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Police use Taser on man
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More from Local NewsPolice used a Taser on a heavily medicated man Tuesday after he fired a shot while he walked down a busy Simi Valley street with a loaded handgun, authorities said.
Police received reports that a man had fired a handgun in the area of Challenger Park in Simi Valley just before 11 a.m., according to the Simi Valley Police Department.
Officers found Louis Barrientos, 54, of Simi Valley, walking northbound on First Street with a loaded handgun, police said.
Barrientos ignored commands from officers to stop and drop his weapon, police said. He continued toward oncoming traffic, and yelled for officers to shoot him, according to reports.
Additional officers then blocked off the street. They were able to sneak up on Barrientos and use the Taser on him, authorities said.
Police said the Taser allowed officers to take Barrientos into custody without injury.
Posted by CloudyDaze on February 20, 2008 at 5:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't Taze me bro...
Posted by JesusMalverde on February 20, 2008 at 6:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The next time that anybody complains about the police using Tasers, they should be forced to read this article. The Taser saved this guy from what clearly would have ended in a police shooting.
Posted by smithjc on February 20, 2008 at 6:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
of course, amnesty international would like to see the tazer banned as a "lethal torture device". if AI had their way, svpd would have most likely been forced to shoot this guy and possibly kill him. i guess that's more to AI's liking.
good job, guys. took him down with minimal damage to him and none to you. that is, after all, the desired effect.
Posted by bugmenot on February 20, 2008 at 9:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
JesusMalverde, I agree with you to an extent. This is an instance where a taser very likely saved a life. This is the reason LEO should carry a taser. The taser was used instead of deadly force.
The problem *I* have with tasers is that in a lot of highly publicized incidents they were used where deadly force would not have been used. In these incidents some could also argue that the LEO's used excessive force.
Good job SimiPD!
Posted by SimiDad on February 20, 2008 at 3:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Tazer or not... I'm just thankful that SVPD was on top of it and took the guy down. I live 1/2 block from the incident and ride horses and hike in the Challenger Park area all the time.
Cheers to SVPD!
Posted by luvmycopper805 on February 21, 2008 at 11:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This sounds like a "suicide by cop." Thank GOD no officers were injured! :)
Posted by EthicalPerson on February 22, 2008 at 12:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Excellent job SVPD! Another one bites the dust.
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