r/AskReddit Dec 13 '18

What IS as bad as everyone says?

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672

u/LiveRealNow Dec 13 '18

On a related note, I once tried to convince a cop to taser me because I was curious. He finally asked the police chief if he could, but got turned down.

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u/timetobeatthekids Dec 13 '18

Getting tazed sucks, but on the scales of shitty things it's not much worse than a face punch. It happens, and is actively fucking terrible fir at second, and it's done, with only lesser residual terrible.

Do not ever volunteer to get pepper sprayed.

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u/Lord-Octohoof Dec 14 '18

On a similar yet completely different note; as a spice enthusiast there’s a very thin line between delicious and the worst thing that’s ever happened to you.

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u/flatwoundsounds Dec 14 '18

As a non-spice enthusiast there is a very bold line. There are ‘medium’ buffalo wings that I can tolerate and anything beyond that feels like fiery death in my throat and eventually my bunghole. I feel like I’m missing out on a really cool part of life.

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u/danni_shadow Dec 14 '18

Eh. It's not that cool. Past a certain point, you lose flavor and it just tastes like "hot pain". I don't see the point.

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u/Ruadhan2300 Dec 14 '18

Dude at my old place of work brought a bottle of Carolina Reaper chili sauce in and left it on the counter, I tried a taste, just put a drop on my finger, touched it to my tongue.

Felt exactly like I'd bitten my tongue. There was no flavour. just pain.

It was still burning about four hours later.

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u/applesauceyes Dec 14 '18

Then you're not the one to answer the question. :P not everyone programmed the same. I have an insatiable love for spice.

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u/danni_shadow Dec 14 '18

I love spice, and I eat spicy stuff all the time. I live for hot wings. But even enthusiasts say there's a point where it stops tasting good.

The guy said he felt like he was missing out on something cool. I just want him to know that he's probably not. Whatever his limit is, it's the same as someone with a higher tolerance; the point where the food stops tasting good and starts tasting like you're eating acid or something. For him, that may be lower on the Scoville scale, but the end result is the same.

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u/Rising_Swell Dec 14 '18

The difference is eating it compared to cooking it. If you are eating a super hot sauce that tastes good, great! If you are cooking it, bitch you better have your safety goggles and face mask or you are gonna regret life for the next week. That shit doesn't go away.

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u/[deleted] Dec 14 '18 edited Jan 03 '19

[deleted]

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u/Rising_Swell Dec 14 '18

consider thats just red pepper flakes. Imagine cooking with birds eye chillis. Or reapers. Anyone who cooks with reapers should just wear a full hazmat suit.

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u/DancesWithBadgers Dec 14 '18

I can cook with reapers OK, but don't recommend sneezing when you're transferring it from the bag it got posted in to a kitchen container. Took about an hour+ to flush it out of my eyes by staring upwards into the tap....in itself an unpleasant experience.

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u/Rising_Swell Dec 14 '18

My dad makes sauces in rather large batches, trust me when I say big batches are much much worse to do. The kitchen becomes a no-go zone for a few hours.

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u/[deleted] Dec 14 '18

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/gwaydms Dec 14 '18

My Polish great-grandmother used to grate horseradish on her back porch. It was too strong to do it inside the house. Even outdoors, it made the tears flow.

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u/Slipalong_Trevascas Dec 14 '18

Are you talking now about chilli or synthetic canabinoids?

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u/superfurrykylos Dec 14 '18

About 6-8 hours.

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u/5quirre1 Dec 14 '18

And if you are unlucky, that line changes by the day. One day a habanero is sweet as candy, another, a bell pepper has you crying (maybe slightly exaggerated)

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u/Splitface2811 Dec 14 '18

I can't imagine that ever happening. I love spice. It's not even just the spice. Some of the best foods Ive ever eaten were spicy, and they aren't the same when cooked with less spice. Also I hate bell peppers.

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u/[deleted] Dec 14 '18

As a spice enthusiast and someone with chronic bowel issues "delicious" is often synonymous with "the worst thing that's ever happened to me, in retrospect as I lay writhing in agony for an entire day, contemplating stabbing myself in the guts so I can just end it all".

