Those Brooklyn cops wouldn't have used Tasers

Do you think any goofball fan will ever run on to the field in Philadelphia again?

The photos and video of the kid getting himself Tasered out in short left field Monday night during the Phillies’ game with the Cardinals are all around the Internet now.

The 17-year-old knucklehead went down like a bag of groceries falling off the counter when he got zapped.

There’s all kinds of hand-wringing now about “excessive use of force’’ and so on, but there’s zero sympathy here for the kid. You sometimes need to learn the hard way and he presumably has learned his lesson. Anybody who sees the video might be persuaded that staying in the stands makes more sense. Less painful, too.

There’s a rich history of fannus interruptus in pro sports games and the culprits, usually but not always drunk, usually end up with a good beating at some point. They say they would get rubber hoses across the ribs in old Yankee Stadium, under the stands.

There was a famous NFL case in 1971 concerning a Baltimore Colts linebacker named Mike Curtis, whose nickname was Mad Dog. Curtis was a great linebacker who should be in the Hall of Fame, but had a nutty side. On day in old Memorial Stadium a drunk ran on to the field, picked up the football and started to run. Curtis coiled and absolutely levelled him. He said he, as a taxpaying citizen of Baltimore, was merely helping enforce city ordinances.

There are milder responses to invading fans, of course. One time David Beckham kicked the soccer ball at a streaker who came calling. Another time two war protesters ran on to the field at Dodgers Stadium and tried to light a U.S. flag on fire. Rick Monday, playing centre field for the Cubs, ran over and scooped up the flag while they fumbled with the matches, thus earning himself a lifetime of ovations – and a trade to the Dodgers that off-season. (Ask Expo fans how that all turned out.)

One fan-on-field case merits special interest. It involved the Brooklyn Dodgers and a very much despised umpire named George Magerkurth, whose run-ins with Dodgers manager Leo Durocher were legendary. So hated was Magerkurth in Brooklyn that when the Dodgers won the 1941 pennant and held a victory parade, one of the “floats’’ was a coffin supplied by a local funeral home with a sign on it that simply said “Magerkurth.”

Late in that ’41 season, a call by Magerkurth went against the Dodgers and a crazed fan named Frank Gernano leapt from the stands, blindsided the ump, knocked him down and proceeded to sit on him and punch the hell out of him. The fans went crazy, of course.

It turned out Gernano was working for a pickpocket ring to create a diversion and while he wailed away at the hated ump, his confederates were lifting wallets all around the ballpark.

Seeing who the victim was, the Brooklyn cops probably wouldn’t have Tasered him, even if they’d known what one was.

Comments

[Kash]

I agree with Simon, you all sound like right wing, NRA loving Americans. How outrageous. This was definitely out of line and unnecessary. The officials could have ticketed him instead of using brute force. Obviously none of the posters here have ever been tasered in the past and do not realize how ridiculous they sound agreeing with the actions. Are sports really more important to you people than the life of a seventeen year old? If he had died or been damaged as a result of the actions, then everyone would agree that this would be viewed as excessive force.

[Eric P]

What did this kid do? Interrupt a baseball game? It's just a game. This ridiculous kid did not intend to harm anyone by running onto the field. He deserved to be ejected and charged. He did not deserve to have a massive electrical charge sent through his body for simply being a moron. As the trigger happy RCMP thugs found out in Vancouver not so long ago, tasers can kill. If this kid's heart would have stopped beating I don't think your ignorant article would have taken on the same tone. It was a teenage prank. Baseball after all, is not really for self indulgent sports writers, it's for kids. Kids do stupid things. Electrocution is not the answer.

Perhaps you should get tasered every time you do something stupid or, as in this case, write something stupid.

[Darryl]

Just because a few people have died on account of tasers does not mean they're leathal weapons. Robert Dziekanski was hit more than once and in a hysterical state to begin with. Not the same thing. After Steffi Graf and other athletes were injured by nutty fans, I'm not sure I'd like to take the chance and why should security risk themselves to accomodate idiocy? You want to play, go to the playground. You got to a sports arena, stay in the stands or ya takes yer chances.

[red5]

For anyone who thinks this was excessive force, I have two words for you: Monica Seles. A player shouldn't have to worry for his / her safety on the field of play, and no one knows what kind of nut-job just jumped over the fence.

[Chris]

Perkins is wrong from the first sentence: another fan ran onto the field the very next night! His comments only get worse from there.

[Sean]

New headline: "Police officer too out of shape to catch 17 year old. Uses tazer so he can still watch reality TV and eat Cheetos". Of all the people who attend sporting events a ridiculous minute percentage of them rush the field(we're talking quark size here). Yeah that sounds serious. Better taze them so nothing gets out of hand. I mean it might have taken you a minute or two more to catch the guy. I know personally I don't want to be distracted for even a second from seeing the third baseman scratch himself. Next time I catch the neighbourhood kid on the lawn I'm busting out the baseball bat. People have to learn.... right? Am I right? *nods head emphatically and accepts incoming high fives*

[vuxes]

Maybe we should also require referees to taser players who get into fights?

[simon]

Wow Dave, did you ever call that one eh! So the deterrent effect of using a Taser on a teenager lasted what, a whole 24 hours? Maybe they should just shoot the kid next time? That will send the right message!

Seriously Dave. The kid wasn't tasered because it was necessary or appropriate. The kid was tasered because the out of shape cop couldn't catch him. Had the cop been in shape, or if he had gotten some help, it would never have happenned.

In case you hadn't noticed Dave, people die from getting Tasered. What if the kid had died? Would you have had "zero sympathy" then?

No one feels sorry for the kid. We just think it's inappropriate to use potentially lethal force where there is no risk of harm to anybody!

Apparently the RCMP agrees as well. Please see their new guidelines on Taser use, received today.

Frankly, after this blog, I expect a mea culpa from you! While your anecdotes and other stories were great, your view of the appropriateness of Taser use is totally misguided.

[Ryan]

As a former security guard for the Toronto Blue Jays in these instances for a "fan" decides he wants to join the players on the field we are told to use as much "force" as necessary to remove them from the field, that said I have tackled my fair share of people and in one case the guy broke his ankle..now if the police had used the taser he wouldn't have had the broken ankle...maybe would have needed a new pair of pants...As most people are not aware is that it's a criminal charge of Trespassing to "run" on the field and they do have thses signs posted, people just think that it's only a fine they will get...

[james]

Sorry Perkins, you are very wrong on this one. Taser should not have been used whatsoever, taser is an absolute last resort. This fan should have been tackled to the ground. That officer is going to have a BIG lawsuit on his hands.

[Paul]

Comparisons to Monica Seles? really? this kid OBVIOUSLY had no intention of getting near a player; if anything, all he was doing was making a fool out of the security guards.

[Sunil]

I think it's completely absurd that anyone can be supportive of using such excessive force against someone that was absolutely no threat to anyone whatsoever. Disgusting.

[Niall Smith]

Don't 17 yr olds make stupid decisions?

Tasers have KILLED people. They are not toys with which to teach 17 yr olds, life lessons.

As has been mentioned, tasers are tools used to diffuse potentially violent situations. If you think they are appropriate for a 17 yr old idiot running on a field. You are a fool.

[BWI]

Dave, Dave, Dave - please reconsider your position. The cop could have KILLED this kid. A taser is a LETHAL weapon! This kid was NO THREAT to the cop, the cop took the LAZY way out. I'm shocked that people are okay with cops using deadly force for civil disobedience.