Should police officers be allowed to use tasers on citizens?

Question

I have read numerous news stories across the country of police officers tasing citizens for minor reasons. If a suspect has a gun, then obviously a police officer is going to use his gun also. So why use tasers to electrocute citizens for minor reasons? According to Amnesty International, more than 144 citizens have died already after being tasered by police.

Answer 1

only if we get to turn around and use tazers on the officers that are harassing us....But really, NO.....a jolt of electricity of any voltage is harmful to the body....theses "officers" are sworn to serve and protect...I have seen them needlessly send jolt after jolt after jolt into a suspect, even an unarmed one. Besides I do believe most states have done away with the electric chair as a means of execution. Why don't we just give them a tranquilizer dart gun and feel good while being arrested, cuffed, and beaten

Answer 2

Please cite your source. What are the "Minor reasons"?
I did a quick search and an article from a year ago list "103 Taser stun gun-related deaths in the United States and Canada between June 2001 and March 2005."
That is over a period of four years and covers two countries.
Yes police should be allowed to use Tasors.
Police officers aren't just handed a taser and allowed to go buck wild they have to go through training. That training includes being zapped with the taser so they know what it feels like and what it can do.
As long as the officers are properly trained then there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to carry them. Police are responsible for maintaining order and the safety of the communities they serve. Being able to utilize a taser allows them other options if normal compliance maneuvers do not work.

Answer 3

It depends upon what you consider "minor reasons." A gun is not the only reason an officer would need to incapacitate a "citizen." The question can only be answered on a case by case basis. If the citizen - unarmed - is beating another citizen and won't stop despite police requests, then a taser would be appropriate to incapacitate him - the officers aren't required to get into a brawl to stop violence. If the citizen is merely mouthing off to a police officer - then such use would be patently unlawful. There is a huge spectrum in the middle that can't be answered with a "pat" answer applicable to all.

Answer 4

Yes, police should be allowed to use tasers, after training. Most police would rather use a taser before a gun. Not all citizens stop when told to or comply with police when confronted.

Answer 5

Depends on what these "minor" reasons are. Jaywalking no. Theft, assult, resisting arrest then yes. People breaking the law deserve a tougher treatment. That's why I can't be a police man. A man tries to run away and I think he should be shot...a taser seems like a better option.

Answer 6

Yes, police officers should be allowed to use tazer on citizens. When you look at the alternatives, tazer make sense. They are often used in cases where the officer would need to fight with a person or attempt to otherwise physically subdue or apprehend them. In a recent case, a woman refused to get out of a running vehicle. If the officer had tried to fight her in the vehicle, he could have been seriously injured if she put the vehicle in gear (happens all to often). Tazers are normally non-lethal when compared to other uses of force. They quickly incapacitate the suspect so the police can complete the arrest.

Answer 7

of course....because there not citizens...there criminals.........maybe you read stuff that wasnt true.....but i think they would have a good enough reason to tase someone... if they died they shouldn't been doing whatever they did in the first place to get that taser.....like if a person went to hit the police....or something like that...now that diserves a taser.. even if it means a hazard to the health...doubt it that police tased someone for no reason to kill them...but it could happen but i seriously doubt that 144 of them was innocent..and died for no reason....i dont think the police ment to kill them if they died..because after all...its self defense.

thats whats wrong with he world....not enough punishment..for the criminals....because you have to soemtimes force the criminal to stop...therefore using a taser......like the death penalty...why dont they just lethal inject every single person in the prison except for the one that has only minor charges.....because waiting on the death penaly list for years....is retarded and out of the question..because the taxes are going for idiots htta murder and rape and what not..cuz personally i dont think taxes should go to idiots thats in prison for the rest of their lives..so just stick them with the needle and get it over with because each person thats gone from the prison helps a lot more than feeding him with tax money....so in my opinion yes tasers..are necessary...dont worry about it...just stay out of trouble and you wont get tased

whoever is agianst tasers.....is a criminal orjust wants the police to suffer for the idiots that do the crimes

Answer 8

I think you have a better chance of living from a taser than a gun. I vote taser. It's probably better just to stay out of trouble though. Then you don't have to worry about either.

Answer 9

Well it all depends if the person is acting in a threating manor. I was once almost tazored by the police and I wasnt doing anything. Some police are crooked and get excited from misusing their power, but some are actually out there to protect and serve.

Answer 10

Yes. Usually if a suspect has a weapon like a brick or something, we can use tasers instead of shooting them with our guns like we normally would.
Or sometimes people get out of control and will not comply and instead of spraying them with pepper spray, they get tazed.
I've been tazed before and it ain't that bad. Once they stop, the pain stops.