Would you rather be shot with a gun, burned with pepper spray or shocked with a Taser?
If you know what's best for you, the answer should be the Taser.
When it comes to controlling unruly persons in a crowd, the use of Tasers by police is the best solution for all parties involved - law enforcement can temporarily put evildoers out of commission, and those in question typically aren't injured.
A recent report by the Glendale Police Department showed an ASU police officer and a sergeant from the Arizona Department of Public Safety were right to use a Taser on unruly football fans during last year's Fiesta Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium.
We agree.
According to the ASU Department of Public Safety, Tasers may be used to "bring an unlawful situation under control" and to "bring about the arrest of a person who tries to resist."
Those that were shocked had been taunting officers and egging them on to shock them, even after unlawfully storming the field. They could have trampled others in the process.
If that doesn't fit into DPS's policy for Taser use, we don't know what does.
And while we applaud ASU for looking into potential wrongdoings on its campus, the fact that this particular incident had to be reviewed was a little silly. After all, the Taser is the best tool to control a dangerous situation. Just look at the alternatives.
Rubber bullets can cause serious injury, particularly if fired at one's head. Real bullets, well, they can kill you.
And let's not even talk about pepper spray, the human pest repellent that has been replaced by Tasers, when it comes to crowd control in most cases. Ask anyone who has taken a dose of pepper spray in the eyes, and they will tell you the experience is just inhumane.
For more than 20 minutes, mucus pours out of your eyes and nose, you cough and choke profusely, and rashes will likely break out on your body. To use pepper spray on a felon escaping prison may be warranted but not an inebriated college student that is over-celebrating a football victory.
So before you complain about how harsh the use of a Taser can be, examine the alternatives.
Sure, some of us weren't quite sure if it is the most desirable form of punishment. But after a discussion, four out of seven journalists (our editorial board) agree, being Tasered is the way to go.
The other three were undecided.
To help them see the light, we call upon all ASU students who have experienced pepper spray and/or Tasers to write a letter to the editor or leave a Talk Back message at (480) 965-6881, letting us know which is worse.
The majority of us think the answer will be clear: Being Tasered is the way to go.
