Deputy Deploys Taser in Middle of Highway – Man Nearly Run Over

A Rockwall Country Sherrif’s Deputy hastily deploys taser in the middle of a highway to stop a man running away. This is another example of police being too quick to draw without thinking about the consequences.

According to FOX 4 in Dallas:

A police chase ended in Garland after the driver left his truck and ran across a busy interstate.

The suspect ditched his truck and ran across westbound lanes of I-30, almost getting hit by oncoming traffic. Before he could make it all the way across the eastbound lanes, a Rockwall County Sheriff’s Deputy was able to taser him and take him down.

The chase began at the Kohl’s Shopping Center on the Bush Turnpike in Rockwall County. Police say the Tuesday afternoon chase reached speeds up to 90-100 miles per hour.

Officers were responding to reports of a suspicious person in an F150 pickup truck. When police got to the scene, the driver took off and led police on a 13-minute chase across several cities.

It’s unclear why the suspect ran from police.

While people may be able to come up with all kinds of excuses for this cop to utilize his taser, I don’t think anyone can justify using it in the middle of a highway. This was not just a risk to the suspect, this was a risk for everDyone driving at highways speeds as well as the officer himself.  Although the deputy was the least at risk.

The deputy clearly didn’t take anything or anyone into consideration before firing that taser. The basic laws of kinetic energy should have made him realize a running man would fall forward, and he was already a full lane in.

First, once the man was allowed to get to the highway, was it necessary to put him MORE at risk of death just to stop him? He came perilously close to getting hit by multiple vehicles driving at highways speeds.

What about the person that could have hit him? How would that person feel? What demons would he have to deal with? You could say that could have happened anyway, but the runner lost any ability to maneuver. That increased chances of him getting hit.

Beyond that, what about the potential pileup that could have occurred with people driving at high speeds in a panic situation? A semi-truck passes by almost immediately. The amount of destruction could have been substantial, with the lives of several at risk.

Sure, the suspect did this on his on, but was it a wise choice for the police to up the ante? Another example of poor training almost has disastrous results.

Deputy Deploys Taser in Middle of Highway – Man Nearly Run Over is a post from Cop Block – Badges Don’t Grant Extra Rights