LA Police Taser Father Attempting to Rescue 3 Year Old Son from House Fire – Boy Dies

[Wafffles]

This is going to be incredibly corny, but for some reason I thought of this quote from 'I, Robot'.

"Sarah only had an 11% chance. That was somebody's baby. 11% is more than enough. A human being would've known that."

I'm honestly not sure how I feel, I have no clue how I would have responded in either the father's or the officer's shoes, and I think I agree with the cop's actions, in the end. Still, it was his father. It sounds as though the fire was so bad the boy's death was almost a certainty either way, and it also sounds like going back in was indeed a suicide mission, but there was at least a chance. A father trying to save his child would, I'm willing to bet, probably accept 11% or 5% or even 0.1% odds if he doesn't know for a fact his son is already dead - if for no other reason than to save himself a lifetime of wondering what he might have done differently. Which, I suppose, brings us back to the fact that the cop did the right thing by both saving the fathers life (probably) and also relieving him of the guilt of deciding not to go in by instead incapacitating him. My rambling point being, I think I agree with the cop, but on the same token, part of me sees the merit in attempting an incredibly unlikely, dangerous and probably fatal rescue if there was even a tiny possibility the son was still alive and savable.

[DPA]

His intent was not to commit suicide, his intent was to try to save his son.

What his intent was doesn't matter, the article says nothing about the cop talking to him or hearing him shout that his kid is in the house, only that he tasered the man to prevent him from running inside.

[Masark]

you think a police officer is part of the government? really?

Um, yes? Did Alaska disband all their public police forces or something?

[Kellhound]

you think a police officer is part of the government? really? and fyi it IS a police officers job to protect you from yourself.

not to mention if the police officer had not stopped him from going into the house and he did die the wife could have EASILY sued the officer as well as the city .

Hmmm, last time I checked, all police officers in the US except railroad police are in fact government employees. And no, their job is to enforce laws, no more no less. I would like to know the exact law he was enforcing.

[chrisnumbers]

Fine, stop the man from entering the burning home because you thought it was a lost cause. I can deal with that.
But a taser gun? Isn't that for subduing criminals?

[DPA]

Going trough the article again, I realise to see how the reporter is trying to bait people into hating the police, government and Obama, for saving lives.

Riley's grandmother said that Ryan was merely doing what any father would do and that was attempt to save his son's life, even if it meant losing his own.

Ryan's sister-in-law Emily Miller echoes Lori's sentiments. "It's just heartless. How could they be so heartless? And while they all just stood around and waited for the fire department, what kind of police officer wouldn't try and save a three year old burning in a house?" she said.

According to State Fire Marshal Investigator Scott Stoneberger, firefighters in full gear made attempts to enter the dwelling, but the fire was too hot.

The question though should be, who would stop a father from entering into his home, even in a burning fire, to rescue his son? On top of that, is tasing fathers for doing what is instinctively a part of being a parent something that police should be engaging in? Is this a case of police brutality? Did the officer contribute to the death of the three year old? Or is it just an officer doing his job?

Yeah... police brutality, contributing to murder... and the firefighters (experts) on the scene didn't even enter the house. How heartless.
What kind of police officer wouldn't try to save a 3 year old? Someone who's smart enough to know you would die from smoke poisoning on the way in, or heat, or both.

[Notchris]

Fine, stop the man from entering the burning home because you thought it was a lost cause. I can deal with that.
But a taser gun? Isn't that for subduing criminals?

Ever tried to physically subdue someone who's adrenaline just went berserk? Yeah, good luck there.

[Masark]

Yeah... police brutality, contributing to murder... and the firefighters (experts) on the scene didn't even enter the house. How heartless.

Assumption not in evidence : Firefighters tried to enter before the father tried.

[Waaldo]

Why didn't they grab the child when they first ran out of the house? fucking idiot parents.

Lol at the mother who says "how heartless could the police officer be to not wan't to save a child and wait for firefighters." The police officer was doing what he could to save who he could within his job description. It isn't his job to run into fires, that is why we have firefighters.

As a firefighter, there is a reason we wear all that gear. If that father would have ran in the house he either would have died and never made it out, or made it out with a high body percentage of 3rd degree burns and smoke inhalation, probably leading to his death in a few hours.

According to State Fire Marshal Investigator Scott Stoneberger, firefighters in full gear made attempts to enter the dwelling, but the fire was too hot.

Firefighters couldn't even get in. I'm sure this guy would have been fine.(that's sarcasm btw)

[chrisnumbers]

Ever tried to physically subdue someone who's adrenaline just went berserk? Yeah, good luck there.

Tasering isn't an option in this situation. The cop was out of line, stepping in where he wasn't wanted.

[DEATHETERNAL]

They should not have tried to stop him. As for whether or not they should be blamed for stopping him, it comes down to whether the police knew whether or not he was trying to save his son.

If they did, they were wrong. No one (police or civilian or anyone) should stop someone from attempting to save the life of an innocent "for their own good".

If they did not, they unknowingly were wrong, but with the knowledge they had at the time, they were just attempting to save a person seemingly trying to commit suicide. No one (police or civilian or anyone) should simply stand by while another kills themselves pointlessly.

[Chrysia]

While I can see "saving someone from their own stupidity," I think if you have to taze them to do so, at that point, it's excessive.

[lockedout]

Going trough the article again, I realise to see how the reporter is trying to bait people into hating the police, government and Obama, for saving lives.






Yeah... police brutality, contributing to murder... and the firefighters (experts) on the scene didn't even enter the house. How heartless.
What kind of police officer wouldn't try to save a 3 year old? Someone who's smart enough to know you would die from smoke poisoning on the way in, or heat, or both.

I can clearly see how they are baiting people into hating Obama with all the mention of his name in what you quoted.

[Chrysia]

you think a police officer is part of the government? really? and fyi it IS a police officers job to protect you from yourself.

not to mention if the police officer had not stopped him from going into the house and he did die the wife could have EASILY sued the officer as well as the city .

It actually isn't. It is the polices duty to solve crimes. They've actually gone to court, and it's been upheld, they have no duty to stop active crimes, or put themselves in harms way for you. It's stupid, but it's established judicial precedent.

[Herecius]

I feel almost as awful for the cop who had to make that choice as I do for the father who lost a son. This choice will haunt that police officer for the rest of his life.

[Kraenen]

so did the cops get jailed for murder?

[Chrysia]

so did the cops get jailed for murder?

Murder? The house was an inferno the firefighters couldn't safely enter. While I don't fully agree with the officers actions, trying to paint it as murder is extreme.

[ringpriest]

Well, officer may have saved his life, actually.

On that basis, I recommend the regular tasering off all Lousiana law enforcement officers. Just to save lives, of course.

[Verain]

Interesting.

The cop made a hard call. Yea, he probably made the correct call. The father would have died trying to get to the kid, who was likely dead anyway. And the father knows he did his very best.

Good cop, big cop balls.

[Shahad]

From a father's perspective, better to die trying to save your child that to live having done nothing.

That's a fool's perspective. His death wouldn't have accomplished anything and it would have left his wife in even greater disarray.