Well, he wasn’t being arrested for murder and not facing the death penalty and the cop who was yelling at him had a taser in his hand so...
“Ride the lightning” has meant to be executed by electric chair for over 100 years.
You don’t see it a problem that it’s being used today to refer to getting a few extra volts throughout the body? Would be a real bad thing for anybody with a heart condition/pace maker/epilepsy.