Not A Lawyer

I really don’t know when the Taser gun started being a standard issue item for police officers. I know that the Taser was invented in 1969. According to Wikipedia, they were introduced in police work as a less lethal alternative to guns.

Well, maybe. It seems that in the news we hear more and more about people dying from being shot by police with Taser guns.

One news report about one of three men in Canada who have recently died as a result of being shot with an electroshock weapon said over and over that he was resisting arrest and that the cops had to shoot him with the Taser weapon in order to subdue him.

So, now police can legally kill you if you resist arrest?

I remember in my study of torts in school there is an “eggshell skull rule.” It means that you take the victim, or plaintiff, as they come. That means that if you knock someone down and they happen to die because their head falls off or because of some other condition they had that you didn’t know about, it’s still your fault. Basically, if you cause much greater damage to a person through your negligence or intentional acts because of some unforeseen condition that they have, it makes no difference, you are still liable for whatever happens.

However, I think this must not apply to police actions. The way they use the Taser left and right, without knowing if someone could have a heart problem or some other medical condition seems quite reckless, but I have not yet heard of a successful lawsuit against the police for use of the Taser. Perhaps it’s just too early yet.

Does anyone know if police officers have special protection from the eggshell skull rule? If not, I would think that we will begin to see lawsuits about the use of the Taser and the deaths that have resulted from its use. Time will tell.

I think that some lawsuits and perhaps some stiff punitive damage awards might not be a bad thing if it slows down this liberal and seemingly indiscriminate use of the Taser gun.

In Ohio, a pregnant woman who was on the ground was shot with a Taser gun by a police officer because she refused to answer his questions and resisted being handcuffed.

The woman had arrived at the police station with her 1-year-old son in tow and asked the police to take custody of the child because she was tired of dealing with his father. When questioned, she refused to answer and just tried to leave with her child. The officer decided to detain her because he says that he feared that letting her leave with the child could have put the boy in danger.

So, as the officer grabbed her, she resisted him and ended up on the floor and resisted being handcuffed. She was wearing a winter coat, so the cop didn’t realize she was pregnant and pulled out his trusty Taser and shot her with it.

This officer remains on duty as the FBI investigates the case to determine if excessive police force was used. The police department says that they are also investigating the incident.

Meanwhile, the condition of the woman and her unborn child are unknown.

Here is the video: Pregnant Woman Tasered

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Well, Britney Spears is being sued by her ex-husband, Kevin Federline for more money.. oops.. I mean more custody of their two little boys.

Really, who can blame him? I hope he’s not doing it just to get more money but some people seem to think that’s the case.

Not that tabloid reports are all that reliable, but TMZ does have a video of Britney running into another parked car and then getting out to check her own car.. then leaving without leaving a note for the owner of the other car or trying to contact them in any way. That doesn’t make her a bad mother.

However, there are pictures of her youngest son in a front facing car seat, which isn’t correct for a child of his age. He is supposed to still be in a rear facing car seat.. but hey, at least she’s putting the kids in car seats now.

There are also all the tabloid reports, and again tabloid reports don’t equal evidence, of Britney still out all hours of the night and doing all kinds of crazy things. I don’t know if Federline can prove she’s neglecting the kids but he’s been desperately trying to get in touch with the assistant Britney fired after the trainwreck interview with OK Magazine, and he has served her cousin/assistant with papers to be deposed in the case. I can see the ex-assistant dishing dirt but I’m sure Ali will try to make things seem not so bad.

And maybe they aren’t so bad. It may be true that Britney is out partying all night, but kids are sleeping at that time. I’m sure she leaves them with a responsible nanny. And during the days when she is sleeping it off.. well, I’m sure manny or nanny is keeping an eye on the kids.

When we see pictures of Britney’s kids they don’t look malnourished or dirty. They are well clothed - and apparently have more fashion sense than Britney.

So, I guess we will have to wait and see what a judge says about the Spears-Federline custody dispute. All I can say is that Britney had to have seen this coming a long time ago.

Britney has started playing more of a mommy role in public over the last couple of days. She took her kids out to eat and took them to the restroom with her. When she left she even carried one of the boys to the car and put him in his front-facing car seat. Some assistant or something strapped the other kid in, also in a front-facing car seat.

Lindsay Lohan just can’t catch a break. Is there anyone that doesn’t want to see this girl broke and in jail?

Remember Lohan’s last DUI and drug possession arrest? The SUV she was driving wasn’t hers, the three guys inside it say she basically car-jacked and kidnapped them and took off with them in the car to chase her former assistant and her mother.

Well, there was another girl in the Escalade with Lohan’s ex-assistant and her mother. This girl is now suing Lohan because she was so terrified during and after the chase, especially when police reportedly approached them with guns drawn. She says she was in fear for her life.

The girl is suing Lohan for assault and negligence. She is also claiming that Lindsay inflicted emotional distress on her and wants an unspecified amount of compensation for damages and medical treatment.

This lawsuit has been filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and you can be certain that I will be following the case.

I’ll also be following the Spears and Federline custody battle as well, but since documents are sealed for the time being in that case I think most of the information given to the public will be opinion and speculation rather than concrete facts.

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