Cop Tases Handcuffed Man

There is a fine line between maintaining the peace and police brutality. That’s what we’re learning from another controversial case in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Thomas Smith was already in handcuffs and sitting down when Officer Nicole Murphy unleashed her taser on him. According to Murphy’s police report, Smith was bumping his head against a desk, and thats when she decided to pulled out her weapon. She says she only used the taser to protect him from splitting his head wide open. But instead of a head injury, Smith suffered injuries to the arms, back and lasting nerve damage. To this day, his attorney says Smith is forced to deal with psychological issues.

Here’s the troubling part: According to their initial reports, police arrested Smith for disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, resisting arrest, and aggravated harassment. Smith says he was just taking a nap on some church steps, when some officers woke him up and startled him.

Now, the police have dropped the harassment and resisting arrest charges, admitting that he was not a threat to the officers. In fact, Smith might have already been suffering from pre-existing medical conditions before the police even woke him up. Smith’s mother says her son has battled depression and bipolar disorder, and the stun gun has only made matters worse. It certainly hasn’t helped him, on his road to recovery.

We still don’t know exactly who caught the incident on film, but this is just one more example of police backing off of their charges after video evidence proves them wrong. Another lasting question still revolves around the taser. Is it okay to use a stun gun on someone to stop self harm? Think about that. In order to stop someone from experiencing harm, should police be able to send 50 thousand volts of electricity through your body? It doesn’t take a doctor to see the hypocrisy there. And how hard would it be for police officers to safely stabilize a man already in restraints?

All of those questions are a part of Smith’s lawsuit. He filed seeking over 75 thousand dollars in damages. The victim also says paramedics and other officers stood and laughed, while Murphy assaulted him with excessive force. All because of two public intoxication and disorderly conduct. The updated police reports clearly state, Smith never one time posed a danger to anyone besides himself.

What we do know is this: in every instance, when video evidence is available, police are held accountable for their actions. Without that video footage, victims like Thomas Smith could not only be forced to suffer physical pain, but could very easily be put behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit.