Was that modern, zero-tolerance policing on display Monday night in the outfield at Citizens Bank Park -- or just another use of excessive force by a Philadelphia cop?
The police officer's Tasering of a young fan who ran onto the field in the eighth inning of the Phillies-St. Louis Cardinals game certainly appears to have been an over-reaction.
Online videos of the episode are sure to go viral, and the expression "downed-by-Taser" could well be destined for the lexicon of unruly Philly sports fans. But unlike the fan who vomited on a child the other week, the outfield kid appears to deserve some sympathy.
Knuckleheaded fans shouldn't be running on the field, but that doesn't mean police should use a Taser to stop them when -- as evident Monday -- the only imminent harm was a teen making a complete fool of himself.
For one thing, the high-voltage stun devices are controversial due to the deaths of some Tasered suspects. Tasers should be reserved for situations where someone is threatening harm to a police officer or bystander.
On Monday, though, grounds crews clearly had surrounded the fan, Steve Consalvi, a 17-year-old college-bound high school kid. Consalvi had no weapon in his hands -- only a rally towel that he waved while dashing back and forth in center field.
From the video of the event, it looks like the cop who did the John Wayne routine on Consalvi just as easily could have let the grounds crew help corral the teenager in a matter of seconds.
Maybe cops assigned to police the stadium should be forewarned that they might get grass stains on their uniforms by having to tackle a fan like Consalvi. If that doesn't suit them, there are desk assignments.
The Phillies have their share of problems with unruly fans, but they need to calibrate the right response for each possible scenario. Now they need to reassure the vast majority of well-behaving fans that Tasering will not become the preferred form of crowd control at the ballpark.
Oddly enough, the Taser incident stands in contrast to the Phillies' failure so far to come to grips with routine over-boozing and the resulting rude and abusive behavior by fans who manage to stay in their seats, most of the time. That's certainly a bigger problem and of greater concern for the families who (for now) are willing to fork over big bucks to take their kids out to the ball game.
Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey needs to narrow the criteria for using Tasers -- at least, eliminating their use on teenagers prancing around the Phillies' outfield.
Oh, geez, here we go. I hope the new owners are reading this.— CleanupPhilly- Could not disagree more. The "kid" deserves no sympathy. He was a teenager and knew better, as evidenced by reports that he was told by his father not to do it. If he were "corralled" or tackled by the grounds crew and injured during in the exchage, there would be an outcry that he was "corralled" too aggressively. Maybe use of the taser will deter others from attempting a similar stunt in the future.— MKSilv
- hopefully they hit him in the groin and sterilized him— box297
- OH LIGHTEN UP, THE KID IS A IDIOT!!!— Dadair1
- First of all, for those of us who have had to physically subdue people in the course of our duty, and who have attended training on how to do it safely, this was a textbook safe take down. The kid got up and walked off unharmed, and the cop was not hurt. By the numerical data on physical take downs, Tasers are a much safer method than physical force. Think about it and turn off the uberliberal filter first. Tackling someone like a linebacker, when both parties do not have pads or helmets, is often associated with injury compared to Tasers or similar devices. The cop can get injured, the resister can get injured, and both outcomes can be significantly costly to the taxpayer. How many PPD are on disability, for example, and what percentage of those are from take downs? Please, you live in a city. Or you work in a city. Philly is not imaginary construct -- it has to work in practice. I'd like to see the editorial board of the Ink do some physical take downs and holds. What the Ink thinks police work is I'm not sure. I think they think police are not necessary because all people are wise and wonderful like they are, who are a kind of soft Eloi who can't see the Morlocks eat them for dinner. H.G. Wells is a genius.— CleanupPhilly
- kid got what he deserved but people are way overreacting...dude didn't kill anyone...kids do stupid things and they learn their lessons the hard way. Good luck at Penn State kid, make Wheels proud! lol— tralala
- Please come walk around my 'hood with me, and tell me if you think the cops should carry Tasers and use them. Every person in the city should have a Taser. Tasers are why people feel they can even risk living in a city like Philly, which is an open air prison where there are 45,000 outstanding bench warrants and warrant holders freely roam around after not showing for court. Take downs are all the cops do because there are so many unlicensed drivers and bench warrants who resist, who just take off running. Of course the PPD did just what he is well trained to do. The let 'em loose mentality is what makes the police have to be so no-nonsense. If kids want to play around like they are living a Gin Blossoms song, they need to try that in their small town. The PPD do not play, and cannot play. They can't assume, or they could be dead in the next second. Seriously, we need a new editorial board of people who actually walk around town, who actually live in the city. Tasers are 21st Century policing, and maybe the editors didn't get the memo, but the '70s are over.— CleanupPhilly
- Plus, the paper doesn't seem to get that the kid is not being electrocuted. It's not like they hook him up to a car battery or plug copper wires into a socket. The form of current used only interrupts the nervous system for a brief moment. It's not a complete spectrum of electric current, and only overpowers the impulses governing the body for a short interval. The person recovers almost immediately. This is the most humane tool in the police belt.— CleanupPhilly
- Let's keep it real. The kid got tasered because the cop was too fat and of shape to do his job.— realzeel
- Look up these names and tell me what they have in common: Tom Gamboa, Bill Spiers, Laz Diaz, Randy Myers. The kid didn't run out onto the field with a T-shirt saying "I'm 17 and a good student". You don't know what his intention was, until after the fact. The cop has seconds to react to put the situation under control, as his job required of him.— mythaeus
- yo cleanup - where can I read up on 'a complete spectrum of electric current'? I'm sure you wouldn't want anyone to accusing you of making stuff up.— JerryCurlan
- Who wrote this junk? You should be looking for a new job. Great job by the officer. It could have been far worse for this horse's a**. Why are there actually people treating this like an innocent little high school prank? Nobody could have known what his intentions were, nor could they see through his clothes and tell what he may have had in his pockets. This cretin got what he deserved, full stop.— stefek23
- Is it possible this was an advertising stunt by Budweiser, Xfinity and Southwest Airlines?— JerryCurlan
- It was a non-violent act; no Tasering necessary.— WCgrad77
If the cops weren't so fat (look at that gut!), they might be able to chase the kid down. At least they didn't shoot him.— verve
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