It’s hard to comprehend, but for one night last year inside Camp Randall stadium, someone was getting a worse deal than the students crammed into sections J through P. Sure, we may have been packed onto those benches tighter than Rod Stewart in spandex, but at least the biggest shock we faced was a crushing loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions. For Margaret Hiebing, the 54-year-old woman who was Tasered that night, the electricity of a Badger football game was truly a literal experience.
Just to be clear, Hiebing didn’t murder anyone earlier that day. She didn’t steal a wealthy family’s baby or even illegally download music. To warrant the passage of 1,000-plus volts of electricity through her body, she sat in the aisle. According to Hiebing, seat vultures took the seats assigned to her and her husband, so she took one on the step. Although I doubt it was in protest, and I highly suspect it to be a juvenile response, it’s hardly an offense that suggests a call to Thor’s handgun.
But it’s always easier to shoot first and ask questions of wrongdoing later, so the police wisely decided to take the path most taken. Some of the details are fuzzy — the police say she resisted them, and to be fair, there still hasn’t been an admission of error on the part of the 5-0, but one thing is clear: Hiebing is $50,000 richer.
The settlement was reached Tuesday, after Hiebing claimed her civil rights were violated and that police used excessive force. But before you admit you’d gladly take a Taser to the chest for $50,000, keep in mind stories like these should never be about the money. This is about the diluted idea of “force,” the machismo of triggers and badges and almost every early ’90s hip-hop song.
Contrary to popular belief, law enforcement officers aren’t simply a bunch of high school bullies with gym passes and mustache combs. No, some of them were junior college bullies. But even more, the vast majority of them recognize the importance of their jobs, and their responsibility to the people. Police work is public service in its most pure essence, and God knows I could never pull over a known criminal or wear collared shirts every day.
But there is a massive difference between protecting the public from an armed drug dealer and a middle-aged woman. This is not a situation that should be handled with any force beyond a stern hand on the arm or possibly some dragging. Tasering a 54-year-old lady is like taking a shotgun to that mounted moose’s head at Bennigan’s. It’s makes you feel big, but you’re going to have some explaining to do.
The problem, as has been stated many times before, is that a Taser is not a gun, and while that seems like a good thing, it’s not. Police tend to avoid firing their guns because killing someone is both a major guilt trip and some serious paperwork. Tasers allow you sleep easy at night, because hey, the box says they’re non-lethal. But life isn’t that simple. Stairs never look like an enemy until you’re a senior citizen with osteoporosis and a 30-year newspaper collection in your basement. Non-lethal is not synonymous with human target practice, and yet this appears to be the trend.
There was a time when police were portrayed by gentle figures like Andy Griffith and Don Knotts, not middle linebackers like Michael Chiklis. And while I’m sure Andy wouldn’t ever have given him one, it’s hard to see Deputy Fife Tasering a Mayberry rabble-rouser — though one can easily envision his accidentally discharging one on himself. But there’s a reason for this. Police force is glamorized, and even more, it’s easy. Talking to the law-breaker is tedious; stunning them motionless is like an arcade game.
Tasers aren’t inherently evil. They serve an absolutely necessary purpose, and police have eased many incredibly perilous situations thanks to their use. But more and more, they’re escalating mundane situations by using Tasers under non-dangerous circumstances. John Kerry wasn’t worried for his life that day at the University of Florida, and Margaret Hiebing wasn’t jeopardizing the safety of 80,000 Badger fans. But it happened. And it will happen again. But at least there are 50,000 reasons to feel all right about it.
Sean Kittridge ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism.
