Nevada LP Senate candidate shot by police

Via LRC, this sad story:

I was pulled over for driving straight through an intersection in a right turn only lane. I did signal for my lane changes to the left.

After exiting the vehicle at the officer’s request, I was standing with my back to the vehicle. The car’s open door was to my right. My hands were raised above my head. I was calmly speaking to the cop attempting to talk my way out of being taken to jail over an unpaid High Occupancy Vehicle ticket.

With my hands raised above my head, the cop shot me with a taser in the chest.

Duensing has a heart condition, so he freaked, pulled the electrodes, and ran.

Various figures have been discussing whether Jim was “resisting arrest”. What they haven’t addressed is this: why did the cop taze Duensing, presuming this is an accurate account of what happened? He wasn’t going anywhere or being threatening. They knew who he was. And in the midst of all kinds of finger pointing, this was one of the few commenters to nail it:

Brian S // Nov 2, 2009 at 3:35 pm

Let’s not lose sight of the real issue here – the cops shot a senatorial candidate multiple times, immediately before an election. How coincidental can this be, really?

I wish Jim a speedy recovery.

“Virginia is for lovers”

Dog lovers. GAY dog lovers. Or does pig on dog make it bestiality?

Stupid as this is, I really don’t think spanking the dog’s monkey is a crime.

H/T: Balko.

Don’t bring an LRAD to an idea fight

The San Diego Co. sheriff was so terrified by the possible presence of Teapartiers at town hall meetings that he brought along a weapon developed to control Iraqi crowds … which can cause permanent hearing loss. I don’t know why they own it, except that it’s the product of a local company. They have to keep the economy booming, after all.

I guess that if Susan Davis and Darrell Issa can’t be bothered to listen to us, nobody else should be able to listen.

UPDATE 9/21. Some folks on a Beeb TV show have improvised a defence against this weapon. But as David Hambling points out:

Anyone who turns up wearing a tinfoil suit, gas mask and visor is — in the eyes of the police or security forces — looking for trouble and is likely to get it.

As Capt. Jay Delarosa, spokesman for the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, told me: “If an individual makes extensive efforts to counter the effect of a non-lethal system, then they are likely showing hostile intent and an escalation of force may be warranted based on existing rules of engagement.”

In other words, if a Taser doesn’t bring you down, they will try shooting you with something else. Better bring a bullet-proof vest as well.

GOB, Arkansas

…AKA Jericho, a town of 174 with 7 cops (who support themselves by writing speeding tickets) and no businesses, where the fire chief was shot by police in a courtroom.

HT: Balko

The way they treat our troops in Wisconsin Dells

Two Wisconsin National Guardsmen filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Wisconsin Dells, its police chief and three officers because they were forced to lap up what was believed to be human urine from the ground last summer.

Read it all…it’s pretty appetizing (NOT!)

Here’s my resolution for the suit: make the COPS go to Iraq, and make the Guardsmen into cops.

Some susines are more equal than others

…or so they think. Alexandria police Chief David P. Baker got into an accident Sat. night that sent both drivers to the hospital. That was bad enough. But then he blew .19 in a state where the legal limit is .08. Fortunately, he is in at least as much trouble as you or I would be.

Fibbie plan for job security

Oh, alas, it’s true! Americans are selling high-powered rifles in .50 and .308 caliber to Mexican drug cartels. At least, that’s so if you consider FBI agents to be “real Americans.”

Some cheese with that whine, Chief Comey?

Thomas J. Comey, the Jersey City police chief, said of the gunman, Hassan A. Shakur, 32, “This individual came fully ready to go to war with us.” Mr. Shakur was killed, along with his companion, Amanda Anderson, 22. The chief said the assailant’s weapon, a pump-action 12-gauge shotgun with a retractable stock and a sling lined with slotted shells, was “a gun meant for nothing other than to hunt a man.”

Funny, Miller declared that such a weapon had no military purpose and thus wasn’t covered by the 2nd Amendment, even though they were used in WW I. As for war, if cops didn’t act like an occupying army, people would be a whole lot less likely to declare war on them.

Pig breeding

OK, granted, it’s a bad idea to get physical with your subordinates, or to fool around on company time. But what was so bad about Perry Township police chief Timothy Escola making out with part-time office Janine England in the cruiser? Did the presence of a prisoner in the back turn it into “cruel and unusual punishment” (“You won’t be getting any of this for awhile”)

Sauce for the gander

You know, it’s really hard to feel sorry about this: California woman has a fundraiser for a Democrat Congressbitch-wannabe, somebody calls the cops about noise (at 9:33…c’mon, it’s barely dark then…and the guy obviously had issues…not to mention that the cops ruined any chance he may have had to sleep). Cop gets needlessly confrontational, and soon there’s pepper spray, 2 arrests, 8 cruisers and a helicopter.

Busby wants an investigation. Good; there needs to be one. But Busby needs to take a stand in her campaign against militarization of the police. More to the point: the threat of such violence is what enables her entire platform. It’s about time she and her toney buds got a taste of the police state, and decided honestly whether they want it anymore. The one bright spot is that Abbott’s ham is sure to be in a sling over an attack on the politically connected, unlike what happens when the Susine-Americans go after those of us who are less equal.

Thank you, Mr. Balko.

UPDATE: Maggie’s Farm (HT: Right Wing Nation) has a slightly different take on what went down, emphasizing Barman-and-guests non-cooperation and Busby’s loony politics (even for California). So apparently they “got the government they deserved”, in the Mencken sense.