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SPORTS / THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
MLB
Police criticized for firing Taser at young Phillies fan
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
PHILADELPHIA — Steve Consalvi isn't getting much sympathy.
He has been called "dumb" and "an idiot," and even his exasperated mother cried while apologizing for her 17-year-old son's antics.
Consalvi is the Phillies fan who was prancing through the outfield during Monday night's game when a Philadelphia police officer fired a Taser into his back, dropping him like a bloop single in shallow center.
Within hours, footage of his arrest had become an Internet and television sensation, sparking a national debate over the merits of shooting a high-voltage weapon into a high school senior in full view of 45,000 people.
Consalvi, of Berks County, Pa., was the first fan ever to be Tasered on the field in Philadelphia at a Phillies game — and possibly anywhere else.
Mayor Michael Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey quickly backed the officer on Tuesday, saying he acted appropriately.
"People need to be concerned about fan behavior. ... That's the issue," Ramsey said. "You can't jump out on the field. We had, what, 45,000 people there? The other 44,999 didn't run out on the field."
While few people were willing to defend Consalvi's actions, some questioned the need to Taser a young man armed with nothing more than the rally towel he was cheerfully waving.
"I think it was overkill," said Hector Delgado, a retired Chrysler Corp. worker from Delaware who was watching Tuesday night's game from Section 131. "He was just a 17-year-old boy. Be for real. They didn't need to do that. He wasn't threatening anyone."
Consalvi's mother and stepfather, Amy and Scott Zeigler, criticized their son and apologized for his behavior. But, as for the Taser, "both of us have the same feeling that, at first blush, it seems excessive," Scott Zeigler said.
"He's not a criminal." Amy Zeigler said. "He's very embarrassed, very upset. And he'll write a letter to the Philadelphia Phillies organization to apologize, which is the right thing to do."
Consalvi. bound for Pennsylvania State University's Berks County campus in the fall, crumpled to the ground after being hit but quickly got up and walked off the field. He was not injured. his mother said.
Another person who questioned the officer's choice of tactics was Gov. Ed Rendell, who himself was
"Fans can't be allowed to interrupt the game," Rendell said Tuesday. "But they
caught up in a 1989 snowball fight at an Eagles game that later became part of the city's canon of embarrassing sports moments.
should have had enough officers to apprehend the kid and not have to Tase him."
Monday night, a Phillies spokeswoman said the organization was discussing with police "whether in future situations this is an appropriate use of force under these circumstances"
as part of a rotation, said Ramsey, who would not name the officer.
" ... they should have had enough officers to apprehend the kid and not have to Tase him."
The officer had been trained to use a Taser so he could work with the department's Crisis Intervention Team, dealing with the mentally ill. Only officers who receive the training are armed with Tasers.
The department does not require officers working at sporting events to be armed with them.
Ramsey said that he spoke with Phillies officials on Tuesday but that nothing was decided.
ED RENDELL
Pennsylvania governor
"Do they want our people going on the field, or do they not want our people to go on the field?" Ramsey said. "We can sit down and discuss that."
The officer who Tasered Consalvi normally works in the Center City District. He was posted at Citizens Bank Park for Monday's ball game
Police Directive 22, which governs the use of force, says an officer can use a Taser to "prevent an escape from arrest" and "overcome resistance to arrest."
Ramsey said Consalvi was eluding the officer and several Phillies employees trying to corral him, making the use of the weapon within their guidelines.
John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, also defended the officer's actions.
Tasered his parents," McNesby said.
"I didn't see anything wrong with that," he said.
"I think not only should he have been Tasered. they should have
He said the incident would deter future field rushers.
"I bet somebody else will think twice before they do that," he said. "Nobody told him to run out there on the field like an idiot."
"Maybe the Taser was excessive, but I look at it as, why are you going to treat the situation different because he's in a baseball stadium rather than a street?" he said. "I've seen guys go out there and juke for 10 minutes and run around and juke five, six security guards."
Before Tuesday's game, Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino said officers chasing a suspect on the street would be more than justified in using a Taser.
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