Lorain Ohio Police Use Taser Gun To Subdue Autistic Teen

I know the knee jerk initial reaction is to think "How horrible! He was autistic!", but when faced with what they were faced with and what they knew at the time, they acted appropriately.

Take your meds, don't freak out. Live a relatively tazer-free life.

I've worked with autistic kids before (as an assistant speech interventionist senior year of undergrad). I can understand; sometimes they simply do not respond to you. Dealing with "challenging behavior" was certainly the hardest part of the job.

As for this situation? It's a split-second decision you have to make. You're facing an enormous, enraged person who sees you as an object. You have to restrain him somehow. I can't say he made the wrong decision.

When did it become okay to assault and batter anyone whether an autistic child or a college student or a protester or a homeless person or a pregnant woman just because they were behaving badly and/or didn't submit to the orders of a police officer? I am so sick and tired of the excuses law enforcement uses to justify the use of this weapon and that is exactly what a taser is - it is a weapon. And we've all read stories about people being killed by tasers.

I am tired of watching the ease at which law enforcement uses this thing. College kid won't shut up - taser his ass; kid won't leave the UCLA library - taser his ass; pregnant lady won't get out of her car - taser her ass; autistic child throws rocks - taser his ass.

Seems to me it's law enforcement that needs to be restrained - taser anyone?

We have lost our moral compass. The whole world sees America falling like the Roman Empire.

Neither pepper spray nor batons seem appropriate.

A large individual attacking officers? Before Tasers,
he would have been shot.

And you aren't being completely accurate with your
"just because they were behaving badly and/or didn't
submit to the orders of a police officer" quote. That's
not what was happening in this case.

which they might have felt they had to do if the Tasers weren't available.