Entering the Taser Debate

Tasers have been making the headlines with great frequency of late. What this controversy calls to my mind is the fact that there is no such thing as a safe level of physical violence. Remember the two teens involved in a bit of classroom rough-housing; upon being tagged on the chest the recipient of the blow congratulated his opponent on making a good shot, and then dropped dead minutes later when his heart stopped. A Google search will bring back many such stories.

What tasers do for police is enable them to subdue an individual without making direct physical contact and the risks to personal safety that incurs. At taser may be less lethal than a handgun but we cannot be lulled into the belief that their use is without risk. Some of the incidents so prominent in the news of late make one wonder why officers didn’t move in and physically subdue the individual or just back off and wait for him to cool down. I’ll be flippant and say they were afraid waiting might make them late for there next coffee and donuts. It would seem that this new “toy” is becoming over-used in situations in which good old-fashioned police action would suffice. It should be remembered that tasers were originally introduced for use as an alternative to gunfire when a side-arm would otherwise have come into play. In such situations it may well be their use is less harmful. When they are used just because an officer doesn’t want to get his hands dirty we get the appearance of excessive use of force.

It would seem that officers issued with this weapon need more thorough training and to be reminded that Tasers are weapons. I would hope that those who use tasers are investigated with the same rigor that an officer receives when he fires his official side-arm. It would seem the majority of people subjected to this massive electrical charge were in no condition to make a rational decision regarding the threatened use of force and in the case in the Vancouver Airport didn’t even understand English. I would hate to think that I could be so treated just because I lost my temper in public.