug. 7, 2003, incident involving Officer Robert E. Ritchie.


According to documents from an internal investigation of the case, Rybak was stung 12 times by the electronic device after she refused to sign a dog nuisance complaint.


Rybak, who had limited English skills, refused to sign the citation and asked for an interpreter. Instead, Ritchie attempted to take Rybak into custody. She resisted, and Ritchie began shocking her with the Taser.

Full Article

 

[bushidomartialarts]

i suppose it's better than getting shot or having your skull cracked for the same reason.

on the other hand, i was tazed as a part of certification training -- that hurts. i mean, really freakin' hurts.

 

[Wild Bill]

If it is true that she resisted being taken into custody she deserved what she got. If you cooperate with a cop who happens to be a jerk you will be far better off. She could always have complained later through this person's supervisor. Once she decided to resist arrest she became a criminal. I have no simpathy. There is a right way and a wrong way to deal with these types of disputes.

I would be willing to let anyone shoot me with a taser for $200,000.

 

[Ping898]

If it is true that she resisted being taken into custody she deserved what she got. If you cooperate with a cop who happens to be a jerk you will be far better off. She could always have complained later through this person's supervisor. Once she decided to resist arrest she became a criminal. I have no simpathy. There is a right way and a wrong way to deal with these types of disputes.

I would be willing to let anyone shoot me with a taser for $200,000.

She asked for an interpreter. It could very well be she didn't understand what was going on and was confused. I don't know what her level of English comprehension was, but she could have been resisting cause she didn't understand what he was trying to do and for that I don't blame her. Any psycho these days can put on a police uniform and come and try to "arrest" you.
If the facts stated in the article are the full story and straight facts than I think that cop was way over the line and deserved more discipline than just a demotion no matter how many years of good service he put in. Even someone who is resisting arrest, unless they have pulled a weapon on you or are attacking you, I can't see any reason why they require 12 taser shocks.

 

[beau_safken]

i suppose it's better than getting shot or having your skull cracked for the same reason.

on the other hand, i was tazed as a part of certification training -- that hurts. i mean, really freakin' hurts.

+1 to that:whip:

 

[Phil Elmore]

The issue here is one of resisting arrest. If you resist arrest, you can expect force to be used on you. If you don't understand the language being spoken to you by law enforcement officials, this is a compelling argument for learning the language of the country in which you reside -- as quickly as you can.

 

[Cruentus]

I find that it is difficult to get the complete story with stuff like this, unless it is being covered by multiple sources in the media. Police brutality happeneds, but it is hard to understand the totality of the circumstance from a news article to really judge if the officer or the arrestee responded reasonably.

That said, tasers are great tools of force that all people should be allowed to carry, especially police officers. I wouldn't let a story like this distract from that idea, or from the fact that tasers could essentially prevent more injury for the officer or perp then any other tool of force on the market.

 

[beau_safken]

The issue here is one of resisting arrest. If you resist arrest, you can expect force to be used on you. If you don't understand the language being spoken to you by law enforcement officials, this is a compelling argument for learning the language of the country in which you reside -- as quickly as you can.

Oh damn Phil...Love it....Absolutely love it. :ultracool

 

[Cryozombie]

I didnt read the article, so I dont know if it was covered, but I wonder how she was resisting...

Was she arguing and refusing to go, or was she kicking and hitting etc...?

Cuz in one instance I think he MAY have been justified, and in the other... prolly not.

 

[Phil Elmore]

One universal truth of dealing with law enforcement officers, whether they are pleasant or unpleasant, young or old, good or bad (and there are all kinds -- cops are just people like anybody else), is that they cannot tolerate a challenge to their authority. This isn't ego (though in the case of someone with a bad attitude, it could be) -- it's survival. You cannot afford, as a police officer, to have someone fail to comply with your orders. If you allow that kind of thing to go on the situation can rapidly spiral out of control and people could be hurt or killed. I have to think LEOs are trained accordingly.

 

[MA-Caver]

The issue here is one of resisting arrest. If you resist arrest, you can expect force to be used on you. If you don't understand the language being spoken to you by law enforcement officials, this is a compelling argument for learning the language of the country in which you reside -- as quickly as you can.

So you would expect a DEAF person to understand the language and comprehend what's going on without the benefit of an interpreter? Same point for this woman who no speaking english.
That the woman was wrong to resist arrest is understood and taken in point... that the Cop should've made sure that his detainee understood WHY he was taking her in is something he should've done. The lack of clear and concise communication is/was the problem here.
IMO the officer could've radioed for assistance and found an interpreter to make sure she understood what was going on... or at least gotten one of her son's who (presumably) speaks the language better than she did... to tell her what's up... Tasing 12 times is excessive.

I've a friend who's a deputy sheriff and he tells me about being tazed..(for training/demonstrative purposes) says it's not fun. Also states that a person should be relatively easy to subdue long enough to cuff them after one or at least two shocks.

 

[Don Roley]

So you would expect a DEAF person to understand the language and comprehend what's going on without the benefit of an interpreter? Same point for this woman who no speaking english.

A deaf person can expect to be deaf for life. A normal person can learn the language of the country they live in.

I am kind of with Technopunk on this issue. If there was any doubt at all to the cop's safety, he was justified. But maybe it was not. As Tulisan said, it is hard to get the full story from one account.

But as a person who lives in Japan and has learned to speak the language, I have a real dislike of people that will not even try to learn the language of the country they are in. I have a reputation of being cold and distant among the Englsih speakers here in Japan. And in the vast majority of cases it is true since I do not associate much with people that won't learn the language and expect the Japanese to use English.

Yeah, yeah, whole other rant I know. But something came up real recently that is still fresh in my mind. Right now I am almost of the mind to cheer the cop on for tasering her just because she seems to have never learned even simple English like "keep your hands where I can see them."