Officer Ard made a stupid mistake by shooting his stun gun from his vehicle at Victor Steen. The fact that it’s not in the policy manual might help him with his superiors, but common sense dictates shooting a stun gun from a moving vehicle at someone on a bike isn’t a good idea. Why Ard chose to do it is the question that has to be asked and answered.
And that’s the question that is being asked in the black community. Yes, Steen – who died when Ard’s patrol car ran over him – should have stopped, but does fleeing from a construction site warrant the use of a Taser?
Steen is no criminal record, according to the Clerk of Courts website. He has a thug myspace page, so what? That doesn’t warrant being shot with a Taser.