Amnesty International urges moratorium on taser use

phillyharper asks

"If the police banned the use of tasers what would fill its place?"

Start with combat training. You don't think they get any?

Then there's Mace, Billy Clubs, Pepper Spray, Truncheons, and an entire arsenal of other methods which can incapacitate but will not kill a person before he can be taken to jail, let alone court.

Lethal force when dealing with a person in a wheelchair? With a juvenile? With a person unarmed? With a senior?

There are far too many instances where the force chosen was so far out of proportion to risk that it is now obvious that having this weapon in the hands of anyone other than SWAT professionals is damaging to the reputation of Law Enforcement.

No one sane wants cops to take more risks than necessary but quite clearly this device is the wrong one to use too often, and it further alienates the community when so obviously there are better alternatives at hand.

I saw a commerical that was selling tasers, they are already trying to give these killing tools to the public....

Guns are more lethal but, tasers are used more often.

I've been saying this the whole time, commenting on almost all of these tasering atrocities, thank you for gathering it all together by finding this article! I think that the taser should have a good looking at. There is nothing more disgusting than reading about taser deaths by abuse of power or sick minded people.

Personally i feel that the technology shouldnt be outlawed perse but instead resticted. Officers hould know when and when not to use the technology.

If a man holding a knife is running at you, then yes use the weapon. If someone is resisting arrest but not physically then no dont use it. If someone is standing in a puddle then no dont use it.

It should be common sense on how and when to use the device but apparently some cops dont get it. It is definitely better than the alternative however.

"medical examiner said the victim also had a lot of methamphetamine in his system."
"Excited delirium...when a person experiences an irregular heartbeat and suddenly dies. It can happen to psychiatric patients and people using drugs such as cocaine."
"intoxicated"
It looks like tasers and drugs don't go well together

I do think better training should be given to police who use tasers, but I think it would be even better if there were put out of use totally

If people start doing what they are told to do they wont need to use it. Those Human Rights groups are absolutely ridiculous.

after how many volts torture is attained?

what is the sign, the evidence that turns a quick harmless jolt of static electricity from the key chain into a complete terrifying hurtful body paralysis?

the body's ohms must change with size, fat percentage, clothes and hair style, right? but i guess if you add water to the equation, it doesnt matter
all that and more must be somewhere in the LAW, with other non torture methods that can be LAWFULLY used on us by those who we relinquished our powers to

dariustwin
I can see your view but, don't blame the technology or the user? If you have ever been tased then you would NEVER wish it on anyone, especially in the hands of a power tripping cop who wants you to obey. Tasing someone 19 times, a clear choice by the user, can never be justified in court. Let's be honest, most of the people who died were UNARMED and not putting the officers in harm with any "less than lethal" or lethal means themselves. The use of taser force is excessive and this article helps clarify that the technology can be lethal.

Whatever happened to that UCLA student that got tasered in the library? He was kinda whiny, but the video was pretty damning against the campus police.

Well when you think about guns, I don't know what's better: Shot someone, or tase someone...

Tasers are not the problem here, as they are a proven less-than-lethal means of subduing suspects who do not comply with an officer's orders.

The issue comes with the application of the taser. Perhaps different approaches to problems would decrease their usage.

On the other hand, the whole goal of apprehending a suspect is to do so as efficiently as possible with as little harm coming to anybody, and tasers allow that.

Once again, don't blame the technology for its potential misuse, and don't blame the user unless you know all the facts first.

A 48-year-old man had a heart attack in an ambulance. He died in the hospital two days later.

Willie Smith was the third person in Washington state to die after being shocked with a Taser.
Smith was the third person in Washington to die after being shocked with a Taser; others died in Silverdale and Olympia. Nationwide, there have been 69 such deaths since 2000.

Is that derek jeter with a stun gun?

Zap!

Here are some more videos excessive taser use:

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Robert+Dziekanski+Tasered+to+Death+-+Full+...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyvrqcxNIFs&eurl=http://www.chycho.com/?q=Taser_Deaths

Tasers if used at all should have different settings to correspond to the weight of the individual being tased. There have been too many deaths from these and more study is needed on them. If you have a heart problem then you are really in trouble.

Dont taze me bro! dont taze me ! I will never ask questions to goverment officials , I will stay and think like a sheep for the rest of my life.
two legs bad four legs good bahhhhh,bahhhh,baaah.
This is the future .
The Orwelian Nightmare.
Dont think!
Dont question anything!
Shop crap from china!
Eat junk food!
Become fat and stupid!
Shop until you drop to help this fake economy!.

less fatal than guns...

tasers give police a level of power they don't need. they use it instead of verbal commands and they are (human) prone to abusing the technology.

get rid of it.

If the police banned the use of tasers what would fill its place?