In California’s Rancho Corral de Tierra (part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area), a National Park Service Ranger reportedly shot Gary Hesterberg in the back with a taser after he walked away during a confrontation over walking his two lapdogs off leash. He was then arrested on suspicion of failing to obey a lawful order, having dogs off-leash and knowingly providing false information. The park service spokesperson reportedly said it is all part of teaching citizens about the new leash law in the area . . . or teaching Hesterberg to heel.
Witnesses objected that the force was excessive and said that the ranger refused to respond when confronted over the necessity or reason for the arrest.
The ranger says that Hesterberg gave a false name and then began to walk away from the ranger. Howard Levitt, a spokesman for the park service, added that he did not have identification on him. Levitt explained that the ranger “pursued him a little bit and she did deploy her [electric-shock weapon] . . . That did stop him.”
It is common for people to walk their dogs off leash in the area, but when the area was made part of the national park system in December, a new leash rule was imposed.
The article below says that Levitt explained that “the ranger was trying to educate residents of the rule.” Wow, if true, that is quite a lesson plan. Stop, explain, tase, and repeat.
The account of these witnesses not only raises serious questions of excessive force but also excessive charges that followed the alleged abuse. We have seen other cases of alleged abuse where citizens have been hit with an array of charges. This creates significant pressure for the accused to plead or remain silent. I do not see why a taser would be needed on such a minor offense.
Source: SF Gate
& Thank You, Bruce Wilson, for the Object Lesson.
You came Here to set up a Strawman, & proved All of Ours Point.
Please read the Authoritarians Book, & Gain a bit of Self Understanding.
The World Will be a Better place for it.
b.
Moving the goal posts when your authority is challenged, huh?
Do you or do you not know how to detain someone using minimal force techniques instead of a taser or a gun?
I do and I’m not even a cop.
Also, the question of “excessive” is now a matter for a judge to decide. The question the Park Ranger should have asked and still failed to answer before reaching for her weapon was “What is the minimum force required to resolve this situation?” In this instance, the answer is “none”. Once his true identity was ascertained, she should have written him a citation and been on her way. But no, because she felt like she wasn’t getting respected, she escalated the situation far beyond the simple code violation that it was. Now her bad decisions are likely going to result in a law suit that will cause her trouble at work if it doesn’t result in her being fired. If you don’t ask the right questions, you are guaranteed to get faulty answers. The proper question isn’t how much force is excessive, but rather what is the minimum force required.
“You have been nothing but insulting towards me. You have projected all your hang ups towards me. In truth, I have noticed that many in the mental health profession have power trips (take your meds or else!).”
Truly, Read the book Son.
I Work the FLOOR. I am, the “Bouncer in the Bin”, I Do know How to Call a Code Green, better Yet, nip the Human Crown Fire in the Bud, Before it turns into a Riot. I Love it! Keeps Me On My Toes All Shift!
& Yes, I Have Very little tolerance for “Norms”, Who screw up a good thing just because they Can. Even Less for Small People w/Fake Badges.
I could make a List of Beautiful Souls, Who’s Greater than Any small persons, Contribution to Society was Cut Short, by small people, With the Same Attitude as You.
Bite Me.
b.
Hmmm, you have a massive chip on your shoulder. I don’t have a fake badge. Its very real. Badges are shields,meant to symbolize protection.. Authority is not derived from the badge. The 5150’s I deal with are in the ER or in the dr.ks office. Complete strangers. So suppose you weigh 200 pounds and your patient is 310 and decides he is going to leave, and he is pissed. You are in the ER with all kinds of equipement clutted all around. 5150 patient is barrelling towards you screaming at you. This occurrs 10 minutes into the standby. How much trust were able to create in those ten minutes? Go! You have 1 second to plan out your response. Guess wrong and and you will be out of work for the month recovering from you injuries, or out of work because Bubby got injured.
By the way, Codes vary between hospitals. Code Green in Fontana, for example, means inbound trauma. This will vary even among all the Kaiser hospitals.
OT. An excellent segment on DemocracyNow! this morning:
“The House I Live In”: New Documentary Exposes Economic, Moral Failure of U.S. War on Drugs
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/1/31/the_house_i_live_in_new
“This weekend the top documentary prize at the Sundance Film Festival went to “The House I Live In,” which questions why the United States has spent more than $1 trillion on drug arrests in the past 40 years, and yet drugs are cheaper, purer and more available today than ever. The film examines the economic, as well as the moral and practical, failures of the so-called “war on drugs” and calls on the United States to approach drug abuse not as a “war,” but as a matter of public health. We need “a very changed dialogue in this country that understands drugs as a public health concern and not a criminal justice concern,” says the film’s director, Eugene Jarecki. “That means the system has to say, ‘We were wrong.'” We also speak with Nannie Jeter, who helped raise Jarecki as her own son succumbed to drug addiction and is highlighted in the film. We air clips from the film, featuring Michelle Alexander, author of “The New Jim Crow”; Canadian physician and bestselling author, Gabor Maté; and David Simon, creator of “The Wire.””
