People get tasered. People die. Is there a connection? [YES!]
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Woman, 87, had Pellet Gun before Taser Death
The elderly woman recently killed by the taser who recently died of "heart disease" starting "immediately" coincident with the taser hit, didn't actually have a firearm, just a pellet gun. [LINK]
Well, to be fair, lots of pellet guns look just like real guns.
But this raises an important issue: if police officers are going to to carry tasers, they should be trained to assume that they're as deadly as guns. Yes, it's sometimes (though very rarely) necessary for a police officer to use a firearm. Most cops aren't psychopaths, and don't WANT that day to ever come.
But they seem to be much more cavalier with tasers. Sure, tasers may have lower fatality rates than guns, but the fact that they can cause death should relegate them to "last resort" territory. I discuss my position in more detail in my blog: http://lawblog.legalmatch.com/2010/07/15/dont-tase-me-bro-seriously-i-might-die/
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Well, to be fair, lots of pellet guns look just like real guns.
ReplyDeleteBut this raises an important issue: if police officers are going to to carry tasers, they should be trained to assume that they're as deadly as guns. Yes, it's sometimes (though very rarely) necessary for a police officer to use a firearm. Most cops aren't psychopaths, and don't WANT that day to ever come.
But they seem to be much more cavalier with tasers. Sure, tasers may have lower fatality rates than guns, but the fact that they can cause death should relegate them to "last resort" territory. I discuss my position in more detail in my blog: http://lawblog.legalmatch.com/2010/07/15/dont-tase-me-bro-seriously-i-might-die/