Tasered Man Bursts Into Flames In Australia

When police taser-gunned a man in an aboriginal community in Western Australia who was charging them with a can of gasoline and a lighter, he suddenly burst into flames, the BBC reports. The man, Ronald Mitchell, 36, is a known offender and his sister told The Australian that he had actually been sniffing the gasoline, the BBC notes. Police arrived at Mitchell's home in response to a complaint and are saying the immolation was spurred by the lighter/gasoline combination, as opposed to the taser. Mitchell was charged with assault, but according to the BBC, some are speaking out in his defense and against the use of taser guns:

Dennis Eggington, of the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia, called for an urgent review of Taser use. Aboriginal people, he said, were often in poor health, which made them particularly vulnerable to stun weapons.

A Taser works by firing two barbs which penetrate the skin and discharge 50,000 volts along two copper wires attached to the gun.

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Comments

[eternalkerri]

ok, so here is some food for thought.

what came first?

the society we expect them to police? or the police who interact with that society?

[daemos1]

What an inflammatory article!

[LateDave]

Regarding the arguable proximate cause of this incident: huffing is a common poor-man's high, and gasoline is a not-rare inhalant drug of choice for the most despondent, from pre-schoolers in South America to, obviously, a should-be prime of life Abo in Oz. Let me be a stereotypical liberal on this: every time somebody gets involved with a drug that will certainly destroy them, as Ron Mitchell was, society loses. "Society" can't make the Ron Mitchells of the world well-adjusted or self-confident, but it frequently turns its back on them from childhood. It's usually a class issue, say what you will.

The purpose of taxes is to redirect some of your money to prevention so you won't need to retain bodyguards or hide in a gated community surrounded by nastiness and misery. Paychecks, at least in the first world, are scaled to employees' market value, factoring in an *assumed* level of taxation. Proper countries uses this revenue to provide for the common defense, promote the general wellfare, and assure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. Kicking a Ron Mitchell to the curb, then zapping him when he goes berzerk, is a failure to do this. Oz is not different from the U.S. in this regard--just different identity politics.

If you spotted the plagiarisms, thank your teacher.

[RyKi]

This guy sounds like he had it coming, you don't treat someone running at you trying to light you on fire with kid-gloves.

[nopilikia]

Believe officers felt taser better option than their weapons. Anyone charging them with a gas can and lighter in this day and age could be considered a suicide bomber. Lethal force justified from the get go.

[watchTVgetSTUPID]

Remember "Don't Tase me Bro"?

Cops are trigger happy.

[EmmanuelTheTalkingHorse]

: (

This is the second story to come out of Oz of police using tasers with lethal results in as many months. The last time a man was tasered 36 times by police until he was dead.

Anyone would think Aussies live for tasering their own citizens but it really isn't true. Honest. We're nice people, really.

[roninroshi]

The cops reacted to a situation they considered to be life threatening to themselves...

[LetsGetToWork]

Holy cr**!!!

[Crass Innuendo]

Questions of abuse of power and the like aside, what prompted the officer to think that an electrical discharge against someone who was obviously compromised by a flammable element would be somehow...not stupid?

[ibsteve2u]

Sad to say it, but sufficient evidence exists for me to conclude that too many officers believe that mere possession of a badge eliminates any requirement on their part to think at all.

[slithers]

Letting a deranged man run up to you with a can of fuel and a lighter is even dumber.

What's your suggestion? Shoot him with a gun?

[pokemon]

Yes, I would have.

[EmmanuelTheTalkingHorse]

tickle him with a really long feather, maybe.

[tigerlyly]

Should officers be trained in the art of restraining non-compliant suspects? I imagine it happens quite often so it seems like that should be one of the specifications of their JOB.

[joceeco]

Shoot him in the leg with a gun is the perfect solution.

[phoenix12]

It's "not stupid" if your objective is to defend yourself from a crazed man running at you with a can of gasoline and a lighter.

[DaveVDave]

Note to self: Don't charge at cops with a gas can!

http://www.TheCommentDepot.com

[karinova]

Note to cops: Don't use a open-spark weapon on a guy with a gas can!

