I was making fun of the wording of the decision. The fact that the TASER was localized and temporary doesn't seem like enough, by itself, to rule that it was not excessive force. Like I mentioned, a baseball bat to the face is also temporary and localized. But if the officers had beaten the woman upside the head with a bat, I would assume the same court would've come to a different opinion. The justices of the court appeared to be stretching themselves to find that the TASERing was not excessive in the situation, using a standard that would also permit beating someone with a bat or any number of other things that would seem a lot worse than being TASERed.
I think where they differentiated other cases is the fact that the taser was on the lowest setting - they mentioned a case before were it was in DART mode and the suspect suffered injuries because of it. A bat to the face isn't temporary, that suckers going to hurt for a while! I'm more surprised there wasn't more discussion on the number of times she was stunned. You might make a case about (3) times being excessive for them to accomplish their goals, but I'm not sure if she ever brought it up in her argument. They briefly talked about what positions each stun put her in, but not much about whether or not the additional two stuns were necessary.
Firstly I think 99% of cops are great for society and heroes. Secondly I also think a reasonable person can make reasonable decisions as to what is LEGAL vs what is RIGHT. Tasing a pregnant lady for not signing a speeding ticket who is otherwise offering NO threat? come on... yea she shoulda signed the card, and got out when they asked, and turned off the car, but there at some point has to be some reason and thought by these guys. Ok so there is no evidence that tasing can hurt the baby, first off i doubt the cops were going through the thought of 'oh well the science says the voltage has no negative impact on a fetal child so we can tase her'. Also, who is to say that when she was 'incapacitated' she doesnt fall and the fall doesn't hurt the baby. Is it even worth the .0001% chance because the b****in lady wouldnt sign her name on the ticket? I think not.
