Taser deaths & Police force.

[Scott Bushey]

I know this may be a silly discussion, but indulge me for a moment.

What is everyone's feeling about this new phenomenom 'death from taser'?

I used to watch a show when I was a kid called "Daktari". It was about African safari's, i.e. bagging elephants, Lions etc. I remember the actors using things like tranquilizer guns. Why don't the police use things like this? If it can bring down elephants, why not people?

 

[RamistThomist]

probably because the bad guys would be afraid of sharp, pointy things. Do people die from tasers?

 

[Scott Bushey]

Originally posted by Draught Horse
probably because the bad guys would be afraid of sharp, pointy things. Do people die from tasers?

There have been many deaths from taser use. They seem to always blame it on something else. My whole thing is that it can interfere with the normal electrical responses of the heart, hence causing arrest.

 

[Craig]

Originally posted by Scott Bushey
There have been many deaths from taser use. They seem to always blame it on something else. My whole thing is that it can interfere with the normal electrical responses of the heart, hence causing arrest.

Sounds less expensive than going to a court of law...death by taser = guilty as charged

Man. That was a lame joke.

 

[AdamM]

Good question.

A couple thoughts:

A. Maybe because in the several seconds it takes for the tranquilizer to get into the blood stream a perp could squeeze off a couple shots?

B. I know sometimes drugs have varying effects on people so a tranquilizer does large enough assure that you drop a 320 lb drunk or crazy meth head might stop the heart of 160 lb regular guy.

I do agree with your point that it does seem like today the taser is being used in some situations where you have to wonder whether it was really needed.

 

[alwaysreforming]

It could be perhaps that the effects of a tranquilizer would take too long to wear off. And then the defense attorneys can say that the suspect didn't really understand his rights because he was "under the influence" or he gave a confession while under the same.

Just kinda thinking out loud....

 

[Contra_Mundum]

Here's how I see it. Lethal force has been used less often since tazers were added to various departments, resulting in fewer deaths. I think this is well documented. But no system is foolproof. Someone is going to have a bad reaction. And with thousands of crimes daily, the number of deaths is going to be more than a handful. BUT ITS STILL LESS THAN BEFORE.

Some people won't be happy until the cops are carrying only tape recorders, with boring sermons, that they play to the suspects until their eye's glaze over and they fall asleep. And when someone dies of boredom, they will abandon them as well.

 

[govols]

Maybe if they would use the "chair" as much as the taser we would have a little less crime?

The shows you watch when an elephant has be tranquilized is edited for time.

Plus, the ACLU would be all over tranquilizing. They used too much, they shot him in the wrong place, blah, blah blah.

 

[jfschultz]

Originally posted by govols
Maybe if they would use the "chair" as much as the taser we would have a little less crime?

The shows you watch when an elephant has be tranquilized is edited for time.

Plus, the ACLU would be all over tranquilizing. They used too much, they shot him in the wrong place, blah, blah blah.

Don't forget, illegal practice of medicine. They should have had a doctor examine the victim first and prescribe the dose to use.

 

[Abd_Yesua_alMasih]

I am not scientist but in hospitals they go to a lot of effort to calculate the correct dosage needed to lay someone out safetly. It takes a lot of training and you need to know how the persons body works etc... Get it wrong and you have problems. I am assuming also it probably depends how/where you hit them. I would have thought such a practice would result in more deaths.

Tasers are good, seem easy to use with minimal training (compared to doctors training!). If you are a criminal then the state will inforce the law against you. Live with it. If you need to be stopped then you may have to be killed in the process.

 

[Augusta]

When they use their guns in self defense they are investigated etc. I would go to a taser too if it would help me do my job and investigate/arrest the bad guys instead of me being investigated/arrested myself. They already have a hard job with the media and the aclu always on the side of the criminal and not the police.

Scott said: My whole thing is that it can interfere with the normal electrical responses of the heart, hence causing arrest.

Causing an arrest is the whole point. I know what you meant, it just struck me funny.

 

[LawrenceU]

When a taser is used, it is used in lieu of an almost always lethal weapon whether it be a pistol, revolver, or shotgun. Each of these is almost always fatal when used properly. A taser rarely is. Which in use results in less deaths? No brainer. Perps get off easy most of the time with a taser. I've been nailed by both a taser and a stun gun in training. It is an experience, let me tell you.

As for the argment that officers use a taser more readily than a firearm because they are 'non-leathal'. That is bunk. There are numerous stats that disprove that notion. It is leftist muck against those who are the last line of sanity between a hostile depraved society and normalcy. If you have never been in a situation in which a deranged or drugged suspect must be apprehended you really have no idea what it takes at times to stop them. It always surprises me how many 'experts' there are when it comes to topics such as this who've had absolutely no training or experience other than what they see in movies or the TV.

Here's an increasingy common scenario:

A department comes under scrutiny for 'excessive use of tasers'. Guess what? The next time a suspect demands force for apprehension because of the use of dangerous force the officers don't pull the cross draw, they go for the high ride-fire a round (rounds), go through the shoot exam, and we have one less criminal or one severely wounded criminal.

[Edited on 6-14-2005 by LawrenceU]

 

[Craig]

In the city I work in (Benton Harbor, MI), cops are scared stiff to use ANY force. About 2 blocks from my office, we had race riots 3 years ago. A few weeks ago, a group of about 200 people were gathered and several rounds of gun shots were fired...a few cops showed up, they fired at the cops, the cops made ZERO arrests.

This is the reality: The places our officers are needed most are the areas where people will call up Johnny Cochran wannabes and take away their badge and their good name. Who wants to trade their life for that of a dirt bag?

I don't know if tazers will help protect our officers as much as good ole fashioned lethal force.

 

[Abd_Yesua_alMasih]

Poor Americans... if I remember rightly you can't turn your soldiers onto your on citizens except under certain circumstances. I have felt much safer in countries where soldiers roam the streets with assault rifles and full body armor. Army helicopters thunder overhead and men sit watching everyone and taking notes. Got to love that security!

In places like the one mentioned in the above post there needs to be enforcement of the law. If the government can't do that then it is a failure. Large groups of armed police need to be brought in and arrests made. These are not normal circumstances though and in most places where there is one or two offending individuals then only a taser is needed.