Mission Statement - De-Spinning the Pro-Taser Propaganda

Yeah right, 'Excited Delirium' my ass...

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The primary purpose of this blog is to provide an outlet for my observations and analysis about tasers, taser "associated" deaths, and the behaviour exhibited by the management, employees and minions of Taser International. In general, everything is linked back to external sources, often via previous posts on the same topic, so that readers can fact-check to their heart's content. This blog was started in late-2007 when Canadians were enraged by the taser death of Robert Dziekanski and four others in a short three month period. The cocky attitude exhibited by the Taser International spokespuppet, and his preposterous proposal that Mr. Dziekanski coincidentally died of "excited delirium" at the time of his taser-death, led me to choose the blog name I did and provides my motivation. I have zero financial ties to this issue.



Friday, April 23, 2010

Bermudas Big Blunder

Bermuda Police Commissioner - "...We have examined significant research conducted in the US, Canada and the UK before taking the decision to introduce TASER. The BPS is satisfied, based on all the research, that the TASER device is safe. ..." [LINK]

The first step on the road to Hell is to believe the fairly tales that tasers-R-safe.

It is slowly dawning on those that are paying attention that tasers can sometimes kill. In other words, they are Less-Than-OR-EQUAL-TO-Lethal.

If tasers only replaced more lethal forms of force (guns), then there would be nothing to complain about. But the cold hard fact is that tasers have been used at a rate that is roughly ONE HUNDRED times as often as police have used gunfire.

The other logical error made by the Bermuda Police Commissioner is to muddle the data between injury and death. This muddle is to the benefit of Taser International because they know that baton strikes can be controlled by the officer to fit the circumstances. But the taser brings a risk of death that is emitted in crude five-second chunks. Braidwood concluded that tasers are more lethal than other options. Even the US 9th Circuit Court called tasers the most intrusive form of force. It's stupid and naive to place tasers below batons.

I strongly suggest that the Bemuda Police Commissioner clarify the official position to match the findings in Canada (Braidwood, RCMP watchdog, and RCMP themselves) to define the taser as a potentially lethal weapon to be used only in the sort of circumstances as recommended by Braidwood et al.

And the Bermuda Police Commissioner should go back to his sources and demand to know why he wasn't informed about the Canadian Braidwood Inquiry. Has he been intentionally misled by Taser's moles?

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