Should Tasers Be Banned?

Here's a real simple question, should tasers be banned, including use by the police?


edited: to be less slanted

be banned?

EDITED: OP changed the poll wording, so this initial response is no longer relevant.

I expected a flame blast from that! Thanks......

Yeah, better because what many never hear about is the many lives that tasers can (And have) also SAVE!

Sure, there is a risk, and the story can be tragic, but the alternatives, including physical submission techniques, carry risks for the target as well as the officer.

And unless you're prepared to forbid women from becoming Police Officers (I certainly don't think you'd support that), you have to allow a method to overcome physical or situational disparity between officer and suspect, without reverting to the Glock.

Having said all that, I DO think that penalties for inappropriate use of the taser should be increased, and that other methods should at least be considered FIRST. Just don't take away the tool just because it's sometimes used wrong.

Here in the Detroit area we just had a recent case of a mentally ill man who was actually stabbing himself and Police were able to stop him only with a taser since he could be hit quickly.

I worked in "inFernal affairs" for federal law enforcement and I personally hate tasers. I have had so many run ins with people who tase first and think second. The poll is fair, and now we can "fight" in the replies.

(tries to be fair)

And my response was probably a bit too harsh. The news lately has cast such a pall over the use of the taser that it's hard to see the benefits anymore, but they are there.


Somebody recently posted a poll about how "Reactive" we can be here. I had to confess!

:shrug:

Seems straightforward to me. I suppose it could include the wishy-washy "I don't know" option.

so my response does seem nonsensical now.

Too often they use it when they shouldn't, because they've been trained that it's not lethal so no big deal, and yet people keep dying. So unless the training is updated to take into consideration the greater danger Tasers pose than previously thought, and more guidelines are put into place regarding their use, then yes ban them.

The rules for cops, and civilians using them should be tightened. They should not be used as a behavioral control device, especially in situations where it's one unarmed perp versus multiple trained cops - the cops should just wrestle him down and restrain him the old fashioned way.

Tasers do have their place, as a weapon to subdue a perp that's actively dangerous, maybe even bearing weapons - as an alternative to firearms that don't kill or maim quite so often, but they certainly aren't as safe as phasers on stun.

tasers were introduced as a "less than lethal" but also seen as serious and not to be toyed with. After a few years they have been used by some with little regard to the lethal possibility that they possess. Now people are tased without a second thought.

If tasers are to be used, I think that cops shoudl do like with pepper spray, to carry you first have to have it used on you. I have been peppered 3 times and thought long and hard before ever doing it to anyone else (which I luckilly never had to do). Maybe if cops got tasered first if they wished to carry, fewer cops would carry and they damn sure would know what it feels like when they do it.

...where each policeman being certified was tasered. They had medical personnel standing by.

At least you can walk away from a tazer 99.99999% of the time.

A baton to the head is many times more likely to kill you than a taser.

but they can't because they're dead!

I prefer to use the term "torture".

the risk of serious injury or death is actually greater with a "hands-on" physical confrontation as opposed to using a taser. While I'm sure that tasers are probably a bit more dangerous than some people believe and that police should be trained to use a bit more discretion as far as using them, I still think that they should be used.

However, the current situation is completely unacceptable. While I'm sure most cops are responsible, many obviously are not. There need to be far, far stricter restrictions on their use. Tasers are potentially deadly, and need to be treated as such by all officers. Any use of a taser ought be followed up with an investigation, and any improper use should result in severe punishments.

I believe they should be allowed for civilian use, but they ought be treated as firearms.

Where even saying the wrong thing which is your right to free speach , or be gunned down with 41 shots for doinf nothing or be afraid of the police where the times I was brought up we were told they were your friend .

If I have live in a world like this then I don't know if I want to at all .

Not often you see such a split.

Psychological testing isn't just for McJobs anymore.

were cracking skulls with nightsticks twenty years ago. They (and the culture that supports them), and not the tool, are the problem.

The fact is, for many of these situations where tasers were misapplied, the cops wouldn't have used batons. They THINK before they baton, which is not something they seem to be able to do with tasers. The guy at the airport...I don't believe a policeman would have hit the guy in the head with a baton for putting his hands up and backing off. But BZZZTTT ..two seconds, and they have their tasers on the guy. They taze him TWICE, for fucks sake. They didn't even try to calm the guy down.

If they want to keep their tasers, then they should damn well learn how to fucking use them. Tasing ANDYBODY twice is ridiculous. One taze, and your fucking writhing on the ground. Why do you have to keep using it. It's bullshit, and I'm ashamed of anyone who doesn't think so.

it isnt about banning or not. it is about using it appropriately and only when you are going to draw a gun on someone. not as a time saver or to punish someone cause they offended manhood or out of power and abuse of another.

Given that cops are too often quick on the trigger, and that without tasers they would be using their Glocks, I prefer tasers.

OTOH, I know people who have been tasered at anti-war rallies in Texas and New York, and it is a serious and IMHO improper use.

I don't consider tasers or any other non-lethal weapons to be something that should be taken away from LEO's or security personnel. The problem isn't the tools, but that they offer the opportunity to substitute that tool for judgment, skill and training. Sometimes the easiest thing to do isn't the best thing.