Mulholland Falls. A city cop giving some FBI boys an old-fashioned "tune-up" with a type of blackjack known as a "sap". The damage done by the sap may be exaggerated, but only slightly.
I stumbled into a side discussion on Mayberry R.F.D. and 1950s style policing.
One of the contributors to the discussion suggested that we see those years through rose-tinted glasses. The beat cop did not have a radio. He was on his own. He also had fewer "non-lethal" options.
Non-lethal is not to say that they don't damage the person the cop is subduing.
Things are MUCH better with radios and the ability to call back-up. There is less need to over-respond.
Pepper spray and TASERS are very useful.
But never forget that some of those 1950s methods were banned because they were too effective. And never forget that lapses in situational awareness can be fatal, regardless of how "safe" you think your location is.
Beat and release is an old term, not a new one. Effective, but as always, abused by some.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading. And thanks for taking the time to make a comment. -Joe
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