New York's Finest Insure Suicidal Behavior Succeeds With Taser Assist

There doesn't even need to be a taser in this story for you to wonder "What were they thinking?" Imam Morales went nuts and climbed out onto the fire escape of his Brooklyn apartment building, naked at 2 o' clock in the afternoon. Cops are called. Mr. Morales goes on a 40-minute rant. They don't say where it came from, but he got hold of an 8-foot long fluorescent tube and began waving that around. He climbed out on top of one of those things that roll-up store front gates roll up into. The linked N.Y. Post article has video.

He didn't seem to be a danger to anyone other than himself. All you had to do was stay away from that fluorescent tube, which wasn't too difficult. The cops had plenty of time to call the fire department to set up something to catch this guy if he jumped or fell. But instead the cops tasered him. Take a look at the video and consider the physics of the situation. That roll-up gate thing he's standing on couldn't be more than about 18 inches wide. What did the police think would happen when they tased him? Here are the options:

1. He would come immediately to his senses, cover himself up and apologize, or
2. A light would come from the sky and Mr. Morales would ascend to the heavens, or
3. He would drop like a rock 10 or 12 feet to the sidewalk.

If you voted for #3 you are correct. Mr. Morales died a few hours later in hospital.

The officer who did the tasing was in the Emergency Services Unit which is supposed to have "advanced equipment and expertise."