Taser company denies gun killed man
By Annie Guest for The World Today
June 19th, 2009

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/19/2603457.htm?section=australia

I came across this article, I realise this doesn't mean it is okay to attempt to cause someone pain with your new toy.

If the secularist had not won in breaking down respect for all authority we would not have a quarter of the drug and violence problem we have now. You would have to be a mug to be a policeman or woman where the law seems to favour the drug filled violent men and woman rather than the law enforcers.

Dear Max,

I agree with you, tasers are preferable to guns.
But 'nets' would be even better. (The kind they
throw over wild animals - when they capture them).

However what would be even more preferable would
be the education and re-training of our police force,
so that they could be taught to handle all sorts
of situations without having to kill, maim, or
destroy the people they're supposed to protect.

It is a judgement call - but to date it seems that
all they've been taught to do is aim for the chest
and shoot to kill - in any 'threatening,' situations.

There has to be better training than that. Anybody
can be taught to shoot to kill. But as police officers,
there must be other options in the training manuals.
Perhaps advice from other law enforcement forces - such as the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department),the
training units of their Academy,
could assist in this matter.

Giving police officers tasers - which do have serious
side effects - and the capability to kill - surely
can't be the only option that's available.

To all those posting re’ police being assaulted etc, I think we can take it as a given their responses are justified, it’s the use of tasers in other circumstances that creates the problems. Once carrying them, police tend to use them whenever there’s a confrontation, it’s quicker and simpler for them, and they are human after all. One officer having a bad day, or in the middle of a divorce etc, can ruin it for the others, and it is happening with increasing frequency.
That is why I asked about reducing the ability to continuous-zap, building in a re-charge period, after perhaps two shots. If an assailant is still kicking after that, more won’t make much difference after all. A system of having to justify it’s use every single time, the same as a gun usage now has, and severe penalties for wrongful use might help.
Foxxy, I think you underestimate the reality and violence police regularly face, a lot of the time there really is no other option than physical force, drunks, druggies, mindless thugs who don’t give a royal, they get them all. How do you reason with or restrain a violent mental patient? Someone totally off the planet on Ice? The police need weapons, that’s a fact of the 21st century, but we need to make sure they have ones that won’t encourage misuse, as tasers do. People are DYING, un-necessarily, and that’s not acceptable to me for one.

This is a difficult one Maximillion. I have seen a lot of what police have to deal with and no matter what new toy they come up with to essentially reduce harm, it seems to be ever fraught with issues.

Whilte tasers are not perfect, they are better than a dependency on guns particularly in the hands of a young untrained and nervous police officer. The risk of taser death is much lower.

The real issue is in police training and culture. Most police I have dealth with will always use negotiation as a first step. It is a heavy emphasis in the training and of course despite this, there will be the few that abuse their power.

However, we expect a lot from our police forces and they do not receive much in the way of public support nor an understanding of the dangers to their safety. How many of us risk injury or worse when we turn up for work each day?

With an increase in binge drinking and drug affected offenders out of control on the streets at night (Melbourne is a prime example) taser use will no doubt increase. How does, even the most experienced negotiator deal with a drunken or drug affected offender who is not capable of reason?

Maybe a dart gun with a one-off sting and a strong sedative might work but there is always a risk no matter if the subduing weapon is a baton, a gun or another tool.

As one poster said most of us will never feel the jolt of a taser while we go about our law abiding activities.

Dear Max,

I'm fully aware of the risks that police officers
take on a daily basis. I lived and worked in Los
Angeles for approximately ten years, and a close
family friend was a member of the Los Angeles
Police Force. The training they received was very
different from the one that seems to be given to our
police officers. That's why I suggested that perhaps
it would be advantageous to our law enforcement sectors
to acquire training methods from other law enforcement
agencies.

It certainly couldn't hurt.