Slashdot Mirror
Tasers Implicated In Far More Deaths Than We Previously Thought (fastcompany.com)
tedlistens writes: Independent studies have showed that when deployed correctly -- according to "guidelines" manufacturer Axon offers to police -- Tasers reduce injuries among both officers and the people they subdue. But amid a lack of official data about their use and effects, a new report by Reuters found 1,005 incidents in the U.S. in which people died after police stunned them with the electrical weapons, most since the early 2000s. The Taser was ruled to be a cause or contributing factor in 153 of those deaths -- far more than the 24 cases the company has counted. Reuters found that 9 in 10 of those who died were unarmed and one in four suffered from mental illness or neurological disorders; In 9 of every 10 incidents reviewed, the deceased was unarmed; More than 100 of the fatal encounters began with a 911 call for help during a medical emergency. Earlier this year, Axon rebranded, dropping the name Taser International to underscore its focus on body cameras and digital evidence, which is meant in part to add new transparency to fatal police encounters.
In other news, in the hands of Law Enforcement, tasers produced far fewer deaths than firearms!
On a more serious note, I am a little disturbed by the occasional video that comes out showing cops tasing someone over-and-over-and-over-and-over-and-over-and-over-and-over-and-over-and-over-and-over, and low and behold, it turns out not to be good for the person being tased.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
Using a taser on someone who is unarmed? Is that really necessary? I'm certain there are some instances where it's a legitimate option but I feel like it's far more likely that tasers are considered by police to be non-lethal weapons when in fact they are merely less-lethal weapons. The "don't tase me, bro" incident is a perfect example of this abuse of force.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Using a taser on someone who is unarmed? Is that really necessary?
Apparently talking and patience are too much to expect of police officers. I find it hard to believe that many people are initiating physical assaults on cops, it seems like these are cases where a cop decides that just talking things out isn't cutting it, and they need to cuff the drunken frat boy staggering around at 2 am RIGHT NOW.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
What this report is essentially saying is that police forces are comprised of poorly trained officers.
But it should have been obvious already that there is a problem. There have been plenty of incidents where police killed someone unnecessarily. Enough incidents to strongly suggest there is a real problem with police themselves.
While Americans in general have a total disdain towards the lives of their fellow human beings, police should be held to a higher moral standard.
I'm a bit concerned about tasers. On the plus side I'm, well, let's just say I'm of a certain ancestry that seldom has to worry about tasers. But I'm guessing if you ran that much electricity through me I wouldn't be getting back up again.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
After a splashy headline implying a "mounting toll" of death by taser, they strangely enough don't bother to break out the statistics where the taser was actually ruled the cause of death:
In 153 of those cases, or more than a fifth, the Taser was cited as a cause or contributing factor in the death, typically as one of several elements triggering the fatality.
I think we can safely predict the article would have separated out and trumpeted the actual numbers of deaths where the taser was actually ruled the cause had there been very many -- or maybe even any.
Alternatively, being subdued by 30 rounds of 9mm leads to a 99.999% fatality rate. I would say the Taser is an improvement.
If you disagree, please post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like
Don't forget that the police don't like to document that kind of stuff that makes them look bad, so they usually don't. It's rather hard to get reliable numbers as the verifiable ones are statistically only a percentage of the real numbers.
Even if someone is unarmed they can seriously hurt someone high on something, or in a fit of rage; the officers should not be required to subdue the perpetrator by putting themselves in harms way. It's really simple; firearms often result in death, tasers rarely result in death. Choose one.
So, here's your clue for the day: if the police officer tells you to stop and put your hands up, do it. If they say to get face down on the ground. Do it. Resist and you may be lucky to get a taser instead of a firearm - and it may still hurt you really badly or kill you. If it's a wrongful arrest, then you sue the police department later - you can't sue them from the morgue.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
While you are both technically and practically correct, "do as you are told and you might survive" is a message for hostages, not citizens. It seems we are both...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
If you're running from the police, but stop when they tell you to stop, you will get shot.
If you're resisting the police, but stop when they tell you to stop, you will get shot.
If you're using common sense against the police, but stop when they tell you to stop, you will get shot.
The police in America doesn't exist to protect and serve the people, it's to protect the government against the people. It is literally an HR department with tasers and guns.