Reporter feels the aftershocks of Tasing

It's pretty much common knowledge that I'm the reporter who was Tased by Merced County Sheriff's deputies for a story.

I'll admit it was a horrendous feeling, in case my scream (likened by friends to a pig squealing) wasn't a clue. I couldn't control my muscles--and that was terrifying. It's safe to say I'll never write “deputies Tased the suspect" in a story without flashing back to my own experience.

After watching the video, a friend posed a wise question -- would I rather spend another night dealing with an infected wisdom tooth (easily The Worst Night of My Life) or take another Taser blast?

That's easy. The Taser. Those five seconds were miserable, but I was joking and laughing after Deputy Tom MacKenzie yanked out the barbed darts. Dealing with my wisdom tooth took a day at the dentist and two days recovering.

Also, I've been so used to staying behind the print that it was jarring to see myself on Saturday's edition. When I first moved to Merced, I could fly beneath the radar. Sure, readers saw my name every day, but the odds of anyone noticing me in public were low.

That's not the case any more.

Shopping at the grocery store during the weekend, I walked around the produce wondering if people recognized me. Sure enough, one of the clerks I chat with asked how my back was feeling.

"Why?" I sheepishly said.

"Weren't you Tased?" he said.

No one else, except some of the sources I regularly interview, has said anything about the story, but I'm sure there are a couple people who saw me and wondered, "Wait, is that him?"

Shockingly, yes.