More Taser Stuff
From Chris. I’ve been saying for years that police are a bit too quick to use them and that their appropriate use should be more akin to service weapons than, say, pepper spray.
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
Uncle Pays the Bills
 |
|
Find Local
|
Categories
- ATF (769)
- Death Match (10)
- Eminent Domain (225)
- In the bag (9)
- Notes to Junior (546)
- Poker (74)
- Recipes (142)
- Shotgun Noob (11)
- The Airing of Grievances (19)
- uncategorized (47,725)
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:39 am
This is possibly the worst move for TASER. “Uh, our devices aren’t safe, so use them in an even more unsafe manner.” Brilliant.
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:54 am
My line on this, Uncle, is “if it would be unreasonable to use a baton, Taser use is equally unreasonable.”
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Agreed. The problem is not the weapon, it’s the way it’s perceived and used.
I have some inside knowledge on a local incident involving a private security company. Not only was the TASER used (extremely) inappropriately, it wasn’t the person they had been called about!
One commenter at Chris’s blog had a good idea – TASER-Cams. The sensors, electronics, and memory are small enough to be easily added to every model without adding significant bulk, and could be set up to start recording when the TASER leaves it’s holster. You could even add audio and shock delivery markers without any problems.
Set it up so only a supervisor or someone from TASER can access the video, to keep it secure, just like the in-car cameras (are supposed to be).
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
From the perspective of a retired cop, I’m so grateful that I retired prior to the department wide issuance of Taser type weapons because of the liability issues associated with any type of weapon. As an example, working on night shift meant the obvious requirement to have a really good flashlight. The use of a flashlight as an offensive weapon instead of a night stick was one of the topics addressed. “There will be no official policy on the use of flashlights as night sticks because the manufacturer of said flashlights does not wish to be drug through the court system in any litigation should a flashlight be used as a night stick”. Contrary to that statement, flashlights were great weapons which held up well to “stress” and were already in hand, almost as an invisible night stick ready for use when needed.
The dumbest statement to come out of late, our Tasers might be more dangerous than we wanted, or something to that end. Why not simply lift a flag on the pole outside their manufacturing facility, “Sue us, we’re stupid”.