Thursday May 9th, front page article in The national Post- Tazer manufacturers Lawsuit, has forced a chief medical examiner to delete any reference to the stun gun as a contributing factor in the deaths of 3 men, in Summit County, Ohio. Tazer Company is 68-0 in their wins in court.
Pretty scary stuff. I wonder how the RCMP Killing in Vancouver would work out?
They're a ruthless company. They invented the "medical' term "excited delerium" to account for the deaths. It's like saying the gun didn't kill, the bullet did kinda' thing imho.
This is akin to saying that the club that the police used repeatedly on the head of a suspect, had no contributing factor to the death of the suspect 3 days later from massive blunt force trauma that was applied!
The man in Vancouver was Tasered to death, simple, plain, and in full view of the public. The manufacturers should be ashamed of themselves. How about we try their product on one of their spouses? HMMM!!
Not to defend the use of the Taser but was it not developed to provide Police with a safe and non-lethal means of immobilizing dangerous people. Safe for the Police as it is applied from a distance. Some other means of immobilization require close contact: wrestling the dangerous person; hitting with a baton; shooting. Those all offer greater opportunity for someone to be hurt. Or killed.
The issue I believe is not so much the use of the taser rather it's that the taser is used so much. Police forces must have stricter use guidelines and greater accountability when something goes wrong.
The taser is being used as a tool of convenience. Taser first and ask questions later. = The issue I believe is not so much the use of the taser rather it's that the taser is used so much.
I believe that the Tasers are simply too dangerous, period.
I also believe that the Police are justified in shooting someone in the leg or foot to immobilize them, and if the suspect is in possession of a firearm and is threatening to discharge it; then yes, shoot first to disable, and if that doesn't work, then shoot to kill.
Jimmy? What about the vast majority of police who are out there because they believe in what they do? For the most part, I trust the Police departments, it's the administration by City Councils that muck things up!
I believe that the police, and now the Toronto bus cops, are using the taser and are not following the instructions of when they are supposed to be using it. The RCMP killing in Vancouver, was another example of lazy cops, not following the instructions. An 82 year old with a penknife, Robert Dzianski, who had his back to the RCMP, was not a threat, a Toronto bus passenger being tasered because he had his hand on a handrail, and did not follow instructions to let go of the handrail. The list goes on and on! The taser used properly is an excellent tool to save lives, by not having to draw their weapon in these circumstances, but it is obvious that they do not make proper decisions, on when to use it!
Yours is a circular argument Monominto. You say use a gun to immobilize people rather than a taser? Shoot them in the leg or foot? Are you serious? The police are taught to shoot at the centre mass. To stop them dead (no pun intended). We need to stay focused on this issue. We are not talking about someone using a taser to stop someone with a gun.
To use your logic what happens the next time Police shoot at someone to immobilize them and the bullet inadvertently goes through that persons heart. That would almost certainly kill the perp. And you advocate using guns over tasers?
What is the real issue? Too frequent and indiscriminate use of the taser. So let's manage that issue.
While the application of tasers may be questioned, a total ban is absurd. They provide police with an effective non lethal response. Firearms are considered deadly force. There is no "shoot him in the leg". Try it some time before making comments like that. Aim for the centre of visible mass and continue to fire until the threat is no longer a threat.
Granted there may be situations where their application is questionable, and there have been fatalities, but being tazed is easier to recover from than a gunshot wound or good beating with a baton.
Look at the subject of this discussion, and tell me, honestly, if people do NOT die as a result of the application of a Taser. To be "hit" with anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 volts of shock is enough to send people to the hospital, YES? So what happens if that person dies on the way to that hospital? or even after arrival in the ER? Are you dense enough to tell me that the death was NOT caused by the Taser?
Taser claims there have been 0 deaths, but the Arizona Republic found at least 27. Taser would rather medical examiners attribute such deaths to “excited delirium,” a vague condition relatively unheard of in medical research before the advent of the Taser, but that now seems to be a frequent cause of death in Taser-related cases–but totally unrelated to the actual Tasering, of course.
TV news just reported on the taser inquiry going on in Vancouver regarding the death to Robert Dzienski. Interesting reports, in that Doctors have testified that being tasered in the chest can cause the heart to stop working. The Taser comapny , with all their evidence of tasering being safe, have had healthy , willing people receive a single taser in the back. Dzienski was hit multiple times in the chest. Don't you love the "lying, lyars?" The really good news is that Taser stock is at $&, and was at $19. There was testimony, by a former officer, that the Taser is being used in way more than it had been intended. I am willing to bet that this judge may ban its use, or put the onus on the police to use it , in the way it was intended. It is out of control police who are playing with death, perhaps in a sadistic way!