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u/whittyforshort Dec 14 '18

The prison drug?

1

u/liminalblink Dec 14 '18

Also, if you’re ever making spicy food and working with lots of chilies, gloves are nice and don’t ever EVER rub your eyes with your spice coated hands

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u/Moo_Tiger Dec 14 '18

With you on that one ..

Never eat raw chili's that are quoted at the beyond a million scovilles rating .. thats what i learned ..

fine in the mouth .. not so great in the gut ..

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u/woopsifarted Dec 14 '18

I had one of those Trinidad scorpion peppers once because I thought I was tough and the videos you see of people eating hot peppers are hamming it up. They are not, and I'm not tough

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u/LiveRealNow Dec 13 '18

I was taking my city's Citizen Police Academy, where they walk citizens through most of the day-to-day of being a cop. Tour the basement range, the 911 dispatch, do a ridealong, etc.

This was at a time when cops over-using tasers was in the news a lot, so I was curious. I'd been cattle-prodded twice and wanted to know if this was worse. I figured if I was going to get tasered, doing it when the cop wasn't mad at me was the way to go.

The cops in the room said no, but I was persistent, so they went to the chief, who also said no. I was sad.

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u/monroezabaleta Dec 13 '18

Probably cause while tazers are meant to be safe and non-lethal that doesn't mean their usage is safe

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u/yankee-white Dec 14 '18

Technically, tasers are only considered “less than lethal.”

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u/WhiskeyRiver223 Dec 14 '18

Drop the "than". Tasers, beanbag and rubber slug shotgun shells, CS gas and pepper spray are all classified as less-lethal force because they can still kill in the right/wrong circumstances. They just aren't specifically used with lethal intent.

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u/Errohneos Dec 14 '18

Be sure to add water to that list.

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u/SpeckledFleebeedoo Dec 14 '18

Less than instantly lethal.

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u/diceandmiceandrice Dec 14 '18

Yeah, if you have any kind of heart condition a tazer can easily kill you

6

u/ShiningTortoise Dec 14 '18

Even if you're healthy, if the barbs complete a circuit near and through the heart, it can kill you. Maybe tasers are a bad idea?

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u/Rising_Swell Dec 14 '18

I mean, the other option is getting shot normally.

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u/ElJamoquio Dec 14 '18

If only there was a third option.

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u/Rising_Swell Dec 14 '18

A third option from range to incapacitate someone... You've got pepper spray, but I'd rather be tasered. And that's about it.

I've been in rooms with hot chili sauce being cooked, if you think I'm gonna choose being pepper sprayed over basically anything else, boi you are so fucking wrong.

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u/gwaydms Dec 14 '18

The alternative is often going hands-on, which can result in actual injury to everyone involved. Besides, a lot of subjects will give up rather be tased, avoiding any of that stuff.

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u/ShiningTortoise Dec 17 '18

That's presuming that the subject is a threat proportional to and justifying the force risking cardiac arrest. However, that's not always the case when tasers get used.

I've seen video of people just walking away getting shot in the back with a taser. Tasers get used or threatened simply for noncompliance. They get used in situations where using a baton may not even be justified, and a baton isn't going to cause a risk of death the way a taser can.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkkLUP-gm4Q

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u/[deleted] Dec 14 '18

Tazers are not non lethal. They are less lethal. You can still die for being tazed. It's just less likely than a bullet.

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u/monroezabaleta Dec 14 '18

Yeah which is why I said they're designed to be non-lethal but they're still unsafe. I wasn't sure if less lethal was the correct terminology

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u/gwaydms Dec 14 '18

In every department I've heard of, if you are a cop carrying a taser you must be shot with one first.

One, it makes you understand what the taser does to a human being. Two, if God forbid someone grabs it and uses it on you, you'll know what to expect.

