Experts worried about Tasers
Actually, the experts are worried that some choose to defend themselves with a less than ideal weapon:
After the “crazy person” came to her house banging on her door and asking if he could come in, local resident Marty Taylor decided it was time for her to get a gun.
But even after she found out that police had arrested the man on charges of alleged sexual assault, something in the back of her head just wouldn’t let her follow through with it. She really didn’t want a firearm in her house.
When she heard that TASER International was getting ready to release a high-powered stun gun to civilians, though, she thought she may have found her answer.
Late last year, TASER announced that it was entering into an agreement with Davidson’s Inc., one of the largest firearm and accessory distributors in the United States, to market the $1,000 TASER X26C Citizen Defense System to more than 8,000 firearms, sports and police supply dealers across the country.
Although TASER products have been available to the general public since 1994, the X26C marks the first time that a police-grade weapon is available on a large scale.
A firearm is a better choice for a variety of reasons but this isn’t a post about that, it’s a post about this:
It’s cases like Taylor’s that concern Nacogdoches Assistant Police Chief Mike Kelly.
Kelly has publicly defended the use of TASERS and other stun guns used by police officers, but he’s not so sure about whether or not it’s a good weapon for civilians who want to defend their homes.
“Honestly, I still have a lot of concerns,” Kelly said. “But I’m not worried so much about the potential misuse of one of these devices, as I am about someone thinking that this is the answer.”
Kelly said police use TASERS in certain situations, and the devices work well as a “less-than-lethal” alternative to subdue a hostile person, but a police officer also undergoes rigorous training with the device. And officers also know that the TASER is just one tool in an arsenal of options they may have to use.
“Basically, with a TASER, you’ve got one shot,” Kelly said. “If you miss, or you don’t get a good connection, you don’t get another chance.”
Kelly said he would be worried about someone becoming overconfident with a single-shot weapon that is only effective at a relatively close range.
“I sure wouldn’t feel very comfortable if that were my only defense,” he said. “I understand that there are a lot of people who don’t want a gun in their house, and this is a safe alternative, but they need to study it thoroughly and understand that there are limitations.”
Note that the article doesn’t come right out and say that the firearm is a better choice, even though it seems fairly clear what Chief Kelly is implying.
