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In reply to the discussion: Teenager Alerts Police That They Left Their Brights on -- 5 Minutes Later They Shoot Him Dead [View all]Xithras
(16,191 posts)The stop was legitimate, but it was the officer who escalated it to physical violence by tasing him while he was on the ground. If the officer hadn't tased him, the kid wouldn't have had reason to defend himself, and there would have been no reason for the shooting.
The use of tasers as a "compliance tool" should be illegal. It injects physical violence into a situation where people are already uncooperative and angry, and escalates the violence as often as it resolves the situation. On top of that, EVERYONE has a fundamental human right to defend themselves from assault. Tasing someone is assault.
The cop decided to get violent with the kid simply because the kid was uncooperative. Everything that occurred afterward traces back to that one decision. Even if the kid was beating the hell out of the cop, the FAULT for the shooting still lays with the officer.