Teen Phillies Fan Tasered After Running Onto Field

NBC Sports reports that a 17-year-old Phillies fan was tasered after his run onto the field at a Phillies/Cardinals game on Monday night. The teen, unidentified due to his age, faces criminal trespass charges for his 8th inning stunt. The young man eluded security officers until tasered into submission. Now, police are reviewing whether or not tasering the fanatic Phillies fan was the appropriate response.

Excessive force for a kid having fun?

Should the tasering officer made a better effort to chase the wayward fan down instead? Did the officer not want to exert the effort to tackle the young hooligan and opt to tase him instead? The teen was not reported to have any weapons, except perhaps a towel. In viewing a video of the incident on YouTube, my first impression is that he could have gotten caught by the posse chasing him and that taser use in this case was not warranted. He was simply a kid having a good time. The video shows the crowd booed after the teen was tasered and cheered when he was assisted off the field, glad that he was OK.

Past instances of teen tasering that didn't turn out so well...

Young people, particularly teenagers, have died as a result of tasering. The teenage Phillies fan could very well be lucky to be alive.

Darryl Wayne Turner: Charlotte, N.C., March, 2008

Darryl Wayne Turner, 17, died in March 2008 after tasered at a Food Lion in Charlotte, N.C. The teen allegedly refused to leave the store after getting into an argument with his manager. Mr. Turner was tasered after he knocked a display over. The family is now suing the maker of the Taser unit, alleging that there was not adequate safety warnings indicating that holding the trigger for more than the recommended 5 seconds could be lethal. The officer allegedly held down the trigger for 37 seconds, well in excess of what was recommended. The family did receive a monetary settlement from the city of Charlotte and is now suing the manufacturer.

Derrick Jones: Martinsville, Va, January, 2009

Taking an aggressive stance with a police officer cost Derrick Jones, 17, his life. Police were called to the teen's residence after complaints were made that there was a fight going on. When the police came to the door and Jones was ordered by the police to come into the living room, police allege that Jones came toward the officers too quickly and he was tased. Shortly afterward, Jones became unresponsive and died at the hospital later.

Robert Mitchell: Warren, Mich., April, 2009

Robert Mitchell, 15, was tasered by police in Warren, Mich., after he ran during a traffic stop. Mitchell was not driving, but fled the scene out of fright and was later apprehended. He resisted and was subdued by taser and died as a result of being hit with 50,000 volts of electricity.

Amnesty International Statistics on Taser related deaths

Amnesty International has been tracking taser related deaths since 2001. According to their December 2008 report, Less than Lethal?, between June 2001 and July 2008, 334 individuals died after tasered. This eye opening report states that the vast majority -- that is 90% -- of those subdued via Tasers did not have a weapon.

Sources:

'No Excuse' For Teen's Taser Death, Mother Says
Teen's Death Recalled
Teen Dies After Officers Uses Taser to Subdue Him
Less than Lethal Amnesty International