“I am unarmed. I work in healthcare. I am quite nice and polite. I make requests. I am diplomatic. But yet I am expected to stop 5150′s from leaving the facility. How am I supposed to acccomplish this?”
If you don’t know the answer to this question, you are woefully under-trained.
@gene H,
It was a rhetorical question. People are quick to be to critical, but are slow to offer solutions. What would your solution be? Mind you, the rules of the game is no “excessive” force is allowed. And we the peanut gallery determine what is “excessive”. For example, yelling “stop” might be deemed excessive. Get the point?
“Honestly, if a LEO gives you a lawful order, you think its okay to lip off? You think its okay to taunt the officer?”
The operative word is “lawful”.
“How should the officer have handled it? Should she have placed him under arrest?”
She should have written a citation and been on her way instead of assaulting a citizen. There is quite a bit left to an officer’s discretion. This was an example of poor discretion and poor decision making on the part of the officer. A code violation? Doesn’t merit assaulting a citizen because Officer Chip On Her Shoulder felt her authority was questioned. She overreacted. Just like you’re overreacting because you don’t like having your authority challenged. The person with authority issues here is clearly you, Bruce. You seem to think yours is absolute simply because you carry a badge. It isn’t. There was no imminent physical threat to the officer or others in this instance. Force was not justified simply because someone didn’t like having their authority questioned. I’ve got bad news for you. You aren’t a judge. Questions of lawfulness don’t get decided by you. I hope Hesterberg sues the Hell out of the Park Service and costs this thug with a badge her job.
@Gene H.
What I like about the “issue him a citation” response is the lack of thought of how she was supposed to accomplish this. So he gives a false name, refuses to cooperate, and walks off. A citation needs to have the violaters name, id/dl numbern home adress, etc. If he refuses to provide that information, how is she supposed to “issue a citation”? I am very interested in hearing your solution, and probably every cop out there.
Talk is cheap. Just because I have a badge does not mean you have cause to treat me without civilty. I treat people with respect and I am polite, yet people think its okay to be abusive.
Security officers are simply private citizens hired by a private individual or business to watch their property or enforce company policy. I have no more authority than any other private citizen. I cannot arrest anyone. I cannot use force except to protect myself or others. If foerce is to be used, there is a force continuim to followed, ideally. Unfortunately in real life one does not always think clearly in a confrontation.
One word about “training”. This is always thrown out as a panacea for all that ails us. Reality is, training of the best kind is expensive. Not all companies are willing to put out the cash. Its just that simple. Companies, and cities, would rather fire an officer than give proper training. If I or any other person in this industry doesn’t have proper training, its not our fault. Blame the cities and companies that refuse to provide this training, if you must blame somebody.
As for me, there is little I can do if someone really wants to ignore my “no”. My response is, if my client refuses to back me up, why hire me in the first place? If we tolerate scofflaws, why bother hiring police? Why have leash laws, since we are unwilling to back up the park ranger?
I personally don’t give a crap about leash laws. But I tell you what, if that dog comes over to me and menaces my family, I don’t any hand wringing when I send unleashed dog to dog heaven.
You Sir, Are Dangerously UnQualified to Be Working in Mental Health, MY Profession!
“Ha! This is sooo funny. You guys have all jumped to conclusions. Which is what you did in response to this article. I am unarmed. I work in healthcare. I am quite nice and polite. I make requests. I am diplomatic. But yet I am expected to stop 5150′s from leaving the facility. How am I supposed to accomplish this?”
With TRAINING in NON-Violent Takedowns, idjit!
I Worked for a Decade in Neuro/Psych Lockups, NEVER Hurt by a Client, long arms&Long Legs, & Built up Trust by Being HONEST with Clients.
If YOU have to Resort to Hurting Clients, You DO NOT Belong in That Field.
People Go into Health Occupations for Various Reasons, SOME, Because it Gives them POWER, Over those who Cannot Defend themselves… I put Prison Nursing Applications in Their Boxes, Tell them they Would be MUCH More Fulfilled There. So Would YOU, Bruce.
Mental Patients Are in Lockup to Protect THEM for Asswipe’s like YOU on the Outside, NOT to Protect YOU from Them.
Grow up.
b.
@brucespoint,
Sir,
You have been nothing but insulting towards me. You have projected all your hang ups towards me. In truth, I have noticed that many in the mental health profession have power trips (take your meds or else!).