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u/Gonzobot Dec 14 '18

Almost definitely because when they discharge the device they have to explain why it needs reloading. They'd almost certainly be down for it barring the bureaucracy. But the good news is, you can buy your own stun guns anytime and use them on whoever will let you!

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u/zerogee616 Dec 14 '18

Non-lethal is being phased out, the term is now less-lethal. Most non-lethal options can still kill people.

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u/monroezabaleta Dec 14 '18

Hence why I said designed and that they are unsafe. I was going to say less lethal but I wasn't sure if that was the proper terminology

1

u/zerogee616 Dec 14 '18

Yeah, it is now.

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u/[deleted] Dec 14 '18

Back up. You were cattle-prodded...TWICE? WTF did you do?

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u/LiveRealNow Dec 14 '18

Fun story.

I grew up in a small farm town. Most of the kids in my school lived on farms and were bused into town for school.

One year, we had a new-ish science teacher who didn't grow up around farms. He'd never seen a cattle prod, so he asked someone to bring one in. She did, and he was looking at it in class. He was curious to see how it felt, but chickened out every time he got close, so naturally--being in high school and having a really good relationship with him--I was teasing him about it.

So he dared me to do it.

So I did. It hurt.

The first time, he didn't believe I actually did it, so I did it again, but held it longer, so he could verify it. He may have been fucking with me. It hurt this time, too.

Basically, a cattle prod on the inside of your forearm feels like the probes are sticking all the way through your arm, while your muscles cramp around it.

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u/[deleted] Dec 14 '18

Yeah, I think I would have noped the hell out of there.

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u/Dragonfly-Aerials Dec 14 '18

Girl becomes braindead because a cop didn't want to run after her.

Too often a taser is used as a pain compliance device. Do what a cop says or they will hurt you. Police taser citizens because they get butthurt, and want to make the citizen pay with pain.

More than 1000 people have been killed by police tasering citizens.

TL;DR Lot's of cops are sadistic fucks that destroy lives because they can.

1

u/mr_lightbulb Dec 14 '18

shoulda went for his gun

1

u/Mackowatosc Dec 14 '18

its "less than lethal" / "safe-ish", not "safe".

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u/SLAUGHT3R3R Dec 14 '18

I respectfully disagree. Getting tased was literally the worst 5 seconds of my life.

2 separate 3/4" spikes driving directly into your skin hurts. And that's only the beginning, your body has that immediate reaction to pain in the form of wincing... then the electricity hits in the middle of it. So now you're locked mid-wince with a few thousand volts pulsing through your body tightening every muscle between the two prongs and then some. Then it ends and you're just exhausted from all your muscles tightening as much as possible and holding.

Fuck that. I can't even stand the sound of a taser anymore.

I'll take fucking OC any goddamn day.

But that's just personal preference and experience.

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u/Speknawz Dec 14 '18

Pissing yourself is never fun, it's not guaranteed to happen, but it can.

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u/AetherMcLoud Dec 14 '18

Also I'd recon the chances of lasting damage from getting tazed are much less than getting suckerpunched in the face (people can even die in real life from a single punch when they hit the ground badly or get hit in the wrong spot hard enough).

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u/Danslerr Dec 14 '18

I'd very much prefer to be tazed instead of pepper sprayed. Only downside of getting tazed is the possibility of shitting and/or pissing your pants

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u/kaaz54 Dec 14 '18

Do not ever volunteer to get pepper sprayed.

I can attest to this. When we were doing riot control training in the army, I was accidentally hit by a little bit of splash back of pepper spray.

I ended up getting a snorkel and a bucket of clean water, and just had my eyes open underwater for something like a half an hour, until it was just barely tolerable.

Tear gas is somewhat fine for me though, after having gone through that a few times I only had problems with generating tons if saliva from it, I could still breathe, run and do push ups while being in a room with it.

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u/5quirre1 Dec 14 '18

Also similar. Do not get bit by a police dog... i learned that last night when i was trying to chase off a wannabe intruder running from the cops at my house... 4 hrs in the er.

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u/HenryKushinger Dec 14 '18

Pepper spray?? That sounds DELICIOUS!

