Drunk Spectator Tasered During Florida Golf Tournament

Photograph of St. Johns Sheriff's Deputies cuffing and picking up Travis Parmelee, who was Tasered, by Bob Self, Florida Times-Union/AP

We've officially entered the age of stupid fans who get Tasered: Days after a 17-year-old was Tasered after running onto the field at a Phillies game, a drunk and belligerent 36-year-old man watching a Florida golf tournament was Tasered. Travis Parmelee was reportedly yelling at players at the 11th hole of the Players Championship and was belligerent with hole marshals and, later, sheriff's deputies. He was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest.

According to the Florida Times-Union, Capt. Dave Messenger said that Parmalee refused to calm down: "When police tried to arrest the suspect, he resisted and officers were forced to Tase him to subdue him, Messenger said. 'We try to get people to comply,' Messenger said. 'Oftentimes if they comply, we'll make them leave. That's our goal.'" He also told the AP, "Most people really want to watch golf, and others came out here to drink."

Yesterday, the NY Times published an editorial criticizing the Tasering at the Phillies game: "[Steve] Consalvi was also outnumbered, had no way to escape and posed no evident threat, except to the flow of a good ballgame and maybe to the pride of officers who were older, heavier and slower than he... Having a powerful weapon doesn’t mean you fire it with abandon." And there was this dig: "All cities have dumb fans. Philadelphia seems to have more than its share."

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By Jen Chung in News on May 8, 2010 3:20 PM

Comments [rss]

potsmoker

And even more disturbing is the fact that many Americans still justify police cruelty, no matter how unjustified; a phenomenon that's likely to continue until such rationalizing souls are themselves senselessly beaten by mindless cops, without just cause.

Bullies and those with various inferiority complexes have long been attracted to police, or other kinds of governmental work; but today, it seems that cruelty as a personality trait is a requirement for police work.

Exacerbating the growing specter of police inhumanity has been the militarization of practically every one of the 17,000 police organizations in the country; it's a very troubling development that has gotten worse yearly.

Today, a totally innocent American can be tasered with 50,000 to 150,000 volts of electricity by simply verbally disagreeing with a police officer.

Tasers, known as "electronic immobilization devices," deliver a long lasting electrical shock up to 450 times stronger than the current of a household's electrical socket. It's been reported that being hit with a taser is much like being hit full force in the head with a baseball bat.

Tasers disrupt one's central nervous system, causing severe, involuntary muscle contractions that immobilize and can stop one's heart unto death. Already there have been about 400 people killed by tasers. Killing unnamed civilians has become, with some, a macho thing to do, especially with some congenitally disadvantaged cops, who seem to have special immunity to murder.

The Internet is loaded with videos of cops tasering old ladies, children, and people who offered no resistance to arrest. Police are now, however, prohibiting video taping of their thuggery, while they video us with impunity.

It seems evident that some people want us to fear government. The great Thomas Jefferson wrote, "When governments fear the people there is liberty. When the people fear the government there is tyranny."

But still, there are those who fear our government and police, but insist they live in a protected democracy. And in the immoral words of Pogo, "We've found the enemy and he is us."

Federal and state governments carefully avoid keeping accurate statistics on police brutality or even officer involved sexual misconduct; but fortunately, the brave National Police Misconduct Statistics and Report Project (NPMSRP) does its best to keep abreast of the constant and burgeoning outbreaks of gross police misconduct.

sowhtifithppnsitwll

I'm just waiting for that big white balloon to come bouncing out of the sky and gobble me up. Who is #1 any way?

Manitoba

Who cares as long as they announce the flavor of the day in a timely fashion. I hope it's strawberry today!

Horse Badorties

Another example of excessive use of force. Welcome to capitalist America.

mrguy

count me in favor of tasering drunk assholes.

soxinthecity

Suddenly, the price of tickets to a sporting event are a lot more reasonable, now that there is the possibility of watching assholes get tasered.

LeonSpinks

I think Tasering should become a new sport. Turn a bunch of drunk a-holes loose and the first fat cop to knock down five of 'em wins. Great fun!

SonnyBobiche

75% of the NY Times Editorials are written from an Ivory Tower elitist point of view and are against the common good of society.

dr zippy

Conform! Conform! Conform! Behave as others do at all times! Any abberant actions, no matter how small, will be met with painful punishment. Do not deviate! Do not be different. Conform! Conform! Conform!

What did thecops do with unruly spectators before there were tasers? Why won't such procedures work anymore? Is tasering any more or less humane than the previously used procedure?

CaptainWillard

What did they do before? They used to beat the balls off em... But thats frowned upon now... So, its much easier to just go "zap zap" and have the problem resolved in seconds...

xgeyiph772

Conform? So we all should become drunken jackasses who harass people during sporting events? How about when they stab tennis players or dislocate baseball players shoulders? Is that OK? How about not becoming a drunken idiot who goes to sporting events to bother people and put others in danger?

longacre

You can argue that Tasers are safer for everyone when used in appropriate circumstances. The old way usually involves officers physically grappling with the perp, which can lead to broken bones, head injuries, guns going off, and lots of other bad stuff. The Taser (usually) eliminates any resistance from the perp so the cops can just scoop him up and toss him in a car without incident.

jt10000

Do you have any actual stats on what you're saying? And how come you don't mention that people can die from being tasered?

I'm constantly disturbed by regular promotion of violence by authority in our society, and how many people seem to like that tendency.