Relief, Red Lights, and Tasers.

Well, my first placement is completed – successfully! Mind you, I still have a pile of assignments and tests to mark by Monday. That is, however, the life of a teacher, and I knew that going in.

It certainly has been a positive experience, and one that has affirmed my decision to return to school and become a teacher. There is nothing better than watching a student have an “a-ha!” moment, when he or she finally grasps a concept that had, until that moment, been elusive.

I even had two students – and my Math prof will be pleased to hear this – that after having their own “a-ha!” moments during one particular class were able to say “math is fun!”

What’s better than that?

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Last week, shortly after posting my column, I encountered a couple of drivers who deserve mention.

The first was in the parking lot of the TSC store. As I was backing into a parking spot, another driver had pulled out of a spot further down the row, and was slowly creeping forward trying to edge around me as I was reversing.

Really… can anyone be in that much of a hurry that waiting 10 seconds for someone else to back into a spot is an intolerable delay?

The second incident occurred shortly after that. As I was traveling along Great Northern Road I could see ambulance approaching, so I pulled to the right and brought my vehicle to a complete stop… as required by law.

Other drivers went around me, or went past in the opposite direction looking curiously at me. When the ambulance caught up to and overtook them they did not stop, and some barely even slowed down. What I find most odd about this, which seems to be a typical reaction to emergency vehicles by some drivers here in the Sault, is that most will pull over and stop for a funeral procession.

While I find this a commendable display of respect, I cannot help consider the irony in watching drivers stop to allow a funeral procession to pass, but not even blinking when an ambulance, fire truck, or police vehicle is racing past in what is likely an attempt to save someone’s life.

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The Taser Debate

I’d like to close this week with a few comments on the Taser debate.

First of all, I agree with many others I have heard and read who suggest that the Police ought to consider Tasers as a last-resort (or nearly last) tool. The next step after a Taser is a firearm, and neither should be used unless absolutely necessary.

Having said that, it is not for armchair critics to decide, based on media reports, what may or may not constitute a situation where the use of force is necessary. The Police are trained in use-of-force techniques, and we must trust them to make the right decision based on the circumstances they are facing at that moment.

Another factor to consider is that we are only hearing about incidents where people have died following the use of a Taser. While I would accept that even one death is too many, I don’t believe we can make the connection that it was the Taser that caused the death. Keep in mind that we do not hear of the many incidents where a Taser was used to subdue a suspect and no injuries or fatalities resulted.

Consider, also, that as part of their training every Police officer is subjected to being Tasered, so that they will know how it feels and how the body reacts. We would have heard by now if Police officers were dying after themselves being Tasered.

Is it possible that Police training in, and guidelines for the use of, the Taser needs to be, and will be, reviewed. But my overall feeling is that there are circumstances which cannot be anticipated by the Police where death or serious injury may follow being Tasered, and it is very unfortunate when this happens.

Overall, however, I would prefer that the Police retain Tasers in their toolkits, and use them as that final step before employing deadly force.

While there is a possibility, albeit a slim one, that a suspect may die as a result of being Tasered, that possibility increases dramatically when Police have to resort to using firearms against a suspect.