Meriden, CT - ...Officers deployed their tasers twice on the suspect, but they could not penetrate the clothing he was wearing. Police said the suspect, later identified as 47-year-old William Arnold of Meriden, pulled a knife and tried to attack one of the officers. A second officer pulled out his gun and shot Arnold twice - once in the stomach and once in the leg. Arnold was taken to Hartford Hospital where he is listed in stable condition. ... [LINK]
Don't misunderstand my intent. I'm not "in favour" of police gun fire.
The first point is that tasers are ineffective at a rate that is disappointingly, and perhaps (to some) surprisingly, high. And these utterly failed deployments, if they're counted as deployments, tend to wash out the calculated real-world risk ratio inherent in tasers. It's a statistical adjustment worth keeping in mind when calculating the numerical value of the inherent risk of taser "associated" death from internal risk factors.
And the second point is that, contrary to instinct, police gun fire is not always fatal. That's another statistical adjustment worth keeping in mind when evaluating the selling points offered by the slick-talking stun gun salesmen.
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