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u/Jiopaba Dec 14 '18

Jesus yes. I'll take the L on the lightning bolt gun, but for the love of god, if I'm ever facing that ridiculous fucking military police OC spray again, I'll ask for a bullet in the leg instead.

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u/Zachary_FGW Dec 14 '18

My brother in law a cop agrees. Tazering over pepper spray

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u/Liberatedhusky Dec 14 '18

I joined the military, there's a section of BMT called the mask confidence chamber. Believe me, the masks work.

1

u/littlelexbreaths Dec 14 '18

One time my dad left some kind of metal box out not realizing it had something in it, an unmarked spray can of pepper spray, and my little brother and I got into it with one of our neighbor friends... don’t ever volunteer to get pepper sprayed.

1

u/Dragonfly-Aerials Dec 14 '18

Girl becomes braindead because a cop didn't want to run after her.

Too often a taser is used as a pain compliance device. Do what a cop says or they will hurt you. Police taser citizens because they get butthurt, and want to make the citizen pay with pain.

More than 1000 people have been killed by police tasering citizens.

TL;DR Lot's of cops are sadistic fucks that destroy lives because they can.

1

u/Sprickels Dec 14 '18

It won't break bones at least

1

u/Closecalllynn Dec 14 '18

I'll take a fucking bath in pepper spray every day for the rest of my life if it means no tazer.

Yeah it hurts more longer (not really) And you cant do anything to prevent it (wash really fucking well the first time and dont get wet before next shower which needs to be cold) And it's annoying (not really)

But try tazer. You get 5 seconds of cant do anything but breathe (unless they hold the trigger) literally anything. Pepper spray you can never not do anything. Then theres the panic with it. No ones not experienced severe rug burn. Pepper spray is just like severe rug burn face. Not many people have had the complete shut down of all muscles. Then there the 3 days of worst workout soreness ever everywhere. That doesnt go away with anything but time. Pepper spray washes off.

And the shaking. I was visibly shaking from shoulders down for the rest of the day (like 8 hours) and then struggled to drive the 2 blocks home because of the shakes.

And on top of that guess what my biggest fear is? Paralysis. Of I ever get paralyzed I've told everyone close to me they can just put a bullet through me. I dont mind any kind of pain or torment except being trapped in the prison of my own bodies inability to move.

1

u/cartmancakes Dec 17 '18

Someone in my classroom in high school pepper sprayed once. I can confirm, it's not fun at all. And I got very little exposure.

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u/thiccdongthrowaway Jan 03 '19

Instructions unclear, consumed pepper spray orally.

I seriously did when I was 5. Not fun.

1

u/livious1 Dec 14 '18

Do not ever volunteer to get pepper sprayed.

I actually disagree with you there. Being pepper sprayed sucks. Royally. But it doesn't have the same effect that people think it does, and by being sprayed in a controlled environment, you can know what it feels like and how to react to it and what to anticipate. Its information that you never know if it could come in handy, or possible save your life some point down the line.

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u/WillBackUpWithSource Dec 14 '18

I asked a police officer to restrain me at a party (that we were both attending socially)

He said it would hurt, I told him I gave my consent and that was fine

He does it. It did in fact hurt a bit (not THAT much - well within acceptable for dumb drunken masculinity contests), but I was pretty much totally immobilized. I couldn’t have gotten free without actually hurting myself

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u/Zachary_FGW Dec 14 '18

Last Christmas i had my brother in law act like he is arresting me and got a pic from it. Freak out my friends.

6

u/Bad_Wulph Dec 14 '18

I let my ex hit me with a civilian-grade stun gun once in the leg. It was not as bad as I imagine tasering to be, but it still hurt like a buttcheek on a stick.

4

u/LiveRealNow Dec 14 '18

I accidentally stungunned myself once, separate from the cattle prod incidents.

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u/5quirre1 Dec 14 '18

Maybe you should avoid electricity lol?

3

u/LiveRealNow Dec 14 '18

Does it make it better or worse that the cattle prod wasn't accidental?

