Word: tasers
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Though the Taser has been around for more than 30 years, the brand-name stun gun gained new notoriety last month when Andrew Meyer, a 21-year-old student, scuffled with University of Florida police and uttered his now infamous entreaty "Don't tase me, bro!" - just moments before he, in fact, got tased. The rather dramatic incident, captured on camera and uploaded to YouTube, spawned a catchy new anti-establishment anthem, picked up and repeated mostly by college students. But it has also renewed questions about whether Tasers pose any danger, and whether the police are using them...
Early concerns about Tasers centered on the issue of safety, but the controversy has recently taken a new twist, focusing on the conflict between civil rights and police procedure. Though the device was initially developed as an alternative to lethal force, it has become a go-to weapon in situations of noncompliance even when the use of firearms would not be considered - like the incident with Meyer, who agreed to 18 months of probation on Tuesday in order to avoid criminal charges of resisting arrest. "I think because it's electricity, and because of past use of electricity in torture...
...idea of tasing simultaneously fascinates and frightens people, it's probably because the technology is a bit of a mystery. "It's harder to understand the science behind [Tasers] than to understand bullets or batons," says Scott Greenwood of the Cincinnati chapter of the ACLU. Tasers are the only stun gun that can be fired from a distance, and they deliver a high-voltage electric shock that momentarily paralyzes victims but doesn't kill them. According to Greenwood, the zap from a Taser is no more harmful than a shot of pepper spray to the face. "[Getting tased] is both...
...plans to arm its officers with Tasers—weapons that are used to subdue suspects by releasing a disabling electric charge—potentially making it the first Boston-area police department to add the weapon to its arsenal. Tasers have come under increasing scrutiny because of concerns about the risk they may pose to suspects, with an Amnesty International report released last year concluding that 61 people died in the U.S. in 2005 after being shocked with a Taser gun. Police Department spokesman Frank T. Pasquarello said in a phone interview yesterday that no money has yet been...
Shoot a man with a Taser, and you disable him for five seconds. Teach the Cambridge Police Department (CPD) to use Tasers, and we’re going to have a problem on our hands for a long time. The CPD’s plan to arm some of its officers with Tasers is a waste of taxpayer funds, and, more importantly, a threat to public safety. While officers contend that the 50,000-volt stun guns are necessary in order to subdue drug users and the mentally ill, who apparently have preternaturally high pain tolerances, the weapons simply...