Salem man dies after police shoot him with a Taser

Salem man dies after police shoot him with a Taser

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/salem_man_dies_after_police_sh.html#preview

If you don’t want people (including the Police) to think you are doing something, don’t engage in activities that tend to draw the conclusion that you may be indeed doing that given ‘thing’. I.e., If you don’t want people to think you are a drunk, don’t come staggering out of a bar every night at 2:30.

If you don’t want people to think you are trespassing, don’t go snooping around their property without their permission.

This is a set of circumstances that can be Monday Morning Quarterbacked to death. While its true the Police are supposed to be trained professionals, placed in a “him or me” situation I believe a person or group of people trained or not are capable of instinctively using survival level (deemed ‘excessive’ by some) force.

There are several factors at work here not the least of which is Gregory Rold’s general health / physical condition. If when confronted by Police, Gregory Rold had stopped and talked to the Police and answered their questions, it is likely that not only would he be alive today, but freely walking the streets after receiving a warning not to go rummaging for pop cans in the trash without permission from the property owner or manager.

As soon as Mr. Rold made the choice to give the Police a reason to arrest him, then subsequently began to resist arrest, the entire dynamic changed. Now, not only do the Police have to take this guy into custody, they have to do it without getting hurt themselves, they must control their instinctual urges while constantly assessing and reassessing the situation, try and do as little harm to the suspect as reasonably possible given the circumstances all within a few seconds.

With all that is happening in those few short moments, the Police need to also send the message that guilty or innocent, your full cooperation is the best way to avoid any problems. Once it is determined that a suspect is resisting, the word “unpleasant” will take on a whole new meaning as it should.