Word: tasers
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...imperative for restraint goes further than the obvious need for cops to take care with loaded guns. Brutality is not defined by a weapon but by a mentality; it can occur with a baton, Taser or even bare fists. The mistake is not in the specific physical harm done by the police, but by the general propensity to abuse these positions of power...
Remember University of Florida student Andrew Meyer? He's the one who raised a ruckus during a talk by Senator John Kerry before being dragged out by campus officers who proceeded to use a Taser on the young man. "Don't tase me, bro!" It was a cry for help, it was a t-shirt slogan, it was fodder for numerous YouTube video remixes. Funny stuff, right? Well, Amnesty International does not agree. For years, the human rights group has released reports detailing their continuing concerns over the use of stun guns. Their latest again looks at deaths from Taser...
...potential link between Taser use and death: "Since June 2001, more then 330 people in the USA are reported to have died after being struck by police Tasers...Many were subjected to multiple or prolonged shocks, often far more than the standard five-second cycle, despite warnings for several years of the potential health risks of such deployment...
Amnesty has been issuing these reports for at least four years now, and the death toll from Taser-related incidents continues to rise. It seems no one is listening. The stories contained, though, are quite shocking. One man who crashed his car onto the side of the road after suffering an epileptic seizure was tased repeatedly for struggling with an officer pulling him from his vehicle. Another gentleman was tased when he was mistaken for a drunk driver by the side of the road, when in fact he had simply become hypoglycemic. The list goes...
...Amnesty puts it, one of the biggest problems concerning Taser use is that threshold for when to use potentially harmful force becomes much lower when a stun gun is optional. Law enforcement officials may begin to believe that since they are not pulling a gun or using a baton, the potential for serious harm is mitigated. Another issue is simple miscommunication - police officers may use Tasers on those suffering from medical or mental conditions when no danger is actually being presented to the officer. The reports weaves a web of unnecessary deaths. There appears to be no definitive...