As sports fans and government officials argue about whether a Philadelphia police officer used excessive force in Tasering a teenage fan who ran out onto the field Monday night, yet another yahoo crashed the field last night. This man was not Tasered, although he probably deserved it more than the other guy, if only for those shorts. (And for being stupid enough to pull the stunt with drugs in his possession, according to police.)
As fans shouted "Tase him!" the unidentified 34-year-old man ran around the warning tack during the ninth inning of the Cardinals-Phillies game. One spectator who shot some crappy video of the stunt says: "Some fat guy ran onto the field the night after the 17 year old kid got Tasered. He ran out of breath pretty quickly, gave up, and was apprehended by stadium security with no cops in sight." The Warminster man was charged with defiant trespass, disorderly conduct and narcotics possession, Philly.com reports.
It's unclear if last night's interloper avoided Tasering because of any change in police policy. Though the Philadelphia police department's internal affairs unit is investigating, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says the officer acted within department guidelines, which allow officers to use Tasers to arrest fleeing suspects. There did not appear to be any police on the field during last night's incident, and a police spokesman tells ABC, "Should we be on the field at all?... I'm not sure we should be chasing people around the field."
The Philadelphia's mayor's office "fully supports" the Tasering, and the Post reports that the cop, who normally works on bike patrol, will not face any disciplinary action. But Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell called the incident "a big mistake. There's no need to use Tasers on fans who run on the field. We should just have enough personnel out there to surround them, take them off the field and put them in jail."
Reaction was mixed among Phillies fans and players. Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino says, "If you're on the streets running away from a cop, doesn't that cop have a right to Tase you because your fleeing from a cop? So what's the difference." And 23-year old Tiffany Breen, who works part time as an usher at the stadium, tells Philly.com, "I thought he deserved to get Tasered. He could have had a gun or a piece of broken glass on him." Another fan recalled the days when a woman ran around the field kissing her favorite players. "That was when things were more innocent," he said, opining that Tasering should be limited to certain parts of the body. "At least not above the waist. It's just common sense."
A 2008 report by Amnesty International found more than 50 cases where medical examiners found a Taser shock contributed to death. In NYC, the Yankees hire NYPD officers to work security (and enforce patriotism) in the Stadium, but they don't carry Tasers because department policy limits them to sergeants and the Emergency Service Unit, which has used Tasers with tragic results. A spokesman for Citi Field security tells the Post that Mets security does not have Tasers.
Last night the mother of Tasered teen Steve Consalvi publicly apologized for her son's actions, while his step-dad said, "I was watching the game and I was like, who the hell is that idiot out there? He's a clown, but he's got enough common sense to not do something so completely stupid." Consalvi apparently called his real dad from the stadium to ask, "Dad, can I run on the field?" His father advised against it, but Consalvi told him, "This would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience!" and did it anyway.
