If Andrew Meyer Was Bad Then a Pregnant Black Woman is Worse

I hate being blindsided by issues. I do my best to stay on top of issues especially those affecting the black community. So when I saw the video of Andrew Meyer being tasered by the campus police for interrupting an appearance by Senator John Kerry at the University of Florida this past Monday I was quick to write a piece on the subject and threw it on the blog. Police abuse is something that should prick the ears of everyone in the black community. I was talking with family and friends about the issue of police abusing the public with instances of tasering. The fact that the police would use their torture device on a student at a public speaking engagement was sad.

But then I received an education. Yes it is true that Andrew Meyer being tasered for his unruly behavior on camera was bad. But it seems that there are a number of instances of pregnant black women being tortured by police with their taser guns.

In May of 2005, Malaika Brooks was deep in her third trimester when she was pulled over for a traffic violation by one of Seattle’s finest. When Ms. Brooks refused to sign the citation, a criminal offense in Washington State, the two police officers and their sergeant decided to taser her into compliance. Now a lot of people felt that Ms. Brooks made the choice to be difficult, to be arrested, and to put her unborn fetus at risk. People wrote that a responsible person would have signed the ticket or gotten out of the car when she was informed that she was under arrest. She chose to be belligerent.

Do none of these people have any experience with pregnant women? By the time some women are in their third trimester, the months of discomfort, lack of sleep, urinating so frequently, hormones, and the other myriad of conditions and problems associated with pregnancy can develop a festering pool of highly charged negative emotions. No offense to any mothers or mothers to be but a single pregnant woman can make facing a gang look like a suitable alternative. Some times a pregnant woman will do her best be one, if not the most, unreasonable and stubborn forces of nature. Pregnant women can be childish and demanding. It should be common sense to give them the most benefit of doubt and they should be given a great deal of latitude.

To think that a pregnant woman is being difficult is absolutely normal. They should be handled with the same finesse, kid gloves, and care bestowed upon the person who is about to commit suicide by jumping off the side of the bridge. Instead of calling their sergeant the two police officers should have called their suicide negotiator.

The perception that the police would be justified in using their tasers on a pregnant woman can only be applied to a pregnant woman that is believed to be unworthy of public compassion. And with the lack of public consideration given to the average black woman when one of them come up missing, kidnapped, injured, or murdered it is no surprise to hear people say that the police were perfectly reasonable to use the torture device. These people probably consider the black woman lucky that the officers were equipped with their tasers and didn’t have to use their batons or their firearms.

If the woman was Maryann from Sunnydale Farms, Kansas some people would have had a totally different appreciation for the situation. More people expressed more concern for the dogs tortured or killed by the football player Michael Vick and the other members of Bad Newz Kennels.

Some people see Andrew Meyer getting tasered on national television and react with anger and disgust at the campus police. The man is on the ground and arguably helpless when he is tasered in order to get him to cooperate. No doubt it worked. Being electrocuted with fifty thousand volts would force a lot of people to submit. A taser is nothing but a reformulated cattle prod with a holster. And the public allows such devices to be used on pregnant women. The idea of using this electrocution device on a pregnant woman is nothing short of barbaric brutality. If police can’t implement more discretion or take advantage of all the tools at their disposal to avoid these types of situations the public should take the steps necessary to exercise the discretion for them.