[PeterLoffredo]

Personally, I have never committed a crime. I haven't even gotten a traffic ticket in 20 years. Yet, when I see a cop, I feel uncomfortable. I see a person, almost always a man, with a gun and a wooden stick in a militaristic uniform, a man who has chosen a profession, not even drafted, but chosen a career in which the job description includes the possibility of having to kill someone. I think, what does that guy do with that level of aggressive intent inside of him if no crime is being committed in his proximity? Does he offer to help you find a parking spot when you're late to pick up your kids at school? Does he remind you to buckle up for safety or cross at the green, not in between? HA! More often, he gleefully gives you a $100 ticket to go with his "Come on, make my day!" attitude if you dare think about protesting the unfairness of the letter of the law sometimes.
Peter Loffredo
http://fullpermissionliving.blogspot.com/

[OC4Obama4Pres]

Fanned!!! Favorite!!!! Cosign of all time!

[pissedmichael]

You had me right up until your last sentence. Just a little too far in stereotyping. However, I agree with your description of your emotions when seeing a police officer--100%. Never thought of it that way, but that's exactly what I feel also. And, it's the portrayal of the negative side by the media that makes me feel this way. Can only imagine what it would feel like to be a victim of racial profiling--uniformed police officers already intimidate me enough as it is.
Good post.

[Aesthete]

I have known two kinds of police officers - those who are friendly, helpful, and respectful and others who have control and power issues. I once worked in a department store where instances of shoplifting increased during the holiday shopping season, so it was decided to hire a uniformed police officer to patrol the store. The store was most often patronized by older ladies who were indeed as innocent as the driven snow, but even they were made uncomfortable by the presence of a uniformed cop and stayed away from the store, causing it to lose business.

[lokipuck]

Correct. How many of us see a cop with his I'mabadass sunglasses and think, "There goes officer Friendly"?

[watchTVgetSTUPID]

Police departments are supposed to do personality profile tests to weed out the bad apples but many get through and then their abuse is defended by the department. The cop who arrested the Harvard professor should be fired for cause but no doubt he will be kept on the force.

[eternalkerri]

do those personality tests ask someone how he will deal with seeing at least 5 dead kids a year from abuse?

[Lynne Whittington]

COULDN'T THE COPS SEE THE GAS CAN ?

[ToddStewart]

Of course they could see the gas can. And the cigarette lighter, and the prospect of being engulfed in flames within the next few seconds; what would you have done?

[Vernon Brown]

gotten a job

[BassMonk]

Add sparks?

[lokipuck]

I would NOT have IMMOLATED ANOTHER PERSON, friend.

[ibivi]

Whenever there are gas fumes there shouldn't be any sparks. Didn't teach the cops about hazards before they go around using their tasers? Well I guess we should be grateful they didn't shoot him. We keep hearing about these incidents but the police (no matter where) refuse to listen. Something has to be done.

[phoenix12]

Yeah, the cop probably saw the gas can,,,and the lighter...and the crazed man holding both those items running towards him...so the cop used what he had in order to stop the man in his tracks. I think it's called self defense. If I saw a man running at me with a can of gasoline and a lighter, I'd probably do the same thing...obviously not with the intent to light the guy on fire, but simply to save myself from deadly harm.

[AndyWright68]

We can stop the police from abusing and torturing us with these taser devices. Watch these videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/CopsOutofControl Maybe they will motivate you to take action towards police reform.

The police in this country and around the world are out of control. These tasers are being used as human cattle prods only worse. If we don't sign a ticket or follow a dimwitted cops orders we will be tasered, tortured, arrested and charged with the laughable crime of "resisting" or disorderly conduct.

Fight for police reform before you or someone you care about becomes a victim of police brutality.

[OkieIntellectual]

Seriously Andy, what's your mean-on with the police? You have advocated over and over on this thread that they be disarmed, disbanded, and generally rendered ineffective. So what's your deal man? Were you arrested and roughed up as a teenager or something? You do realize that the VAST majority of cops out there are decent people who genuinely want to "serve and protect" their communities, right? You do realize that while we do hear about the few incidents where cops screw up or are just plain bad, ther are literally tens-of-thousands of instances every day where cops do the right thing, don't you?

