http://noplacelikehere.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978215066&grpId=3659174697259360

Opinions? Did he need to be tasered? By need I mean did the police (yes it was the police and not security that tased him) act in an appropriate manner?

Personally I think they were well within their right to contain the incident. There is also a concern of safety for the actual ball players as there is a chance, although in this case the person acting foolishly was doing just that, of an attack.

Edit: This has lately come up as a topic of debate (those of you who have been following know that there are many who believe that this was excessive force) hence the reason for the debate in the topic.

I think they had no right to taser him... it's not like he did anything to harm anybody.

He had it coming. Taser was fine.

What part of running onto the field was a good idea? Of course he should have been. If not for running onto the field, then for the fact that he was that stupid to even consider it.

*shrug* He'll get over it. I don't really care, though I think that in a situation like that, the police have the right do whatever they feel necessary, and he can't really complain as it's his fault in the first place.

But do the police have a right to contain (and by that I mean use non-lethal force such as a taser) who could possibly be dangerous (and yes it is believed that he was and could have been a potential threat to the ballplayers)?

It may be humorous now that we know he wasn't going to harm anyone but would your answer change if he did hurt someone?

Well I think the guard that was chasing him could've caught him, if he wasn't so out of shape. There was no use for a taser in that situation, maybe a better guard not a taser. If he would have hurt someone however, then the taser should've been used.

I don't see how anyone can say the guards were worried about their life from a laughing and giggling 17 year old kid waving a towel over his head.

I also don't like the people who stated on ESPN that people will now think twice about heading onto the field. Almost like the kid was just someone to make an example of. I think you are in trouble anytime you get into the mindset of making examples out of people.

But I also think that the police officer wasn't even thinking about making an example out of anybody, I'm guessing they were all just tired of chasing him. So my final stance is, if they chased him around for a significant amount of time and they gave the kid sufficient warning that if he continued behaving that way he would get tasered then I don't have a problem with it. Otherwise I think it was poor judgment.

Philly cops have enough to deal with, they get shot at and http://www.phillyheroes.org/officers/?timeline=1. I think it was excessive, but I can't blame them.

I agree that they should probably have stricter physical condition requirements for guards, but I disagree with your second point. Why wait until the damage has been done to use the force that would have been able to prevent the damage?

Honestly, I think that cop needs to do some exersise.
By New Zealands standards that would be considered unreasonable force.

How much damage can a *possibly drunk* Teenager do to a baseball player? The whole thing could have been prevented if they add some sort of catch net to prevent players from getting out, but still letting the ball in.

Whether the guard is out of shape is not the question

Should the police have to wait for someone, who may very well be capable of hurting someone, to act before they taser them? By then he could have shot and killed someone on the field (yes I know this is not the case but there is a danger in that)

Granted yes the people at the time felt it was funny but at the same time the danger may not have been immediately perceivable by those very people

Also keep in mind that he was resisting arrest and by law if you are resisting arrest the police have a right to use the force necessary to bring you into custody whether that be by mace or taser

I don't think it was unreasonable. He obviously did not cooperate, why should the guards risk their lives trying to get the kid? How do you know he doesn't have any weapons on him?

Tasing for the most part is non-lethal, he deserved what he got.

Lazy buggers. Tasing was completely unnecessary, run faster fatties.

Gotta lay off this tasing garbage. I remember when tasers were coming in and the idea was to use the taser in the place where a gun was needed, so you wouldn't have to kill or risk injuring bystanders. Now its an excuse not to take down someone the old fashioned way. A drunken fan runs on the field, he's not going to cause problems. Let him run, then tackle him and drag him off.

Have to be careful of these colourful baseball terms, I read that as tasered him in the bottom first time.

Pretty much my exact thoughts.

But..but.. yeeeehaw? I got a weapon in hand, wanna see some ACTION!
*tase*
...
*later at the pub*
Yeah, a few more seconds and I might've been dead! I dodged, jumped, did a backflip and the BZZT, my trusty taser!

i would still be on the police's side if they decided to shoot the kid's legs

In Beijing a man who's internet girlfriend wouldn't see him held a knife to a random two year-old girl's throat yesterday. It has been a bad month for little children in China so by the time a police sniper got into position the negotiators didn't hesitate in giving the order. The child is hopefully young enough to not understand what happened and is still looking forward to life. No one complained and I have to say I can't criticise the police reaction.
I'm sure tasering is going to put people off doing something daft at a sports stadium, but are we really cattle?

In unnecessary situations like our sports stadium here, it all comes down to ego. Knuckleheaded men getting a weapon in their hand, feeling badass, and jumping at the opportunity to use it.

Probably. Or they are too lardy to run and tackle him.

http://www.jokedujour.com/police/cops-n-donuts.jpg.

Ah how quick people are to over react. Same goes for everyone cheering for them.