Please, don’t tell me what I am qualified for. I suspect you are the one on the powertrip. The badge I wear angers you because it means I could be the one to tell you “no”. This bothers you on a fundamental level. It interferes with your notion of your own authority. I know the limits to my authority. I too build trust. But in reality not everyone can be controlled. I certainly am not going to tackle anyone. Sorry, any physical altercation can go bad. You can have the best training, the best technique, and still injure someone. That’s just a fact of life. I wish there was a simple method and no one gets hurt, but that’s just not reality.
So why not just fess up to who you are, and what “exactly” you do in mental health? I bet you won’t because you enjoy hiding in the shadows taking potshots. Makes you feel powerful.
Elaine M. 1, January 31, 2012 at 2:17 pm
anon nurse,
I forgot to post the link to that article;
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/3841578/detail.html
Elaine M.,
I read the excerpt… Thanks for the link… (In such a hurry that I failed to notice… 🙂 )
All about Proportionate Response, Bruce…
Dog Walking in an Area with Newly Changed Rules?
Potentially LETHAL Response to Disrespect, is NOT very “Reasonable”, in Anybody’s Book but Yours, & Your Type.
She Should have Ticketed the Fellow, Give Him his Day in Court, following him to his Car/Home, Or Just had some SENSE, and let it Be.
P.s. The Businessman, was My “Never a Swear Word shall pass his lips Father, & they Broke his Elbow, after He had the GALL, to Complain about How they had treated his Eldest Son for a Riding a Bicycle w/out a Headlight Arrest. Petty Idiot Small Men in Uniform.
b.
Some folks wonder why cops pull people over for burned out license plate lights. The answer is, that’s how they find wanted criminals. This guy giving the ranger a false name was a big red flag and a loud alarm bell, indicating that further investigation was necessary. She would have been wrong to let him go. Imagine the headlines: “Park ranger failed to identify notorious rapist before he killed Oakland cheerleader.”
It sounds like Mr. Hesterberg wasn’t the innocent angel he was made out to be:
“The incident occurred around 4:45 p.m. when the man was walking two dogs near the southern edge of McNee Ranch State Park. A ranger working for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area stopped the man for having one of his dogs off-leash, which is restricted in certain areas of the Rancho Corral property.
An escalating argument ensued, according to John Barlett, a nearby resident who was walking in the area. The dog-walker was “defiant,” Barlett said, daring the ranger as he began walking away, “Are you going to arrest me?”
That’s when the ranger pulled out her Taser, according to Barlett.”
http://goo.gl/6bg7E
anon nurse,
I forgot to post the link to that article;
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/3841578/detail.html
Thanks for article, Elaine M. How very sad… Tragic.
September 2, 2010
Cops and College: Do Police Need Book Smarts?
Better-educated police officers resort less often to using force, research shows.
By Melinda Burns
Excerpt:
http://www.miller-mccune.com/legal-affairs/cops-and-college-do-police-need-book-smarts-21852/
Weighing in on a long-simmering dispute, a recent study for the Police Quarterly shows that officers with some college education are less likely to resort to force than those who never attend college.
The study found no difference with respect to officer education when it came to arrests or searches of suspects. But it found that in encounters with crime suspects, officers with some college education or a four-year degree resorted to using force 56 percent of the time, while officers with no college education used force 68 percent of the time. “Force” included verbally threatening suspects, grabbing or punching them, using mace or pepper spray, hitting suspects with a baton, handcuffing, throwing to the ground, or pointing or firing a gun at them.
“Up until now, the studies have been much more anecdotal, indicating that education may matter,” said William Terrill, an associate professor of criminal justice at Michigan State and a co-author of the study. “We found that a college education significantly reduces the likelihood of force occurring. The difference is real. It truly is because the officer was more educated, not because the suspect was more resistant.”
Arrests, searches and the use of force are the “big three” decision-making points for police officers. The Michigan State study was the first to look simultaneously at all three vis-à-vis officer education. It found that education did not make much difference when it came to arrests and searches, confirming a number of other studies in the field. Arrests and searches are more constrained by law than the use of force.
“There’s so much more discretion with the use of force and more room for biases to play out,” Terrill said. “High-school educated officers are more apt to say, ‘I’m the law and I have the authority to make you do it, and I’m going to put my hands on you and make you do it.’ Officers with a four-year degree are more skilled at resolving problems without having to resort to force. They’re giving the citizen alternative means of compliance. They’re not just relying on the stick.”
Thanks AN….That has been a premise for a long time…..Generally…the Highway Patrol requires education for all of its officers….
Civility evaporating,
I think some LEO’s need to use better judgment and more self control–as well as learn when and how to use weapons like tasers and rubber bullets that don’t appear to be lethal.
