Teens Use Improvised Stun Guns on Bus

[Rose Siding]

ROCKPORT, Maine -- Three students at Camden Hills Regional High School face charges for using improvised stun guns on fellow students, police said.

The culprits, all freshmen boys, used the devices to shock fellow students on the bus, leaving visible burns and blisters on some of them, said Kip Bickford, an officer with the Rockport Police Department who works at the high school.

Two were charged with aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon, and the third was charged with carrying a concealed weapon because he allegedly took the device to school, Bickford said.

"These kids are not bad kids," Bickford said. "They're not kids who have been in trouble. They're not doing it maliciously. They're being stupid."

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-stun-gun-prank,0,55724.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[Massacure]

1. lol

[Teaser]

2. I made one of those as a freshman in college.

Built it into a glove so I had a stun glove. Two terminals situated at the end of my index and middle fingers respectively. If I touched you with either finger alone, no shock, but both fingers simultaneously packed quite a wallop. Never used it, except to test it on myself.
That's not *quite* as stupid as it sounds, although Freshman physics majors often do very dumb things.

[Tesha]

25. Famous last words

> ...although Freshman physics majors often do very dumb things.

Famous last words:

• "Hey, watch this!"
  
  
• "It's never done *THAT* before..."
  
  
• "Nonsense -- it's simply going to..."
  
  
• "I wonder what will happen if I connect these/do this..."
  
  
• "Curious..."

Tesha

[sasquatch]

3. A word of advice to these young men

You shouldn't use a potential lethal weapon as a tool to do pranks. Now if you were stuff like we did on the football team like put IcyHot in someone's underwear, that would be funny. Using a stun gun is just dangerous and cruel.

[jdj]

4. just like W? not malicious, just stupid?

hmmm, his bad example is rubbing off on the whole country.

[rpannier]

5. I always love that line...

"These kids are not bad kids," YES they ARE bad kids. Good kids do not make stun guns and use them on other people.

[AirAmFan]

6. But maybe they're only following their role models, the police! I wonder

how many hours of cop shows those kids watch a week.

I predict the next big smash hit in video game consoles will include finger clips to give players mild shocks whenever they're losing points. Why should the police have all the fun?

[rtassi]

7. I know one of the boys involved

he is a nice boy.. an eagle scout, and worked for me as an apprentice on my Schooner. The "weapons" were made from disposable camera parts.
The local papers sensationalized the story by calling them guns and weapons, when in fact they could not be used by any effective measure as a weapon. Powered by a nine volt battery they required close range contact. Boys will do bonehead things sometimes, but I feel the charges are being completely over blown, and reflect small time reporting on the part of the local paper, and lack of professional judgment on the part of the officer as to what constitutes assault.

[Rose Siding]

8. Burns or blisters on "two or three unwilling victims"

That's not okay. If it were my child, I'd feel horrible.

Plenty of close range on a school bus and some of the bonehead things young people do really do need attention.

[rtassi]

9. According to the police report

which I have read Rose, most of the kids on the bus asked to be shocked. I agree that the actions of the boys involved need to be addressed, (and believe me, his parents are addressing his actions) but I think assault charges go beyond reason. I also find it interesting that on the strength of a local article, not knowing this paper as I do, and it's propensity for inaccuracy, and particularly this reporter, and the police officer ... you , without any such knowledge, feel compelled to be harsh in your judgment.

[BeFree]

10. Those boys sound like future republicans to me

Throw the book at 'em. Do everything we can to turn them from a life of inflicting harm on innocent people. The sooner they learn their lesson, the better. Let there be three less piglickers in our future.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[BeFree]

17. Wow. Got your panties in a bunch, eh?

Your way is to pat the boys on the back, say: "It's alright, no problem" ?

Ha! I was a boy, once upon a time. I hung around with kids that did stuff like that to others, and they all grew up to be republicans!

Ya see, these boys need to learn a lesson, much the same as the lessons I learned when I did bad stuff. I got busted, hard, learned my lessons, and that turned me away from a life of crime.

It is quite evident to me, that these boys need to understand that the little games they play have consequences, and when innocents are harmed by their actions, the consequences need to be such that future actions are nipped in the bud.

Or we can just let them get away with it. You decide!

