TexasCHLforum.com

FightinAggieCHL wrote:I'm not sure if he wasn't a danger to the officer. He was belligerent before he stopped out of the vehicle,

txinvestigator wrote:The only thing out of line was the violator.

It was a good TASE

A controversial traffic stop has brought a harsh warning from Austin's police chief.


Monday, APD Chief Art Acevedo said he wants to make sure what happened will not be forgotten.

"I've been talking about this tape with the officers for about five or six weeks," Acevedo said.

O'Conner was disciplined for the confrontation before Chief Acevedo was hired over the summer. Acevedo said he saw an opportunity to turn a wrong into a right.

"It is important for us to learn from the mistake of others," he said.

Acevedo says he is not out to embarrass O'Conner, who is back on active duty. He is using the tape as a new training tool for all Austin police officers.

It's something Snelling believes could have helped O'Conner when they met.

APD takes lesson from tasing (09/30)

"I don't want him to lose his job, but he should. His excuse, as I hear it, this was his first time using Taser, and if he had the training for it, you know when and when not to use a Taser," Snelling said.

Austin police officers are not using stun guns as often as they once did. In 2004, there were 334 deployments. In 2005, there were 215. The numbers for 2006 are still under review but estimates put stun gun uses at approximately 170.

Chief Acevedo says misuse of the devices, like in the Thanksgiving Day incident, could cost the department the use of what he considers to be a life saving tool.

"Bottom line -- we need to make people aware of what expectations are of this department, and they need to take a look at how we are treating people out there," Acevedo said.

The chief says the police officers who have reviewed the tape agree what was done was wrong. He says those who fail to learn from the mistake could end up out of a job.