Too Many Deaths

AngelaDark:

I have been waiting for someone like you to start speaking out against these horrific weapons.

They make firearms look almost civilized by comparison.

I am willing to bet the nearly 250 odd people in North America killed by these weapons

a) did not deserve it, no matter what they did
b) were likely not even any significant threat that could not have been subdued by more officers

Amongst other things, Tasers have become a great novelty toy for police forces to not hire more officers.

In fact, it seems like police forces love to hand Tasers to people least capable of using them.

And, unlike guns, they don't treat them as a dangerous weapon, but rather, a videogame one...

These weapons should be BANNED, outright. There is NO defense for a lethal weapon that kills people so horrifically.

I don't care how many times our stupid top cop here in Ottawa has tested himself on it, he has not impressed me with his so-called defense - it proves nothing - more cops can always subdue difficult people more peaceably and reasonably...

sorry...had to vent...Tasers bug the crap out of me, and offend me in every way imaginable..

tested it on himself? really? does he have cancer? tourettes? a heart condition? has he tried it drunk? one coke? on speed? on heroine or meth? supposidly the taser most "has" to be used on people on drugs/alcohol. i think the country is slowly realising what tasers really are and what they really do to normal healthy people now, of course many had to die and then we have to wait for the media to get on it more. it really sickens me that the RCMP are cvering up their taser use reports
last time the RCMP got power mad we took away their intelligence division. i think it's clear similar action is required again, the who damn force needs to be re-organized and there need to be penalties for misconduct. I think the canadian press and a government board should be put together to preform an investigation of the RC's. RCMP internal affair simply doesn't cut it for me

AngelaDark:

Yeah. From what I hear, the new police chief has volunteered himself as a test subject for Tasers (not that this is an arranged photo-op, noooo...) and their so-called "safe use"...blah blah blah....

Tasers are most often used at those most likely to be killed by them. Even healthy people are also at risk - look at that poor guy who was killed at Vancouver airport.

I heard a report about the cover-up of RCMP taser reports this morning. Pretty sickening, though a lot of good would be done just simply by issuing a world protocol banning these things outright.

God forbid, though, that anyone shows any leadership on this - they're too busy waiting for "analysis reports" to make a decision... :(

people=statistics

not the way leaders should be thinking

this week - more innocent people, even kids, killed by Tasers - now kids are buying them illegally and using them for THEMSELVES...

when will all of this ******* madness STOP??

grrrr....*ban ALL Tasers NOW*

I disagree with you guys. I think the biggest problem with the taser is the perception that it is not dangerous, even though it is. With a gun, a cop might take a risk to try and not use it in a difficult situation. With a taser, which is perceived as non-lethal, a cop has less reason to take any risks at all. A cop (who wouldn't want to be harmed any more than one of us) would probably think, "Why should I risk injury here when I can just stun this guy? We'll both be fine."

Coupled with this problem of perception is human nature. If some drunk ***** pushed a cop and spat in his face, the cop wouldn't blow the guy away with a gun; he'd be forced to restrain himself and maybe just rough the guy up. With a taser, he could just say, "well, **** you, too", and zap him without a second thought. Cops are just people, too.

I think tasers are a great alternative to guns, and I think that they can help keep cops safe from unnecessary harm, or even death. Tasers just need to be treated as if they are guns, but they aren't. Awareness needs to be raised of how dangerous they can be if they are used so casually.

Would you guys taser someone if they were coming at you with a knife or a bat? I sure would. I'd even taser a large man who was taking swings at me.

The technology is not to blame; the problems are a result of human error. Adrenaline, testosterone, and a natural thirst for revenge are also factors that make tasers dangerous.

But I really do agree with you that officers who use tasers ought to be held accountable for their actions. That's how it works with guns, and that's how it SHOULD work with tasers.

it's true, they bill it as a non-lethal weapon, bvut it's not non-lethal, it's just less lethal than a gun, in the way a knife is less lethal than a gun, etc

FallaciesAppease:

You're *wrong*, but I *wouldn't* use a TASER on anyone. I wouldn't use a *gun* on anyone, not even in self-defence.

That way lies madness, death, and war. We all know this.

Let's not kid around here.

Cops do *NOT* have the right to just pull out a gun and just shoot anyone they want, no matter the reason.

Or, at least, they shouldn't *ever* have to do so, in a more ideal society. God forbid I should ever expect that.

There are plenty of ways to safely disarm an attacker without having to resort to guns or any similar projectile weapons.

Bats and knives can be blocked or knocked out of people's hands pretty easily, actually, and cops have clubs that can be used defensively in these cases.

Whether or not they *use* them properly, is another matter entirely...

I agree that cops are just people. But that does *not* justify the use of Tasers.

Tasers do *not* protect cops any more than other weapons do, if anything, it may cause a backlash against cops if people continue to be slaughtered so unnecessarily.

Cops sign up to act for a higher authority, and so they should be bigger and better than the people they serve, so they can do so while keeping the peace as much as possible.

Nobody forced them to take the job. They should be willing to serve and protect and put their lives on the line to defend those beliefs.

I hold the greatest respect for these people, so long as they truly mean it, live up to it, rather than hide behind weapons that are so vicious and unnecessary.

If they can't handle that, then they can always serve as private security consultants or bounty hunters.

There will, of course, be those few suspects that are completely off of the rails and nothing but a hail of bullets will bring them down because they are totally out of control and/or want to die anyway. Fair enough.

But they are the very *smallest* percentage of suspects.

I'm not talking about *them*.

I'm talking about *every-day* suspects being Tasered like you would do every day like picking up milk, brushing your teeth, or, dare I say it...

taking out the garbage....which is the *real* perception causing most of the problems here.

And I agree that the technology is not to blame, but for different reasons - it's the thinking that says it's perfectly OK to run 50,000 volts, or, indeed, any amount of electrical current through someone for any reason and use it as a justification for handling or controlling someone, anyone, that I think should be to blame here...

Ask yourself this question:

Do you agree with the use of electro-convulsive shock therapy for mentally ill patients?

The answer is the *same* for whether or not you agree with the use of Tasers, because there is *very* little difference between the two...

As AngelaDark has so rightly pointed out, there is no such thing as a "non-lethal" or "less-lethal" Taser.

As if dialing down the amount down to 14,000 volts instead of 50,000 is going to get us anywhere...Please.

These so-called "less-lethal" Taser weapons are no different than their higher-rated counterparts.

Ah, something we do agree on. I do feel that tasering someone (especially to death) should be seriously considered as an assault with a deadly weapon charge and possibly viewed as a Manslaughter charge. Most cops though, should be expected to know what they are doing.....