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.



Saturday, December 27, 2008

Opposition parties call for RCMP taser ban

"Opposition parties call for RCMP taser ban" [LINK]

Make it happen - it'll gain much-needed world-wide attention. Canadians are the ultimate in moderate people. We are a land of Extremist Moderates. A Canadian ban will focus attention on the real problems with tasers - their abuse, overuse and misuse. Also, it might allow time for all the Taser brainwashing to be surgically removed from those affected.

OTTAWA — Opposition parties want the RCMP to stop using taser stun guns after the force refused to reclassify the weapons to restrict use. [Golly - is the national police force of Canada to be accountable to our elected Parliament? Say it isn't so...]

The Liberals and NDP
[Who can form the next government at the drop of a hat...] say the Mounties missed a parliamentary committee’s Dec. 15 deadline to categorize the 50,000-volt electronic devices as impact weapons. Reclassifying tasers would limit their use to situations where a person assaults police or the public, or poses a serious threat of harm or death. [Which seems to be a perfectly reasonable approach - unless you've been brainwashed by Taser and deny the plausibility of all news reports...]

An all-party committee of MPs called for the restriction last June until Taser safety claims are supported by impartial studies. [AND REAL WORLD RESULTS MUST AGREE] The public safety committee also recommended the RCMP revise its policy on stun gun use to include clear and strict guidelines — as is the case for actual guns — that would limit multiple firings.

Liberal public safety critic Mark Holland says the Mounties have done little in response. ‘‘In a couple of those things, they said they’ve done something, but we don’t know exactly what and we’re not given any real details,’’ he said Tuesday. ‘‘That’s just not acceptable. It’s not like they’ve had two weeks, they’ve had six months.’’

The taser can be fired from a distance of several metres and cycled repeatedly once steel probes puncture the skin or clothing. The guns can also be used multiple times in up-close stun mode — a zap likened to leaning on a hot stove — sometimes causing blisters or burns.

The RCMP says reclassifying the taser as recommended by the committee could threaten police and public safety. [Oh utter and complete Bull Sh-t. If lives are in danger, then use your damn gun. That's what its for. Guns can save lives too if used appropriately. And at least guns are not associated with overuse, misuse and abuse on the massive scale that tasers are.]

Sgt. Sylvie Tremblay, an RCMP spokeswoman, said because Parliament is currently not sitting, ‘‘there has been no progress report provided to the committee.’’
[Bull. Parliament was only JUST prorogued a couple of weeks ago. You had plenty of time to act. Time's up.] An August briefing prepared for RCMP Commissioner William Elliott maintains the taser ‘‘is an effective tool with very limited injury rates.’’ [Yeah, what about the last Commish?]

The force says it has restricted taser use, improved reporting on stun gun firings and now requires officers to be re-certified in Taser training each year. [NOOOOO!!!!! Not until the ridiculous Taser training has been rewritten to allow for the real world results.]

Holland says that doesn’t go far enough. ‘‘For an issue that has demanded the national attention as much as this issue has, because of the fact that there have been serious injuries and deaths, we expected a lot more.’’

Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died in October 2007 after RCMP officers repeatedly zapped him and pinned down at Vancouver International Airport. Amateur video of his wrenching final moments was beamed around the world as Tasers became water-cooler talk for outraged viewers.

Others defended the stun guns that remain an overwhelmingly popular tool with police. In all, more than 20 people in Canada have died after being hit with a taser. Mounties across Canada have used their stun guns more than 5,000 times in the last seven years.

[Replacement for the gun, eh? If the police used their guns to kill thousands of Canadians over seven years, then they would have been the biggest band of murderers in Canadian history. Wrong argument? But review what the SG of Alberta claimed a while back - "thousands" of lives saved. What a crock... Tasers are vastly overused.]

[Also, do the math. 5000 taser hits, but most probably in the perhaps-safer 'Touch Torture' mode. So how many direct taser hits to the chest? Maybe 1000? Pick a number. Taser-associated death rate with barbs on chest is what? 20+/~1000 = ~2%? Pick your own numbers. Is the result somewhere in the single-digit range? Hmmmmm? Real world results take ultimate precedence over any wishful-thinking, ivory-tower dreams emerging from the Taser brain-trust.]

NDP deputy leader Thomas Mulcair said the rules for taser use remain unclear. ‘‘The mistake that’s been made over the past few years is to perceive the taser as being electric pepper spray or an electric night stick — something that could control someone who was in difficulty,’’ he said. [BAD TRAINING!] ‘‘Unfortunately now, with over 20 deaths, it’s incredibly obvious to anyone who looks at the situation, that we’ve got to mark a pause for the use of the taser right now, simply because it’s been proven abundantly clear that they’re too dangerous to be used without proper rules. And we don’t have proper rules.’’

The RCMP sent several of its stun guns to the testing lab in response to a new analysis that found some tasers pack more of a shock than the manufacturer promises, raising questions about their safety. A scientific review commissioned by the CBC and French-language Radio-Canada concluded that four out of 41 guns tested actually discharged more electrical current than Taser International says is possible. [You mean - gasp - they're wrong? Say it isn't so!]
In some of the test firings the police weapons delivered 50 per cent more current. The devices in question were manufactured prior to 2005.

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