Call for review of Taser use

Call for review of Taser use

au.news.yahoo.com

Civil libertarians say a national review of police use of Tasers is needed, following revelations a man who died after being tasered by police could have endured shocks for more than two minutes.

Thirty-nine-year-old Antonio Galeano died after he was shot with a 50,000 volt Taser during a violent confrontation with police at a unit in Brandon, near Townsville, on June 12.

Police initially said Mr Galeano was shot three times, but data recorded from the Taser has shown it operated on 28 separate cycles during the confrontation.

(visit the link for the full news article)

yeah he got it, and they gave it to him.
28 "cycles"...
...two minutes...
...50,000 volts!

camparable to the big E-chair i reckon.

i can't discone the use for tasers... they are a crucial weapon of saving lives, but the use off excessive force and the abuse of power is rank and it was before tasers were around.

au.news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Ironically, an Assistant Commissioner from the same police force was quoted in today's Courier Mail as defending the use of a glock against an offender, because he had known underlying health conditions that may have been exacerbated by the use of a taser. So they shot him a couple of times in non lethal areas, thus ensuring his ongoing well being.

It's interesting that they used a known potentially lethal weapon rather than risk the side effects from a supposed non-lethal alternative.

Either way, I wouldn't like to be a copper in far North Qld at the moment. Not with a new coroner's inquiry about to be opened into the Palm Island death in custody case.