If you ever needed a reason to slim down a bit, let this shocking story be it.
A Riverdale man is suing the city of Chicago and the police after he was allegedly Tasered several times by officers because he was too big to fit through the cop car's doorway.
Did they think the voltage would make him shrink?
Last August, four police officers responded to a call at Derrick Smith's home, according to WBBM Newsradio. Despite his and his wife's assurances that everything was fine, the police took Smith into custody.
Doreen, Derrick's wife, claims she told police that Derrick had heart-related medical issues, which required medication.
When the officers got Derrick to a police car, however, they had difficulty getting the "rather large, heavy man" through the car door, according to the suit.
But instead of calling for a bigger vehicle or finding another mode of transportation, the suit claims they treated Smith like an animal and used their Taser guns as cattle prods.
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Smith, unarmed and handcuffed, was Tasered several times in his chest, arms, thighs, back, and buttocks until he fell to the ground, according to the suit.
And Smith has plenty of incapacitated company. Chicago Police have gone on an electric power trip recently, reports the Sun-Times.
Since every beat car was supplied with Tasers back in March, officers' use of the electric-shock weapons has nearly quadrupled, says the Independent Police Review Authority.
Hopefully, this would mean that more offenders are being shocked than shot.
"It's preventing a lot of injuries, and it's helping to protect the officers," Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) told the Sun-Times.
But, in trading one weapon for another, are police now getting trigger-happy? There may be no way to know for sure.
Finally, while Taser weapons are possibly less dangerous than a firearm, some victims have still died from the shock or suffered incredible injury.
Just ask big man Derrick Smith.
Matt Bartosik is a Chicago native and a social media sovereign.
