SteveX Compiled

There have been quite a few stories lately about “taser deaths”.  Basically, police say they’re using them correctly, Taser International says they’re non-letal, yet sometimes, people die after being tasered.

Often the stories that make the news as controversial are the ones where a taser is used on someone who is already restrained, basically to force them to be more compliant.

Thing is, tasers were supposed to be an alternative to guns.  If I recall correctly, that was the justification for them in the first place.  They weren’t supposed to be an easy way to bring someone into compliance, they were supposed to be a way to keep from having to kill a person.  In other words, a taser would only be used in a situation where a gun would have otherwise been used.

Because of this, I think taser usage should be treated the same as if a gun had been discharged.  If a police officer shot and killed someone who was in handcuffs because they wouldn’t stop struggling, would that be OK?

No; the officer would be in some serious trouble.  The same should be true of hitting them with a taser.

This image is from a “Taser C2 Personal Protection System” ad on their website - actually their whole website is like stepping into some bizarro world where everyone is armed and ready to retaliate to any annoyance with force.  “In today’s world, maintaining self confidence involves the need for self protection”.  Or maybe that’s the United States.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 24th, 2007 at 8:26 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.