The Taser Debate

[Sweet Willy]

The taser is certainly an effective weapon. Normally disables or subdues a suspect. On occasions, the taser will kill or cause a fall that kills. As troubling as the deaths are, even more troubling is the ease with which these weapons are being deployed. They seem to have become a tool to discourage beligerence, bad manners or even sometimes, it seems like an easy enough way for the user to take out frustrations. I dug around for some video clips. Let's have a look and see what everyone thinks.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck3iNnvnjnk&feature=related]YouTube - Man dangerously TASERED for refusing to sign ticket[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmByfTKKUV4&feature=related]YouTube - Police Overreact with a Taser Gun[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r50FIVtkqyw&feature=related]YouTube - Traffic Infraction Draws Taser Fire in Seconds[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XON5lSgiwT0&feature=related]YouTube - Cop Tasers Best Buy Shopper[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clp9bd-OKqs&feature=related]YouTube - Ignorant Negro Receives Attitude Adjustment[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck3iNnvnjnk&feature=related]YouTube - Man dangerously TASERED for refusing to sign ticket[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKzSHtYqQvo&feature=related]YouTube - LAX Police Repeatedly TASER Unarmed Senior Citizen[/ame]

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Tasers are too often abused by the police, and they can be effective killing machines.

 

[JBeukema]

There have always been bad cops. Before tasers, they used billy clubs. Do not fault the tool for the bad people- fault those who let cops remain on the force who oft have multiple complaints. Tasers are invaluable tool for many good cops arpund the country, allowing them to subdue dangerous persons more easily than with a club, more reliably than mace, and with less risk than using a firearm. I fully support the use of tasers when they are used correctly. Do not mistake bad cops with a good tool for good cops with a bad tool. The officer is the problem, not the taser.

 

[jgbkab]

Comico, but sad. "Who runs this place...you, sir!" And some people wonder why cops are disrespected and hated. What do these police videos accomplish? Glad you asked. They make people that witness incidents like these hate/fear the good cops too.

 

[JBeukema]

jg, it's like this: It doesn't matter how many times you do right. What people remember is the time you f*ed up. This is true in law, medical malpractice cases, and your credit score- not to mention personal lives. It's the one time you do wrong that people remember, just as people remember the bad cops and n ever hear of most of the good ones.

 

[jgbkab]

So true. But the difference is in most professions, it's not a matter of life and death. The problems are magnified for police especially when death occurs from their malfeasance.

 

[KittenKoder]

A few incidents ... and it's suddenly a conspiracy ... sheesh.

 

[JBeukema]

So true. But the difference is in most professions, it's not a matter of life and death. The problems are magnified for police especially when death occurs from their malfeasance.

Good thing they have tasers, then. Back when it was all guns and batons, people died all the time...

 

[jgbkab]

So true. But the difference is in most professions, it's not a matter of life and death. The problems are magnified for police especially when death occurs from their malfeasance.

Good thing they have tasers, then. Back when it was all guns and batons, people died all the time...

Trust me, people still die all the time.

 

[JBeukema]

ad that's Taser's fault how? You;re faulting taser for bad cops? There no such thing as a 'taser debate' unless you're stupid, The issue is bad cops, as it has always been.

 

[strollingbones]

a few ...you can find taser reports almost daily....remember the gun with the lighter in his pocket when they tasered him and set him on fire?

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

I think the point is supposed to be that we can't trust cops with tasers.

 

[Sarah G]

I think the point is supposed to be that we can't trust cops with tasers.

We have to though. They have to have some form of protection for themselves, they can't shoot violent criminals.

I know I would have the cop's job (in the one video) if he (or she) tased my kid for something like them refusing to sign a ticket. God, that poor little girlfriend of that kid was so scared as well.

Another issue to point out is that these cops, state troopers, are sitting around just waiting to give someone a ticket. Maybe there really are quotas they have to meet, I don't know. That cop was unfair to begin with, stopping him and then overreacting with a freaking taser.

