Environmental activists get a shock in Vt.

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BRATTLEBORO, Vt. -- Activists opposed to development planted flowers and herbs in a gentle protest that stretched through the night. In the morning, when they refused to leave a vacant lot where a truck stop has been proposed, things got ugly. The protesters were Tasered by police.
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"There was no other choice," said Captain Steven Rowell, a police spokesman.

Rowell said it was the first time officers in the town, which is known for its outspoken activists, have used Tasers against protesters. The action was in line with the department's policy on the use of force, he said.
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Brattleboro police have been criticized by some in the community for their use of force. In 2001, two officers killed a man, Robert Woodward, during Sunday services at a church. He was armed with a 4-inch blade he refused to drop. Police shot him seven times.
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http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2007/07/28/environmental_activists_get_a_shock_in_vt/


Be careful out there.

or you might be executed on the spot. Authority has become barbaric.

Only with tasers instead of tear gas (dropped from a helicopter and ending up affecting only a kindergarten in the area because no one took the wind into account)

WTF?????

not just one shock, but multiple???

from the story:

A few, including Crowell and Kilmurray, both 32, stayed all night. When police arrived in the morning, they arrested the couple, but found that they had chained themselves to a steel barrel.
The barrel was rigged so that the pair could release themselves, but police needed tools they did not have to remove them.
"Like a jackhammer," Rowell said. "It's a typical strategy used by Greenpeace and other professional activists."
Officers shocked the two with Tasers until they agreed to release themselves.

but to make the couple do what the police wanted them to do? This sounds like torture to me. How does this differ from clubbing them into submission or using hot irons? These people weren't violent. They weren't trying to escape. The cops just got impatient so they inflicted extreme pain to force compliance. There's something really wrong with this.