Here’s a sad story from my neck of the woods:
Commissioner: Police ‘Devastated’ By Student’s Death
Student, 21, Killed By Rubber Bullet
10/22/04
Excerpt:
BOSTON — Friends and family are mourning the death of a 21-year-old Emerson College student who died Thursday, hours after she was shot by a Boston Police Department pellet gun.
Newscenter 5’s Jim Morelli reported that police are investigating the death of East Bridgewater, Mass., student Victoria Snelgrove, and their efforts at crowd control during post-game rioting following the Red Sox win over the Yankees Wednesday night.
“She loved the Red Sox, she went in [to town] to celebrate with friends, she was a bystander,” said Snelgrove’s father, Richard.
Victoria Snelgrove was a bystander in a crowed that authorities estimated numbered between 60,000 and 80,000 people.
Bruce,
Take a look at the following link. You might just see someone you know:
http://jonathanturley.org/2012/01/21/the-authoritarians-a-book-review-and-book/
Ha! This is sooo funny. You guys have all jumped to conclusions. Which is what you did in response to this article. I am unarmed. I work in healthcare. I am quite nice and polite. I make requests. I am diplomatic. But yet I am expected to stop 5150’s from leaving the facility. How am I supposed to acccomplish this? Oh yea a fight breaks out in my facility between patients. I am supposed to respond? Innocent bystanders may be hurt. People look to me to do something. I have nothing but a uniform. Are their issues with LEOs and security officers? Absolutely. My issue is, really, that there is more to this story. But you all immediately jump to conclusions and condemn this officer before all the facts are in. So the joke is on you.
So the next time you are not getting your way, is it okay to start screaming and yelling at the $10 an hour receptionist? No its not. Unfortunately this is not enough to get you kicked off your Kaiser plan. So you get to come back in and traumatize more people by yelling and screaming because your needs are not being take care of fast enough. But wait, I am the guy with the badge. I’m the bad guy. Guees again. Take a look in the mirrow. Check out the beam in your eye.
To Adam” Respect Mah Athouriteh”
However trivial the issue is.
Eric, is that You???
Ha! This is sooo funny. You guys have all jumped to conclusions. Which is what you did in response to this article. I am unarmed. I work in healthcare. I am quite nice and polite. I make requests. I am diplomatic. But yet I am expected to stop 5150’s from leaving the facility. How am I supposed to acccomplish this? Oh yea a fight breaks out in my facility between patients. I am supposed to respond? Innocent bystanders may be hurt. People look to me to do something. I have nothing but a uniform. Are their issues with LEOs and security officers? Absolutely. My issue is, really, that there is more to this story. But you all immediately jump to conclusions and condemn this officer before all the facts are in. So the joke is on you.
So the next time you are not getting your way, is it okay to start screaming and yelling at the $10 an hour receptionist? No its not. Unfortunately this is not enough to get you kicked off your Kaiser plan. So you get to come back in and traumatize more people by yelling and screaming because your needs are not being take care of fast enough. But wait, I am the guy with the badge. I’m the bad guy. Guees again. Take a look in the mirror. Check out the beam in your eye.
I tell people no all the time, too. I don’t have to use a taser or any physical force to do so. If you’re a LEO, it’s in your best interests to remember who it is that pays your salary: the public. Because your statements are pandering of the worst sort. Pandering to the idea of your own authority. Wearing a badge does not excuse you from having your authority questioned.
It sounds like an excessive use of force–to tase someone for having one of his dogs off his leash in a park where dogs are allowed off-leash in some areas.– Elaine
Elaine you would never taunt a a LEO to arrest you, or challenge the leash in this fashion. You’re to bight and articulate.
This fool begged to be arrested.
Lawyers need to litigate Taser deaths like they go after Mesothelioma or how ever they spell that.
The schucks brandishing these things think its all fun at the amusement park. Better than shooting him with a gun they say.
If they are not lethal weapons then I am taking one into the next City Counsel Meeting on my hip. Hey, no problem. Everybody ought to wear one until they brand them for what they are. They can not have it both ways. if they prosecute you for wearing one at the Police Parade then they are going to have to justify why it is worse than a kid cap gun. So, folks if they have killed someone with a Taser in your town and say it was not a lethal weapon then start packing. They cant have it both ways. Or can they?
Dr. Davis,
Funny thing about the Ozark, MO incident. The officers who did the tazing were exonerated because “they thought” the kid was on LSD and were “justified.” No surprises there.
However, following a public outcry, the Ozark PD installed $400 cameras on all Tasers. For some inexplicable reason, the number of threats to officers following installation of the cameras dropped to zero. No threats at all requiring the use of Tasers. Amazing.
I have a question. Would anyone reading (or viewing this) be willing to buy a used car from Captain Thomas Rousset of the Ozark, MO Police Department?