Charles Davenport Jr.: Don't Tase me, Mo
Hysteria often results in misleading headlines, false beliefs and needless hand-wringing.
Global warming is a conspicuous example of the fact. Another subject about which the casual observer has been misled is the use of Tasers by law enforcement. Erroneous news reports and misinformed activists have created the illusion, in the minds of many, that Tasers are not only excessively utilized, but also frequently deadly.
A June 2008 study from the U.S. Department of Justice concludes otherwise: "Although exposure to (Tasers) is not risk-free, there is no conclusive medical evidence within the state of current research that indicates a high risk of serious injury or death from the direct effects of (Tasers)."
Unfortunately, studies that rain on the parade of hysterics do not arrive with a blast of trumpets; they neither grace the front pages of our papers nor lead the evening news. Breathless proclamations from Amnesty International, in which Tasers are blamed for thousands of deaths, are much more captivating stories. Never mind that they are false.
Police departments have used Tasers for years, but only in recent months has the matter come to the attention of educators and parents in Greensboro. An incident in September, in which a student at Ragsdale was Tased, brought the issue into the public eye. News articles and opinion pieces about the use of Tasers in public schools have smoldered on these pages ever since.
A few members of the Guilford County Board of Education have attempted -- thus far, without success -- to snatch Tasers from the hands of Sheriff BJ Barnes, police Chief Tim Bellamy, High Point police Chief Jim Fealy and their underlings, the school resource officers charged with maintaining order in the public schools. Deena Hayes, a member of the Imperial Board of Education, made a motion to establish a committee -- with subpoena power -- that would review every use of Tasers in the schools. (The proposal was tabled.) Hayes stated that she doesn't "feel comfortable with the police policing themselves."
Likewise, many of us would support the establishment of a Citizens Review Committee that would scrutinize and, when necessary, veto policies enacted by the Board of Education. We are not comfortable with the board policing itself. In light of the percentage of illiterate students in Guilford County Schools, perhaps the board should concentrate on the academic development of its charges and steer clear of the professionals who are trained to check the aggressions of violent juveniles.
Barnes, Bellamy and Fealy, to their credit, have refused, in no uncertain terms, to kowtow to the Imperial Board of Education. Here is Bellamy, on the board's concerns about Tasers: "If they are not comfortable with the equipment our sworn officers are carrying, then we may need to have a conversation about having our officers in the schools."
Public schools -- like society itself -- cannot function in the absence of order. Regrettably, a couple of fairly recent trends have unleashed havoc among Little Johnny and his classmates. These societal shifts are the root causes of violence and disorder; they comprise the "nuance" and "complexity" of which we simpletons are alleged to be ignorant.
Ominous trend No. 1 is the prevalence of the single-parent family, the children of which are notoriously rebellious. Trend No. 2 is the near-eradication of corporal punishment, both in schools and in the home.
There is no quick fix for trend No. 1; trend No. 2 will only be reversed with difficulty. Friends of order are often opposed by well-intentioned but misguided people who are, in effect, agents of chaos. The latter abolished corporal punishment in schools, and they discipline their wayward children with "time out" and counseling. The enlightened among us would never dream of "beating" or "hitting" (what we call "spanking") their angelic children. And the thought of an SRO lighting up Little Johnny -- regardless of the menace he presents to the police, or to innocent children -- with a Taser is incomprehensible.
The friend of order observes that many children routinely defy authority, and suggests that parents teach their kids to respect their elders, including teachers, principals and police officers. But the premise (that adults universally defer to authority) is flawed. Many parents -- they make themselves known in public meetings, letters to the editor and elsewhere -- have taught their children precisely the opposite: resentment and distrust of authority.
Multiple studies suggest that Tasers are deadly weapons; others conclude that they are safe. What matters most is this: To children who are taught respect for authority, the point is moot.
Charles Davenport Jr. (cddavenportjr@hotmail.com) is a freelance columnist who appears alternate Sundays in the News & Record.
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