Meh, sure would be better for him to get into a struggle with a drunk imbecile, possibly lose his weapon, and we on the other end of his own gun. Those are probably the worst IFs imaginable, but no less, when you should comply... you should comply. The officer stood back, issued commands, and the suspect didn't respond as he should've. When he did, the officer stopped, set the tazer down, and cuffed him.
And while a tazer can kill someone, I would bet most are designed to be a much more non-lethal weapon than what you suggest.
Yep. Most electric stun systems like that are not lethal in the least.
Electricity in the human body is fairly predictable. Our body functions using the principal of electron sharing and metal ions.
With the right voltages and amperage, researchers essentially know exactly what is going to happen.
And hell, when someone resists an officer, they know exactly what they are getting into. Officers are
not going to just talk kindly to you, hoping you'll cooperate and if you don't, they just give up and walk away. No, you're going to get hurt, bad.
In every single case of resisting arrest, regardless by what means an officer subdues an offender, the chance of serious physical harm, even death or coma, is always present. When attempting to restrain a person, a cop might tackle someone and their head could strike pavement the wrong way, or the body just falls the wrong way, and boom - serious medical complication from a routine maneuver. It has happened. So what do officers do?
Use whatever provides the lowest chances of lasting physical damage to the offender, and least chance of harm to the officer on scene. Guess what that is?
The Tazer brand is quite popular for that very reason.
Personally, I have seen some cases where officers are on a power trip, or just lose control of the situation and go above and beyond what is necessary.
The officer in the OP's video? Calm, restrained, acted appropriately.
Honestly, he
could have easily used physical force to restrain the guy after the second or third shock.
But when someone doesn't cooperate after a taser shock, when you are the one person near them and trying to subdue them, you are a little confused and certainly a little worried. Your own safety is on the line at all times in this cases, and while we know the outcome, don't apply hindsight here. We see many cases of assault against an officer, and it definitely happens more often when the offender is under the influence of any chemical, like alcohol in this instance. Officers are almost always under threat, even if minimal, and most often they do use violence in an appropriate manner.