Don't Tase me, Bro

MANIFESTO

I've been following the Clinton, CT faux Taser story out of the corner of my ear for the past few days, but this morning's Courant has a somewhat long story about the incident.

To be sure, the litigious X-gen parents come off looking as if their little darling can do no wrong, but no one looks especially noble in all of this. Al Coviello, the superintendent who's due to retire at the end of the year, is up to his old trick of not returning phone calls, and Officer Dunn (Full disclosure: He's a former student of mine.) may have gotten a little excited.

But, in my view, the most ignoble in all of this are the classroom teachers.

Haughwout took the camera to school and showed his math teacher how the flash mechanism could emit a shock. The teacher told him it was "cool" and Haughwout asked if he could show the other students. When the teacher didn't reply, the teen "thought he was allowed to show the other students," the lawsuit states.

Students tried out "being 'zapped'" by the camera, the lawsuit says, and no one complained. On April 2, students again played with the camera in an English class. One student said he did not want to get shocked so Haughwout "removed it from the area." The student "then backed into" Haughwout's hand and the camera fell to the ground and the flash went off.

I hope you'll pardon me if I indulge myself here: Ninth grade honor student, eh? English class, eh? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out exactly in what class the latter event took place.

Sigh. How the mighty have fallen.