You claim that the police are "out of control" because the media decided to report incidents like this instead of all the cases where police use a tazer in a completely appropriate manner to apprehend a suspect who is posing a real danger to the community.

So what is it Andy, why all the animosity toward law enforcement? Why are you so keen on having a society where there is no law enforcement?

[AmbientDiscord]

they are rarely held accountable for abusing their power unless it gets caught on camera and spread around the news. take the incident in NY where the bachelor party got turned into swiss cheese in their car because undercover cops decided to blow through 2 clips firing on the guys that were unarmed.

i was listening to a talk radio show and other NY cops were calling in ultra pissed off that they were even discussing punishment for the cops. they actually said "you can't allow lawsuits to be brought against cops or it will encourage other people to bring their own suits." ridiculous!

i am not going to say to disarm the cops but in general they just need to calm down with the god complex and stop acting like their job is us vs them. as it is now they break laws and then stand up for each other all over the country.

i'm not sure the above story qualifies though as the guy was "attacking" the cops and they had to react.

[AndyWright68]

Okie, I appreciate your interest. However, I am not the issue. Here are the problems:
And I realize there are a few good cops. I'm only referring to the majority.

1. The police think they are in the military.
2. They refer to us as civilians.
3. They treat us like we are their enemy.
4. They bark orders at people. Even those who call them for help.
5. They talk down to us.
6. They escalate situations instead of diffusing them.
7. They intimidate and aggravate people.
8. They shoot and ask questions later.
9. They don't take the time to reason with people.
10. They arrest anyone they can find a reason to arrest them.
11. They almost never pay for the crimes they commit.
12. PAID ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE!
13. They are uneducated.
14. They receive little top no training in dealing with people.
15. 99% of their training is how to dominate and control us.
15. We are being controlled with pain compliance and fear.
16. Police are not drug tested and their is serious steroid use going on.
17. The police have higher rates of alcohol abuse than any other profession.
18. A spouse of a cop is 4X more likely to be abused (victim of domestic violence.
19. Many of them kill their families and then commit suicide.
20. High rate of suicide.
21. They murder people and get away with it.

Continued....

[AndyWright68]

Continuation...
22. They lie and cover up for each other.
23. They abuse people who do not bow down to their every order.
24. Their bullies.
25. They demand hero status.
26. They arm themselves to the teeth and disarm us.
27. They violate people's rights.
28. They threaten us if we complain.
29. They refer to themselves as the toughest gang in town.
30. They torture people.
31. They break the law because they are above the law.
32 They usually don't show up until after the fact.
33. When they do show up they usually make matters worse.
34. They pretend they have a dangerous job.
35. They're adrenalin junkies.
36. They crave action.
36. They provoke people.
37. They're condescending.
etc.

I could go on and on. We would be better off without them. We really only need investigators/detectives. We have no need for armed, uneducated, antisocial bullies to go around taxing and tasering the people. Most of them would be criminals if they wern't cops.

BTW I grew up in fear of the police the same as everyone I knew. It wasn't until lately that I realized we should not live in fear of the police or the government. They do work for us and they need to respect us.

Continued...

[AndyWright68]

Continuation...

Watch the police brutality videos and read the articles on the Internet and you will see why we need police reform. Search police brutality and you will find 30,000+ YouTube videos and 3 million Google results. There is a real problem in this country and I will fight to fix this. Here is a good article http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts224.html

[macweenie]

You know I was going to take a moderate tone when it came to this subject but literally just a few seconds ago I see on the news where three male police officers were beating a woman in a cell because she was "belligerent". Yesterday a college professor was arrested for being "belligerent" when he was being manhandled by cops in his own home. How many cases go unreported or are ignored because the incident wasn't caught on tape or the person complaining was an unsavory person? Ten per state? Fifty? One Hundred?

My cousin is a corrections officer and I want to believe she is not some jackbooted thug, but I hear first hand accounts about what goes on in her jail and I worry about the state of law enforcement today. I can understand why some people run when they see a cop. And I don't blame them anymore.

[cinattra]

The guy is lucky he didn't catch a chest full of itty bits of metal... someone running at you with a can of gasoline and a lighter is a life or death situation.

The use of the taser should have never been part of the equation.

The guy might've been hoping for a suicide by police situation.