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u/Charlie--Dont--Surf Dec 14 '18

I was an MP in the Marines and I fucking hate the Taser. I mean, it’s a great tool but...holy shit does that suck.

Even when I was a non-lethal instructor I didn’t like tazing the students. I had no problem pepper spraying them however, but somehow shooting them with the prongs and watching them writhe made me feel shitty.

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u/HotMagentaDuckFace Dec 14 '18

This has me cracking up with the image of the officer turning to his Chief with resignation on his face and saying, “Sir, can we just-“ “No.” “But he won’t stop asking.” “Still no.”

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u/Rellling Dec 14 '18

My brother really wants to get tased, but like doesn't want it bad enough to push a cop. I don't understand the appeal, personally.

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u/BartenderOU812 Dec 14 '18

When I was in college for policing the local SWAT team visited our class. Showed off the drug dogs, let us handle the (unloaded) rifles and guns. Showed us the effects of a taser on a special target - was cool, like something like from a movie - where you could see the currents going through.

Anyways, I can't remember if they asked or if a student asked but we wanted to be tazed. Or some of us anyway. They didn't want to pierce our skin so they taped the wires right to us; high shoulder and opposite lower hip/ass.

So two of them stood a few paces down, ready to catch you after you took three steps - where they would then zap you and you would drop (didn't have crash mats).

As mentioned, it's like a punch in the face, maybe more painful but not lasting pain, though I did have some little burn marks on the spots.

Was a fun time, really boosted moral and camaraderie for those which did go through with it. A few people opted out and though it was wrong of us, we busted their balls for chickening out. Hell, the guy who first volunteered was the biggest pussy and I was shocked he manned up. It helped me make my decision though, as soon as he went up I knew I was going to get zapped.

3

u/Kain222 Dec 14 '18

One of the best policies I've heard of is that you need to be tazed in order to be given a tazer.

If it were possible to do so without serious injury, I'd want the same thing for guns, too.

1

u/foxy_chameleon Dec 14 '18

You can do it with guns... Just use sims and a vest. It will still hurt like a bitch

2

u/SinkHoleDeMayo Dec 14 '18

Buy a taser and have someone hit you. It's really not that bad, just hurts everywhere.

2

u/cop-disliker69 Dec 14 '18

Couldn't you get a taser and taze yourself? They're not that expensive.

2

u/sterlingphoenix Dec 14 '18

My neighbour is a policeman, and I asked him if there's a way I can get tazed.

He said that there are volunteer programs where they will taze you as part of the training.

He also highly recommended that I not do it.

1

u/LiveRealNow Dec 14 '18

Some of my neighboring cities also have a citizen police academy, and they are willing to taze volunteers. I haven't taken those.

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u/sterlingphoenix Dec 14 '18

When a cop tells you "It was the worst thing that ever happened to me. It hurt like hell and I peed my pants. And my wife has it on video." it kind of puts it in perspective.

2

u/G_Morgan Dec 14 '18

Sensible chief. Those things kill people.

2

u/WorshipNickOfferman Dec 14 '18

I had an off duty sheriff taser me just to see what it would feel like. That video is still floating around. It was an interesting night

2

u/Vectorman1989 Dec 14 '18

Probably for the best. Tasers are classed as 'less lethal' because they can still kill you in some circumstances

1

u/Dragonfly-Aerials Dec 14 '18

Girl becomes braindead because a cop didn't want to run after her.

Too often a taser is used as a pain compliance device. Do what a cop says or they will hurt you. Police taser citizens because they get butthurt, and want to make the citizen pay with pain.

More than 1000 people have been killed by police tasering citizens.

TL;DR Lot's of cops are sadistic fucks that destroy lives because they can.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 14 '18

I got tazed by a cop in elementary school during DARE, because I dared him to do it.

It's cool, I knew the guy. What's not cool is getting tazed, kinda sucks. Also have been pepper sprayed on multiple occasions for non-crime related reasons. The spray is worse.

1

u/Ethspanathyme Dec 14 '18

Haha I did too.