Imagine being in a crowd of people, fighting for a cause that you believe in and you are suddenly being verbally accosted and then tasered by a policed officer… why? You were walking down the street. At what point should that police officer have the authority to use that taser on you?

This is what happened to a protester Friday night, according to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Protesters were walking on the sidewalk on Washington Avenue in an anti-police-brutality protest. The protesters were allegedly impeding traffic by walking down the street. The video one woman took as the arrest was occurring shows the policeman tasering them and then telling them to put their hands behind their backs, in the typical arrest position.

The police department is investigating the event to see if the police officer followed the department’s taser policy. This policy states that the tasers, which give electric shocks, can be used only when other options that are less lethal are not effective in controlling aggressive behavior, or, when other less lethal options will reasonably appear as ineffective. What’s being questioned is if police officers are relying on them too quickly as opposed to talking someone down from a fight.

Police aren’t the only people who carry tasers. Many people have them and misuse them. If you have been injured with a taser, call your St. Louis personal injury attorneys today!