When tripping on LSD in the great state of Texas, it is well advised to avoid crossing paths with cops. It seems the legal system in some parts of the Lone Star State has determined that it is perfectly acceptable for law enforcement officers to hogtie and excessively Taser a person when they are under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs. In fact, a federal judge in Harris County recently handed down a verdict indicating that LSD gives cops the right to use excessive force.
The ruling is in response to a lawsuit filed by Jared Allen White against Harris County. White was suing the system because of a run-in with local police several years ago. A run-in that resulted in him being publically ridiculed and physically injured.
A Head Full of Acid and Nowhere to Go
In 2012, White decided to drop some LSD and take a leisurely stroll around town. Perhaps not the best idea when it comes to the unpredictability of psychedelic drugs, but we’re not here to judge. Court records show that a couple of local police officers spotted him walking down the middle of the road. They stopped him for a quick chat.
Along the side of the road, White broke down. He confessed to the officers that he had, in fact, ingested LSD and was tripping balls. The man reportedly went on to explain that he had just lost his wife and son. And then he expressed an odd enthusiasm for being shot with their Tasers.
But rather than recognize that White was obviously a man in distress and likely in need of some professional help, the cops allowed him to slip away and run wild in the street.
That’s when one of the officers granted White his wish. He hit him with the Taser, putting him down on the ground.
After cuffing White’s hands behind his back, officers failed to gain immediate control of the situation. Instead of transporting him to the patrol car, they simply instructed the man to stay down and seemingly waited for his acid-riddled mind to disobey a direct order.
Reports show that each time White attempted to stand up, conceivably because the texture of the ground was really bugging him, the cops shot him with the Taser again. They did this four times.
To make matters worse, “the officers laughed and thought it was hilarious watching White being tasered and falling on his face with his hands handcuffed behind his back,” the complaint reads.
But apparently, LSD gives cops the right to use excessive force. White was ultimately arrested and taken to the county jail.
Case Dismissed, County Prevails
Although White was initially charged with a crime, the prosecution dismissed the case in 2013. He later filed a lawsuit against the county for not having adequate policies in place for using Tasers.
White stated in the complaint that a concern for his “well-being quickly morphed into aggression.” In other words, had the officers not given him a significant indication that they were going to Tase him to death, White would not have retaliated in the way that he did.
Final Hit: Court Rules That LSD Gives Cops The Right to Use Excessive Force
Despite the sheer outrageousness of the case, U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes said the cops did nothing wrong. He wrote in his opinion that White’s constitutional rights were not violated. Even though the officers failed to treat him as though he was a human being by putting him through unnecessary punishment and mocking his pain.
Basically, LSD gives cops the right to use excessive force.
“Several police officers tried to restrain him to keep him from wandering among the cars. He pulled away from them and darted across the grass toward the highway,” the opinion reads. “The officers chased him, and one hit him with a Taser. Subdued, the man lay on the ground while the officers handcuffed him. The officers told him to stay on the ground, but he stood – twice. Each time, an officer zapped him with a Taser, not knowing if the man would try to harm an officer or bolt away.”
“The officers then tried to walk the man to a car, but on the way, he fell,” Judge Hughes went on to explain. “From the ground, he began kicking, hitting one officer’s face and neck. An officer Tasered him. The man says that the last three hits with the Taser were constitutionally excessive. The county says that they were reasonable. The county will prevail.”
