Man Fighting Fire Shocked By Police With Taser

November 16, 2012 by Sam Rolley

SCREENSHOT

A Florida man who was attempting to keep a fire that had engulfed his neighbor’s house from reaching his own was shot with a Taser by police officers who told him to “let it go, that’s what insurance is for.”

Daniel Jensen, a 42-year-old father of two, woke up early last Thursday evening to his neighbor’s house being engulfed in flames. After clearing his own home and making sure no one was inside his neighbor’s, the man proceeded to attempt to keep the flames from spreading to his property with a fire extinguisher and water hose, as the fire department had not arrived.

“They kept telling me, ‘Let it go, that’s what insurance is for.’ That’s not acceptable to me,” Jensen told WTSP.

The Pinellas Park Police Department claim that Jensen ignored several commands to get away from the fire, and that after exhausting all other options they were forced to use a stun gun to keep him and officers out of the path of the flame.

The man was shot with the stun gun just as he grabbed a water hose to attempt to put out flames that were beginning to lick the roof of his home.

“As I went to grab the hose, I hear an officer on this side. There was a boat here; he was just behind it. He said, ‘Hit him, hit him! Take him down, tase him!’” explained Jensen. “I didn’t know they were talking to me, or about me. I was concerned about putting water on the fire, and the next thing you know I’m being tased.”

Jensen is filing suit against the department claiming that they used excessive force and poor judgment.

“It was horrible. I was laying [sic] in a puddle of water being electrocuted here by the people that are supposed to protect us. I’m trying to protect my family, my neighbor, and they bring harm to me. I don’t understand,” he said.

Man Fighting Fire Shocked By Police With Taser : Personal Liberty Digest™