Crime and Punishment

Watching security personnel subdue unruly fans has long been an exciting bonus for sports aficionados, but last week things really got electric. Police used Tasers on fans twice, once to stop a field runner at a Phillies game and again to subdue a drunken fan at a golf tournament who was angry with Tiger Woods. Although the baseball event in particular may have yielded some very popular YouTube videos, the police officers involved should not have used such excessive force. In both cases, the response was far harsher than the activity warranted, and Tasers are not an appropriate way to deter fans from illegal behavior.

A Taser—more generally called a stun gun, since Taser is a registered trademark—is a type of non-lethal weapon introduced to subdue fleeing or dangerous suspects. It fires two tiny electrodes, connected to the unit by wires, into the skin of the target and generates an electric current designed to prevent the brain from controlling the muscles. In the past decade, police officers in major cities have been using Tasers more frequently. Although the introduction of Tasers may help reduce the number of wrongful deaths, the fact that the weapon will not kill suspects does not mean it is permissible to use at all times, and police officers still need to rely on their judgment.

Running onto the field of a major sporting event is a crime, and armed fans in the vicinity of players certainly pose a safety threat. However, in both recent cases, no players were in danger. The Phillies fan did not appear to be armed and simply ran circles in the outfield. In the golf incident, the man resisting arrest was clearly intoxicated while heckling players. Police should expect drunken people to act belligerently and yell at sports games and should not respond with excessive force, even at more restrained events like golf tournaments. In both cases, the fans could have been stopped without resorting to using a weapon.

Some have argued that the use of the Taser was justified in the Phillies case because it will deter other fans from engaging in similar behavior. However, just one day after the baseball incident, another Phillies fan ran onto the field, suggesting that the Tasing may have had the opposite effect. In fact, the popularity of the footage from the Phillies incident on YouTube—where the user comments largely poke fun at the incident—is somewhat troubling, since it suggests that the public does not take Tasers as seriously as it should.

Tasers can be a useful tool for police, and we hope that they remain available to law-enforcement officials. But in most cases, police should stick to the old-fashioned tackle when subduing fans who jump onto the field. The YouTube crowd will probably find it just as entertaining.