The shocking death -- literally -- of a black man Tasered nine times by a white police officer in Louisiana last January is a horrific reminder of an inglorious past.

And it's a portent for an ominous high-tech future.

If reports of Baron "Scooter" Pikes' death while handcuffed are accurate, this was more than police brutality or even the worst sort of racism; this was murder, plain and simple.

According to CNN:

"Dr. Randolph Williams, the Winn Parish coroner, told CNN the 21-year-old sawmill worker was jolted so many times by the 50,000-volt Taser that he might have been dead before the last two shocks were delivered."

Police in Winnfield, La., say Pikes, wanted for cocaine possession, wouldn't stop or cooperate with officers. The officer in question, who was since fired, followed procedures, his attorney says.

We'll let authorities there work that out. But we see two lessons to draw from in this case, however it is resolved:

- People should always -- always -- obey a lawful order by police. When people resist arrest or don't cooperate, nothing good can happen.

- Police are beginning to possess weapons right out of science fiction novels. They had better be doggone careful how they use them. Otherwise, our greatest fears about the future will seem real.

It's quite possible Pikes was uncooperative. But the coroner says he was already handcuffed and on the ground when he was Tasered for the first time. And we find it hard to believe that it was necessary to shock him nine times.

Officers report seeing no response from Pikes after the last two shocks.

It's interesting, too, that of the 14 incidents in which the Winnfield department used Tasers in the past year, this particular officer was involved in 10 of the cases; and black citizens were involved in 12 of the 14.

This case is particularly haunting, both for its reflection of past racial injustices and its peek into a possibly frightening future in which citizens are abused by rogue officers with access to high-tech weaponry.

We don't know who the guilty party was in the Scooter Pikes case. But police should be the first to admit it, and condemn it, if it was one of their own.

Police, especially in the South, shouldn't want to remind us of a regrettable past -- or put forth images of a frightening future.