[rtassi]

22. I have not suggested that a pat on the back

is the way in which to handle this. You once again make a flawed assumption. You might be quite surprised at the severity of punishment this boys parents are dealing out.( I will not elaborate) I will say, he has a very difficult summer ahead of him. As far as panties in a bunch, You bet! I noticed that my post to you was deleted by the mods. A first for me. Must have struck a cord of truth! I'll get on with my day now.

[BeFree]

23. A first for you? And you are proud?

I wish they hadn't deleted your post, but I understand why they did.

I also understand the emotional attachment you have to this situation and that your personal angst filled in the background of your message.

For what it's worth; you are forgiven.

In all honesty, I did tweak you a bit with my first post... think of it as kind of a mild 'tagging' if you will. See, I still have a bit of boyishness in me heart.

Boys will be boys. We all need to learn our lessons, the earlier the better, before we move on the the more dangerous toys that kill.

Unfortunately, too many of us have not learned our lessons; witness the new "Toys" we boys are using in Iraq.

[rtassi]

26. I wish I had read this before my last post

No not proud, just surpirsed! We could have done better at this had we gotten to this approach sooner. Have a productive and peaceful day. rt.

[Rose Siding]

13. I didn't address the charges, rtassi

My comment focused on a couple of things in the article that I haven't seen you dispute: that there were unwilling victims and that they were burned or blistered. If the AP got those facts wrong, I hope for your friend's sake it is corrected.

[rtassi]

16. The Burns and blisters

you refer to were present only on the the kids who asked for repeated exposure, and could hardly be classified as a blister as it only produced a small red mark. As far as the unwilling victims, the report indicated that their were a few kids that got shocked who didn't ask for it. (according also to the report, the boy I know did Not inflict this shock to anyone who did not ask to experience it) I am NOT excusing this act as appropriate behavior. I think all concerned, and especially my friends son, realize how inappropriate this was, but as to whether it rises to criminal behavior is the question. His parents have already taken very firm actions regarding this incident, which buy the way, is already more than a week old (AP is just getting around to it) Additionaly, he is, and (they) are, facing expulsion, and now criminal charges. I believe that reaction is extreme, as is some of the reactions I have read here on this thread. I only know this one boy, and only feel comfortable advocating for him, as I have known him since he was 9. I know his family to be honest, moral, engaged, and fully present to raising their children with love, stability, and a defernce for all life. Finally, I feel comforatable and safe leaving my 9 year old son in there care on the many summer outings they share together.

[BeFree]

21. Extreme reactions?

Ha! I bet if your kid was tagged several times by this "Toy" you'd be a little more concerned about how loosely these kids are being raised. Let me ask: what is the political affiliation of the parents of the little criminals?

Were it my kid that got tagged, I'd be over at their house, first finding out where the parents had gone wrong, and second, making sure the parents began overseeing their childrems conduct so that the wee ones don't have to have the government incarcerate them in later years so that the larger society is safe from such animals.

[rtassi]

24. The parents are democrats and very active

and you are the least likely person that I could imagine, to be in a position to determine how I would have, or already have reacted to a similar situation(s). Your broad brushing of bad behavior as inherent in all republicans is more disturbing to me than anything else we have discussed so far. I have no trouble believing that your reaction would be extreme and over reactive if your child were involved ... Frankly, I'm tired of communicating with you!

[sakabatou]

11. It's pretty damn easy to make 'em

[anitar1]

14. IMO, the very fact that they tried this speaks for itself N/t

[rtassi]

18. Yes, it speaks to impetuous youth

not malicious intent, or criminal behavior!

[w4rma]

19. I am in full agreement, rtassi. Thanks for helping explain the situation.

Kids do whacky things sometimes.

[NickB79]

12. What's the big deal?

According to the police that like to use them so much, they're perfectly harmless. <sarcasm>

[ucmike]

20. sounds like a silly prank to me, no biggie.

we all survived pencil eraser darts and rubber band snaps in school. don't tell anyone, but in our shop class we'd use the voltage generator to shock each other. didn't anyone else ever sit around daring each other to put a 9v on your tongue?

i give the kid credit for being enough of a tinkerer to figure it out and i give the paper discredit (can i do that, legally?) for playing it up into a taser incident. this is no big deal, give the kids some detention and move along, nothing to see here

[Taverner]

27. I agree

And I'll bet most of the willing recipients of the shocks were doing the whole "ritual test of manhood" thing ala Viva La Bam or Jackass.

SIGH....see what a lack of ritual brings out in our culture...