Our Fearless Protectors

So McLatchy has a story about the alleged use of a Taser on a man in California who is wheelchair bound on account of having both his legs amputated. The story itself is pretty damning but I am just using it segue into a post about the ongoing degeneration of the moral authority of the police and armed forces when it comes to balancing their safety versus ours (civilians).

Cops and soldiers have a right and a responsibility to use reasonable means to ensure their own safety (after all if they keep getting themselves killed who will keep the bad guys at bay?). Their right to personal safety however ends or at least becomes reduced when my right as an innocent civilian to continue breathing comes into play.

When 4(!) fully trained, presumably fit, police officers Taser a guy wielding a stapler at least twice, maybe 4 times even though the guy hasn't harmed or threatened anyone they have crossed the line.

When NATO forces call in an air strike to destroy a couple of stolen fuel trucks and in the process kill scores of civilians they have crossed the line.

There are countless other examples but these two seem to demonstrate an attitude that the worst case scenario is risk of  injury or death to the security services people. We (the citizenry) grant extraordinary powers to the security services. They, for their part, must (or at least should) accept that with extraordinary powers comes extraordinary risks.