Video: Occupy Wall Street Protesters Tased at Rick Santorum Event
Occupy Wall Street members protested Rick Santorum as he tried to deliver a speech at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, Washington on Monday night (video below).
Santorum tried to condemn the state’s new same-sex marriage law and the Ninth Circuit’s ruling against Proposition 8 in California, but was repeatedly interrupted by protesters yelling: “We are the 99 percent.”
Santorum told the protesters to “go out and get a job."
A scuffle soon broke out in the crowd and police shoved two men to the ground, tased and arrested them. Santorum briefly paused in his remarks and said, “Let’s give a hand to our men and women in uniform. It’s not easy.”
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Occupy Wall Street Protesters Tased at Rick Santorum Event
And the problem is?
I can't view the video at work but can anybody tell me if these protesters were doing anything illegal? I'm pretty sure that speaking, even when that speaking is annoying someone, is not illegal. Especially speaking outdoors on public property.
How is it that so many Occupy protesters have been tased and pepper sprayed for simply exercising their first amendment right to free speech?
Creating a public nuisance is a crime. Just as a demand money does not make a threat to a victims life "merely about property" -- the use of one's freedom of speech does not cancel out a violation of the public nuisance law.
So, now irritating politicians is a crime justifying physical assault? Again, I can't watch the video but did the police try arresting them? Did they try handcuffing and removing them? Most police forces have rules regarding the use of a taser. It is for protection of the officer and civilians from harm. It is not to be used as a convenience to stop mild irritations.
Police have a procedure for handling public nuisance cases. In most cases they give a warning and walk away irritated that they were pulled from more serious matters to deal with this. When necessary they handcuff the nuisance, bring them to jail and they go to court. Assaulting someone with a taser without any indication of threat is just that, assault. How would you have felt if cops were tasing teabaggers?
Not necessarily, it depends whether you make yourself a public nuisance when doing so. There's a difference between revealing disagreement with the speaker versus trying to drown him out.
I didn't see the video, either. But generally, when the officer's orders are ignored (e.g., they won't put out their hands to be cuffed), pain compliance is the next step.
I suppose it's reasonable to demand that when inflicting pain is necessary but no one is in danger, that some less dangerous form of pain infliction should be used. E.g. akido techniques, or maybe a kubaton.
I'd love to tase Santorum. First Amendment rights, apparently are law for republicans. Second, the GOP wants to take the collective bargaining rights away from police and then he congratulates them in the video? Wow. If I was the cop, I'd have flipped him the bird.
With the republicans shipping jobs overseas, overseas bank accounts and the government buying so much non American goods there are no jobs in America because of these inbreed idiots.
I'm all in favor of tasing people who disrupt speakers, especially if they're persistent about it.
This man is not a man, if you lie and are called on it, admit the mistake, do not Taser people because they do not agree with you, ya looser. Politicians lips moving bank on a lie.
Man, Frothy Mixture, or Occupussies... It's hard to decide who I'd want to see tazed more.