 

[editec]

There have always been bad cops. Before tasers, they used billy clubs. Do not fault the tool for the bad people- fault those who let cops remain on the force who oft have multiple complaints. Tasers are invaluable tool for many good cops arpund the country, allowing them to subdue dangerous persons more easily than with a club, more reliably than mace, and with less risk than using a firearm. I fully support the use of tasers when they are used correctly. Do not mistake bad cops with a good tool for good cops with a bad tool. The officer is the problem, not the taser.

I don't know much about tasers, and I certainly understand that some people have been killed with them.

So were I to evaluate tasers as a police tool, I guess I'd be comparing their use and outcomes against the use of billy clubs which those tasers replaced.

I'd be looking at the stats to determine what percentage of people struck by police batons have died or suffered serious injury compared to the percentage of people who died or suffered serious injuries as a result of tasers.

I SUSPECT, statistically, tasers cause less serious injuries than clubs.

But they might kill more people than clubs, too.

This should be studied, now that the taser has been in use long enough to find those answers.

 

[Sweet Willy]

They are too easily used. Even by the good cops. No need to use force for a speeding ticket. I'm anticipating that someone is going to get run over by a truck in one of these highway tasering incidents and that will be the end of tasers.

Hey Kitten, you see that cop with a taser AND pepper spray? Do you have that information yet to support your claim that we have tasers because pepper spray was "deemed unethical" and cops don't use it anymore?

 

[thetruth]

Interesting fact is that according to some internal investigation, most of the officers who involved with "TASER abuse" cases, are the one who refused to be tased at TASER training course.

FYI for the outsider, most police departments require their officers to pass the TASER training course, if they want to carry a TASER in the field. I think that's a great policy. However, in the training course, there is section where trainees would volunteer to be tased. Although the instructor highly recommends that, not all trainees would volunteer for the experience. And it happens that, those that didn't volunteer are the one most often end up abusing the use of TASER.

I can tell you from my personal experience, once you have been tased, you will never use the TASER lightly. It is a extremely painful experience. You would definitely think twice before using it on someone.

To regroup, TASER no doubt is a great product which can save life in many situations. There are profession training courses in place to educate the user. Why can't the department require the officer to be tased just like they require them to be spray before carrying a pepper spray?

The problem is not the product, it is the user. We need to focus on regulation on the training requirement and use, not a debate on the product. Anything can be lethal when it is use inappropriately and excessively.

 

[JBeukema]

Interesting fact is that according to some internal investigation, most of the officers who involved with "TASER abuse" cases, are the one who refused to be tased at TASER training course.

FYI for the outsider, most police departments require their officers to pass the TASER training course, if they want to carry a TASER in the field. I think that's a great policy. However, in the training course, there is section where trainees would volunteer to be tased. Although the instructor highly recommends that, not all trainees would volunteer for the experience. And it happens that, those that didn't volunteer are the one most often end up abusing the use of TASER.

I can tell you from my personal experience, once you have been tased, you will never use the TASER lightly. It is a extremely painful experience. You would definitely think twice before using it on someone.

To regroup, TASER no doubt is a great product which can save life in many situations. There are profession training courses in place to educate the user. Why can't the department require the officer to be tased just like they require them to be spray before carrying a pepper spray?

The problem is not the product, it is the user. We need to focus on regulation on the training requirement and use, not a debate on the product. Anything can be lethal when it is use inappropriately and excessively.

I concur with your conclusion

 

[Sweet Willy]

That is interesting information about the cops who refuse to be tase are more likely to tase another person. I'd like to see that documented, verified and entered into the record.

As I understand it, cops who are not shot during firearms training are much more likely to shoot someone too.

 

[editec]

That is interesting information about the cops who refuse to be tase are more likely to tase another person. I'd like to see that documented, verified and entered into the record.

As I understand it, cops who are not shot during firearms training are much more likely to shoot someone too.

LOL.

Yeah, I'd be willing to go out on a limb and say that's probably true even without any metrics to support it, too.

Let me venture another guess.

I'm betting that cops who refused to be hanged by the neck are more likely to hang people by the neck than that cops who experienced that event in hanging by the neck training.

 

[KittenKoder]

It amazes me that so many people want to live in anarchy.