Rep. Mike Lawlor Voluntarily TASERed, Videotaped
Last Friday, New Britain State Rep. Tim O’Brien reported on his blog that Rep. Mike Lawlor was voluntarily TASERed:
A representative of a company that manufactures tasers was testifying about these devices, when Rep. Micheal Lawlor, House Chair of the Committee, asked if the gentleman would use a taser on Lawlor, himself, to demonstrate their safety. The gentleman agreed.
It certainly did not look or sound like a pleasant experience, but Lawlor went through with it. I do not think I have ever heard of this happening at the Capitol.
Mike Lawlor has a reputation has a very intelligent and fair legislator. This kind of thing earns him a lot of respect. Whatever position he takes on how legal these devices should be, he will not be advocating for it without putting himself on the business end of one of them.
The video just surfaced, and I’ve put the above clip together for easy sharing and viewing on YouTube and DailyMotion. For those of you who want to see everything as it was, check out this post at CT Local Politics where you can download the two 59-second long source clips as well as the codec to play them.
WTH? What’s wrong with this guy? People who volunteer for this sort of stuff are insane. I think it’s preferable to getting SHOT, but I don’t have any more respect for him for getting tasered. It just seems like an attention grabbing gimick.
Tazers are too often the police officer’s torture weapon of choice.
A 28 year old woman, a former resident of Stafford Springs and Willington Connecticut complained to Troop C, Tolland State Police after she was beaten unconscious and left partially nude after being raped and left at Sneaker’s Cafe in Willington.
The Detective allegedly in charge of the investigation, Coleman told the woman that she was probably making the story up and could be arrested. Connecticut State Police Officers are known to be inappropriate and rude to minorities and poorer Whites when they are too lazy and arrogant to do their jobs. The officer in question is not white, but the attitude is typical of the White Officers.
The woman was recounting her story to two officers in a parking lot about a week later. She asked them not to touch her. Initials T.M. was then Tazered by one officer and then the other. She was stripped of her cloths for “her protection” and placed in front of a camera at lock up for a “suicide watch”.
If she didn’t have large supple breasts, was male, would this woman have been Tazered and then stripped by police officers for “her protection”?
Steven,
I do think that the potential for abuse should be considered, but there is potential to abuse anything. In the instance that you mention, bad cops are the problem, not necessarily the TASERs.
All that said, I’m not pro or anti TASER. However, the idea of a legislator getting zapped is entertaining to me.
I have a great deal of respect for Lawlor. I respect him for saying, “Hey, before I make a decision about whether I want these things in the hands of more cops, let me see what it’s like on the other end.” He didn’t have to do it, but since he did I think that whatever stance he takes he can be considered fully informed.