When a 17-year-old Phillies fan hopped the fence at Citizens Bank Park in the eight inning of the Phillies-Cardinals game on Monday night, he probably thought he was just pulling a silly prank. Indeed, it isn’t uncommon to see at least one exuberant fan hop onto the field during a game at least once during a season. Most of the time, security can catch the guy and it ends up being a good laugh for the on looking fans in the stands. However, that isn’t what happened in Philly. Instead, a Philadelphia police officer fired a Taser gun at the boy from about 15-feet away, dropping the boy on the spot.
To me, this seems like an excessive use of force. We aren’t talking about what happened at the U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago when a fan attacked Royals coach Tom Gamboa with a switchblade. We’re talking about a 17-year-old kid who was hardly a threat to other fans or the Phillies team players. Nevertheless, the Philadelphia police commissioner is publicly supporting the officer’s actions. The Phillies, on the other hand, say they want to talk about whether or not such force is necessary to stop future trespassers.
Luckily, the kid is okay and regained the ability to walk as security took him into custody. But Tasering is no joke—according to Amnesty International since June 2001 more than 351 individuals in the U.S. died after being shocked by police Tasers. What’s worse, must of those individuals weren’t carrying a weapon. Watch the video below for the footage of the incident.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhbG6CQSG7s
