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, March 21, 2008

Medical Advisory Board Chair in conflict of interest

Dr. Mark Kroll has made a great deal of money (MILLIONS?) from Taser stock options.

At the same time, Kroll has been Chairman of Taser's in-house so-called Medical Advisory Board.

This conflict of interest isn't even subtle.

Who made the decision to arrange things so that the Chairman of Taser's in-house 'Medical Advisory Board' would be sitting on a thick stack of TASR stock options?

The outcome - entirely predictable - would be an approach that the taser devices would increasingly be designed towards maximum stun-effect (to maximize sales) with just barely enough safety margin to provide some mid-term plausible deniability (to hold off the inevitable lawsuits while the stock options are cashed-in).

With respect to Ethics 101, this example is an 800 lb gorilla.



Wiki another definition: ..."plausible deniability" can also apply to any act that leaves little or no evidence of wrongdoing or abuse. Examples of this are the use of electricity or pain-compliance holds as a means of torture or punishment, leaving little or no tangible signs that the abuse ever took place.

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