Phillies fan tasered after running onto field

[teko]

I heard on the news that this young man called home and told Dad he was going to do this, Dad said dont do it! But we all know teenagers!



The Associated Press
Tuesday, May 4, 2010; 12:38 AM

PHILADELPHIA -- A police officer used a Taser gun to apprehend a fan who ran onto the field during a Phillies game Monday night, and the team and the police are investigating whether it was an appropriate use of force.

The fan, wearing a baseball cap, red T-shirt and khaki shorts, hopped a fence and scurried around the outfield, eluding two security officers in the bottom of the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals. One officer used a Taser and the fan went down in a heap. Several Phillies placed gloves over their faces and appeared to be stifling laughter at the wild scene.

Phillies spokeswomen Bonnie Clark said the police department is investigating the matter and discussing with the team whether using the stun gun was appropriate.

Police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore told The Philadelphia Inquirer police internal affairs will open an investigation to determine if the firing "was proper use of the equipment."

Vanore was not made available to The Associated Press when a call was placed to the police department's public affairs office late Monday night.

The teams said it's the first time a Taser has been used by police to apprehend a spectator who ran onto the field.

The fan was 17-year-old male and he will be charged with criminal trespass and related offenses, the team said. The Phillies did not release his name because he is a juvenile.

[teko]

How true! ROFL, I will tell her that! She will get a kick out of it!

[R Glass]

It could be worse; she could be married to a cop.
It would bring a whole new meaning to “Your Gonna Get It When your Father gets Home.”

[adgal]

I really like sporting events as well, and yep, it happens often.  Then security or the police chase them down, they are charged and taken away.  It's silly, but I have never seen any of them pose a real threat. There is no way they should be tasering some 17 year old kid because he ran out onto a baseball field.  

[teko]

LOL Thanks R! Now I got all these visuals loose in my mind. My daughter told me if she spanks her child, she will go to jail. But if she does not spank her child and she calls law enforcement to help, they will taser him and call it legal and necessary. Ya know, I do see her point!

[R Glass]

I have been to several professional sporting events. Baseball, Football, Hockey and Nascar. If someone decides they want to get on the field, no amount of security can stop them. Nascar would be a little trickier but that would be more like suicide. Maybe a fence with Razor Wire would help but I would rather watch someone run on the field and get tazed. It would be even more entertaining if they were naked. Hey, it’s their 15 minutes of fame they are after anyway. Why rob them?

[ILADVOCATE]

There have been increasing laws prohibiting the use of Tasers at schools where they should never have been used to begin with. As regarding any event such as a baseball game there should just be better security to begin with because there is always someone trying to get attention by running out into the field. I believe that has always happened and they never dealt with it in that extreme manner. If its a security concern in general (because there have been occasional incidents that were actually a threat but those were usually at the Olympics but there are occasional stalkers just like with any other celebrity) then they could just create a barrier that would stop people from being able to do that. When I went to rock concerts there were bouncers and they didn't need to be armed at all even with Tasers because people knew if they tried to climb onstage or do anything inappropriate they would just be hauled out of the place, without any physical harm but knowing they would miss the rest of the event.

[R Glass]

I know I am going to get rebuked and maybe I need therapy but I can’t help but crack up every time I see a clip of someone getting tased. I have 2 friends that have been tased. When one of them tells his story you can’t help but laugh until you hurt. He even laughs about it.

[StormyRenee]

Ridiculous!!!!
The use of tasers is getting out of hand...Recently in my state an autistic boy was tased......

[teko]

I think the tasers need to be taken away, they are being abused to the point that they are simply a tool for the police to use power when it is not necessary. I would be upset if I were the parent of this kid. Tht is simply over the line.

[adgal]

I get that they have to stop them and I agree he should be charged, but tasering?  A bit of overkill there don't you think?  To me, tasering should be used in a situation that may endanger law enforcement and I respect their need to protect themselves.  But a stupid teenager who I am fairly confident was not a danger to anyone?  A little over the top.  We have had a few scenarios here where people were killed with stun guns.  What if that had been the end result here?  Again, I fully support the use of them where necessary, but unless there is more to this story, that doesn't sound like the case here.