Teen Takes Taser and Use It on Officers

[WaTcHeR]

02/15/2006 - AUSTIN TEXAS - An Austin teen led police on a 13-minute car chase Monday night in Southeast Austin before wrecking the Ford Expedition he was driving, struggling with five Austin police officers and shocking two of them with a Taser stun gun he took from one during the fight, officials said.

Joseph Adam Mesa, 17, was eventually arrested. He remained in the Travis County Jail on Tuesday, charged with evading arrest, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, taking a weapon from a police officer and two counts of assault on a peace officer.

Lt. Toni Singletary said Tuesday that one of the officers who had been shocked grabbed the Taser from Mesa during the fight and threw it several feet. Another officer used a baton to help subdue him.

Singletary said she did not know how Mesa, who weighs 150 pounds, managed to take the Taser

[Dave]

That would have been so funny to see the cops being tasered.

[streetsweeper]

In most agencies cops must get tasered to be certified to carry them. I believe you can request a copy if you provide your own media under open records. Have a ball!

[Shuftin]

At least in the city of Austin tasers are listed as deadly weapons. The teen was charged with "Aggravated assult with a deadly weapon" and "Taking a weapon from a police officer".

This means that every time a police officer tasers a person he using a deadly weapon against that person. The call for using a deadly weapon against a person is usually because that person doesn't jump fast enough for the officer. A deadly weapon is a deadly weapon. Why not just out your firearm and shoot people when they don't jump fast enough?

[streetsweeper]

In most agencies around here, Tasers usually fall between "Hand control techniques" and "Impact weapons" (Batons) on use of force. Tasers by themselves have never proven to kill anyone. Usually if a person dies after a taser use, it's because they have an inordinate about of drugs (usually illegal, but not always) in their system.

It's still scientifically inconclusive if tasers alone have caused any deaths.

They are still a lot more safe to use on someone than a baton or a firearm.