Tasers

[moderateamericain]

http://www1.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI94197/

Man is killed by tasering in Flordia

Do you believe that Tasers are a legitimate tool in the arsenal of police officers? Or are they on par with mag lights or night sticks? Discuss.

[bush_cheney2004]

http://www1.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI94197/

Man is killed by tasering in Flordia

Do you believe that Tasers are a legitimate tool in the arsenal of police officers? Or are they on par with mag lights or night sticks? Discuss.

Yes, they are legitimate tools that, as explained by another member in an earlier thread, fill the void between chemical agents and certain deadly force (firearms). Police officers are not required to subject themselves or other bystanders to personal harm or injury from a perp's actions. Tasers provide standoff range and less lethality than firearms. Better training (e.g. no multiple tazings) and tactics are fine, but tasers fit nicely on the ladder of force escalation.

Part of the dynamic that few want to admit is the larger number of female police officers, many of which are not capable of arresting a threatening perp using hand to gland combat.

Back in the '80s we had fun with 50,000 volt stun guns.....but they required close proximity to the perp.

[eyeball]

Speaking of Moral and Ethical Issues

Taser International is a Platinum corporate sponsor for this years Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police conference. $25,000 buys all sorts of banners and delegate kits proudly displaying Taser International at the conference. Taser has sponsered such conferences to the tune of $100,000 over the last 5 years.

This sort of corporate/police coziness is something I'd expect of a facist state. What's really galling is that police are still being told Tasers don't kill people and many of these same police chiefs are involved in numerous investigations into the safety and ongoing continued use of Tasers. Imagine if Health Canada conferences involving officials carrying out drug safety reviews were funded by drug manufactureres.

This underscores the need to disband completely any and all self-investigative capacity the police have. Police simply cannot be trusted because they do not have the moral and ethical background that the public requires.

should also be made a mandatory part of public oversight.

A special video camera and audio device that police can wear to show what happens when an officer restrains someone is also in the works. Cellphone video of Mr. Dziekanski's death that was shot by a member of the public made headlines around the world, but there was no police video of the encounter.

“Right now we have officers that are being called into question because of controversial uses,” Mr. Tuttle said. “The rage right now is that people are recording police officers with their cellphones.”

Story

Its about time, I'd also like to see the development of an entangling and immobilizing net that can be fired at a person.

Edited August 16, 2008 by eyeball

[Renshaw]

Tasers are big news today. There's even a novel been written about them.

http://www.clublighthousepublishing.com/TH...AGE.htm#TASERED

[capricorn]

I don't want to be tasered. So when a police officer says "freeze", I intend to turn myself into an ice sculpture.

Seriously, I agree with tasers being assigned to police and other law officers. Some people are a real threat to bystanders and law enforcement members. The taser is the alternative to a gun in order to immobilize a combative, armed or out of control person.

Yes, there are times when a perp with an unapparent medical condition being tasered will die. Just as there is not enough time to ask dangerous perps whether they'll be good boys and girls before being shot, there is no time to ask them to fill out a medical form.

As the saying goes, you had to be there.

[eyeball]

I find it difficult to believe that a net-gun wouldn't suffice in the vast majority of instances where Tasers are used.

The ongoing use of a violent and deadly instrument, one that is apparently quite painful, seems downright vindictive in the face of far less harmful alternatives.

Talon Net Gun

[blueblood]

I find it difficult to believe that a net-gun wouldn't suffice in the vast majority of instances where Tasers are used.

The ongoing use of a violent and deadly instrument, one that is apparently quite painful, seems downright vindictive in the face of far less harmful alternatives.

Talon Net Gun

You can roll around in the net and still cause injuries to police officers performing the arrest, with the taser you can't move. Don't want to be tased, don't break the law.

[bush_cheney2004]

You can roll around in the net and still cause injuries to police officers performing the arrest, with the taser you can't move. Don't want to be tased, don't break the law.

Good point...a perp would not be immobilized with a net, and may still wield a weapon. If tasers aren't safe enough for the critics, we can always go back to shoot-to-kill firearms.

Don't taze me 'bro...I am cooperating!

[cybercoma]

I think we need to look at the number of times tasers have been used in arrests versus the number of actual injuries/fatalities that occur. It's probably fairly safe to assume that the amount of injuries prevented far outweigh the ones that have been incurred.

[Renshaw]

Cops are afraid to get too close these days because of HIV/AIDS! There could be a needle in the guy's pocket. That's why the taser and pepper spraying are the new methods of choice.

[bush_cheney2004]

Cops are afraid to get too close these days because of HIV/AIDS! There could be a needle in the guy's pocket. That's why the taser and pepper spraying are the new methods of choice.

Right...why should the police risk this as an occupational hazard if they don't have to? Vote union yes!

[Moonlight Graham]

Tasers are fine, as long as they are used in the proper context, which obviously sometimes isn't the case.

I would look into possibly dropping the voltage on those things. There is certainly a safety concern with them. My hope is they can make them safer, or a better technology altogether is found to replace the taser. But until then....ZZZZZAP!!

[Topaz]

I guess there's a time for the Tasers but when someone is high on alcohol or drugs then I think they should use pepper spray to avoid someone from dying.

[M.Dancer]

Part of the problem is the perception of what a taser is. Most people thought tasers are non lethal weapons. By definition, that is an oxymoron. All weapons are potentially lethal. Some weapons have less potential to be lethal such as a taser.

I would like to be tasered (under a controlled situation) but I would not like to be night sticked...

All in all I think constables should have as many options as possible, from clubbing to tasering to blowing out someone's brain's as the situation dictates.

[blueblood]

I guess there's a time for the Tasers but when someone is high on alcohol or drugs then I think they should use pepper spray to avoid someone from dying.

On pepper spray a person can still fight back, cause injury etc. Sometimes pepperspray does not affect anybody. Those cops only get a second to formulate a plan to perform an arrest and that means no time to determine if the threat is high. Being high should not be a free pass. Don't want to get tased don't break the law. Pepper spray has its problems too, someone could have a severe allergic reaction to it as well.

[Wilber]

Any cop will tell you that pepper spray has little effect on a berserk meth addict. These people are totally out of control and can exhibit super human strength. At times the only thing that does have an effect short of a bullet is a tazer. Some officers and possibly some departments have become a little too liberal in their use but most are not. Any sort of immobilization, ranging from a choke hold right through to a tazer is potentially lethal no matter how carefully it is used. If you take a way all the non lethal options the police have because every once and a while they do cause a death, you leave them with no choices other than shooting someone or walking away whenever they are confronted with a situation that requires force.

[Moonlight Graham]

I would like to be tasered (under a controlled situation)...

well if that happens for you please put it on youtube, that would good for a laugh

[M.Dancer]

well if that happens for you please put it on youtube, that would good for a laugh

I certainly would.

[tango]

There was a cyber joke going around about a guy who bought a small taser for his wife, and decided he should try it on himself to make sure it was working. It was hilarious, but all I can recall is that days later he still had not found his balls yet!