Tasers

Digby is one of those who's been following taser atrocities fairly closely, along with Pam's House Blend. Here's the latest story via Digby:

A fifth deputy put Booker in a headlock just as the female deputy began shocking him with a Taser with encouragement from one of the deputies, who kept repeating, "Probe his ---," Maten said. He could hear the Taser crackle repeatedly.

Booker said, "'I can't breath . . .," Yedo heard. Then, Booker went limp.

Booker's wrists were handcuffed behind his back in an awkward position when the deputies picked him up, each holding an arm or a leg, and carried him stomach-down to a holding cell with an unbreakable glass door.

They set him down on his stomach, with much of his weight on one shoulder and his legs bent, Yedo said. They took the handcuffs off and without checking his pulse, the officers left him on the floor of the holding cell.

The deputies walked away high-fiving and laughing, Maten said. Several inmates were saying, " 'I can't believe they're doing this,' " Maten said.

The usual reaction to these stories is anger against the manufacturer for maintaining that they are "non-lethal," and wishes that the officers responsible be prosecuted (dream on, children).

My question's a little different: what kind of people are we hiring as police officers? Did they start out as sadistic assholes, or was it part of their training?