Calif. cop may be fired for giving suicidal student water instead of Tasing him

A union representing campus police officers is accusing the Marina Police Department of unfairly targeting one of its members for choosing not to use a Taser on a suicidal student, KSBW-TV reported.
Statewide University Police Association (SUPA) president Jeff Solomon said the unidentified officer, a corporal, is currently on leave and could be fired in connection with a February incident involving a student at the California State University’s Monterey Bay campus.
“Our officer said and felt that there was no need for the level of force that was applied, and my understanding was that’s why he didn’t deploy his Taser,” Solomon said.

The officer, a 20-year police veteran who had been working at the school for 8 years, responded to the incident before being joined by three Marina officers. The Monterey Herald reported that, according to Marina Police Chief Edmundo Rodriguez, the student had a knife and hammer in his room when the officers reached him, and may have attempted to light himself on fire.
“He was clearly a danger to himself and he was in crisis,” Rodriguez said. “We were trying to keep him from accessing the weapons or leave, to get him medical attention.”
READ MORE: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/calif-cop-may-be-fired-for-giving-suicidal-student-water-instead-of-tasing-him/