G20 protesters face police with Tasers

Originally posted by En4cer

Yes, in rare instances, people unfortunately do die when they are arrested but NOT DUE to the stunning effects of a taser. There are also guidelines for exposing children, senior citizens, and pregnant females. The concern is due to the subject receiving injury due to a fall after being stunned, not from the initial shock itself.

I would say your 1% correct and 99% wrong, There's plenty of independent medical investigators who have found Taser's can be very deadly from the shock factor.

The initial shock from a Taser is a jolting force that locks your whole body up, which can cause sudden death, lifelong side effects or nothing at all, basically it comes down to playing roulette with human life.

[edit on 2-4-2009 by imitator]

reply to post by imitator


The fact of the matter is, the police don't know someone's health issues beforehand, so using a taser is beyond irresponsible. You don't know if that person recently had a heart attack, or suffers from another health issue.

Tasers are irresponsible "less leathal" weapons.

I understand the drawbacks to the tasers and the inherent danger of zapping someone with that much current but I still think the tactical advantage of the taser and it's ability to offer a police officer a less than lethal solution to potentially violent and life threatening situations outweighs the possibility for harm.

If we took tasers away from the police they would be forced to resort to older more violent methods of controlling unruly suspects, by which I mean those high on drugs, drunk, psychotic, etc.

Originally posted by Shadowflux
I understand the drawbacks to the tasers and the inherent danger of zapping someone with that much current but I still think the tactical advantage of the taser and it's ability to offer a police officer a less than lethal solution to potentially violent and life threatening situations outweighs the possibility for harm.

It's really not that much current, however it does cycle the current along with high voltage, this could make it deadly. We can handle static shock with high voltages and low amps, however it's the quick high voltage/low amp cycle that can make it deadly. It's the cycle....

I do agree with you that it does offer police a less than lethal solution to potentially violent and life threatening situations. However they should be used for just that....not for protest or traffic stops ect...

Originally posted by Shadowflux
If we took tasers away from the police they would be forced to resort to older more violent methods of controlling unruly suspects, by which I mean those high on drugs, drunk, psychotic, etc.

First resort to Taser, then situations become more complicated. The other methods are becoming a lost art and making the cops more dangerous. At least that's the way I see it.

Taser are a deadly and should only be used in very limited circumstances when necessary to protect life or avoid very serious injuries. I also think they should be only used by highly trained officers thats gone through intense psychological tests and should be skilled in other take down methods.