You always here every complain about the few people that disobey the law and get tasered and die, but they never mention the countless times when it is used in a situation which warrants lethal force and saves lives. I can’t say for sure but I would be willing to put a significant amount down that says there are A LOT more of those life saving scenarios. Another thing that is mentioned is that before an officer can carry a Taser they themselves are zapped with one. Hmmmm…seems if they are so dangerous we would here about more officers dieing in training. Obey the law and you will not get tased. If obeying the law is too hard for you to do, then if you get caught do not fight the police.

I’m with Rocky on this one: “Obey the law and you will not get tased”. It seems to be as simple as that! Why would we even consider taking tasers away from our police officers? To me, it makes no sense to give offenders another advantage over us law-abiding citizens.

If you use force to subdue someone you make the front page and every network in the world is showing it. Look at the bank robber footage from the other day. They are already charging that there was excessive force used to subdue the guy. If you can’t use your hands, and they take away tasers, what’s left. You can’t shoot someone with a gun for beating their sister to a pulp. Some of us will never experience any of this. Those that put themselves in that situation deserve what they get. Keep the Tasers. Give the cop’s a break.

The guy threatented a cop and then lunged at him (after beating on his sister - what a manly man). He made his bed, and now he has to lay in it. This time his bed happens to be a coffin. I’ve never beat up my sister, threatened a cop, or lunged at a cop, and I have never been tasered. See the connection?

The suspect obviously was not obeying the law (in beating up his sister, & not obeying the police officer’s order to stop & then lunging at the officer). It would be great if people would once again realize that actions have consequences, & sometimes death is one of those consequences.

Police should use a Taser when they judge it necessary, and follow their own department’s guidelines. Those are the only two criteria that need to be reviewed after any use of the Taser. Did the officer follow department guidelines? Did the officer make the judgment that it’s use was necessary. If the answer to both questions is “yes”, then as unfortunate as it is that there are rare and unpredictable fatal results to the victim, the responsibility for the situation arising at all remains with the victim.

It seems everyone is singing from the same page in the “Joy of Servitude”, so I will play the contrarian.

First, I am neither condoning or condemning the use of force in this case. The specific details are unknown to us, therefore it’s to early to call. However, in general, the Taser is misused by some officers. Officers are trained to react according to “levels of force”. You do not respond to a verbally combative (but unarmed) citizen by shooting them. The normal order is well established.

Verbal: Use strong command tones and other psychological techniques to gain the citizens compliance. There is no set time limit for this level of force, an officer can talk a person down over a lengthy period or quickly escalate the force in response to the actions of the citizen.

Unarmed Physical: Use of “hard hands” techniques, take downs, arm bars, etc. Here the officer uses physical force to restrain an uncooperative, potentially dangerous citizen. The citizen is still unarmed, and generally not so physically threatening as to require a higher level of force.

Non Lethal, but armed force: Here the officer is responding to a citizen who is an imminent threat to themselves or others. The person is still typically unarmed. This usually takes the form of mace, pepper spray or baton.

Lethal force: The citizen is armed with a deadly weapon (gun, knife, etc) and presents an imminent threat to themselves or others. The officer uses firearms to incapacitate the citizen.

Notice there was no mention of Tasers. That’s because as relatively new tools in the policeman’s arsenal, there is still debate on where they fit in. Some officers place them in between the use of voice techniques and hard hands. In their minds it is justifiable to use a Taser on an unarmed citizen who doesn’t comply with verbal commands in a timely fashion. So if they tell you 2-3 times, and you don’t listen, they can Tase you. The problem with this is the Taser is not a “Non Lethal” tool – it’s a “Less Lethal” tool.

In fact, hundreds have died after being Tased. By comparison, death by baton, pepper spray or beating are quite rare. The big difference in the police department’s mind is perception. If a video of an officer using a baton on a citizen leaks out – the outcry is usually swift and furious. But a video of Taser use? Often the public finds it “funny” to watch the criminal lock up, collapse, yell, whimper, spasm or twitch. The Taser leaves almost no marks (especially when compared with a baton) and if the person is healthy and not taking medication (prescribed or not) they often recover in 15-30 minutes. But the truth is, this perception of harmlessness is false – Tasers are often deadly.

So where would I place the Taser in the levels of force? Just above the Baton, mace or pepper spray. If an officer wouldn’t feel justified in clubbing a citizen to subdue them, they sure shouldn’t feel justified in Tasing them. I say this because - perception aside – the Taser has a far higher chance to kill you than a police baton. Yes, police should have them (just as they should carry guns) but they should be mindful of just how much force a Taser truly represents.

Police officers would much rather use the taser than the other alternative - their gun. When someone is in a violent state, on drugs, or intoxicated they have the advantage over the officer - using the taser helps reduce the situation and allow the officer to get the violator in custody. I agree with Rocky - the news should report more of the good things and positive use of the tasers that are done - why always the bad and ugly. Just one piece a night on the good and especially the good that police officers are doing every day and night to protect and keep peace.
It is very sad everything has to be esculated to our court system - take responcibility for your own actions. Your son was beating his sister and you were there - the blame is not with the police.

PS - Thanks for fixing the line break removal problem! It sure makes the longer posts easier to read.

Use a Taser,absolutely! I have three police officers in my family and they had to have a taser used on them during training.They are still alive. Have you ever watched cops on t.v.?They are necessary to stop the bad guys from killing the cops.Being a police officer now a days is so dangerous they need all the help they can get.