Using tasers on unarmed children or adults? That can't be morally right or legally acceptable?

Question

:except, under the most extreme circumstances where a gun would be used appropriately? What kind of police force do you want?

The silence speaks volumes.

Tasers are a new tool and the use of it should be very limited just like the use of guns are limited. Tasers can kill just like guns and the use of tasers or the result of using tasers on a person cannot be put solely on the tasered person or the individual cop. To argue against my position tells me there are cops who need training in morals, the laws, and the use of lethal force.

I appreciate the need to use tasers under exceptional circumstances and have said so in response to another Q: "Should tasers be banned?" but many of the A's to my Q tell me that it is going to become a tool of convenience and that it will be overused.

I see many false choices betw options on how cops respond to arrest situations. The response method in favor of tasers is based on personal safety of the cop and the cops have the option of proceeding differently. Cops want to assert authority immediately when backing off may be better.

Answer 1

A taser's a great alternative to grappling with a suspect, but it seems like in some cases cops use it only because they're afraid of getting their uniforms wrinkled. There's a difference between somebody who's not obeying an order and somebody who's presenting a threat, but in the mindset of most cops they are one and the same thing. If a guy's merely being verbally belligerent and refuses to obey an order to leave the area, then take him by the arm and escort him out. If he tries to push you away THEN taser him. But until somebody actually tries to get physical with you, you have no business inflicting pain or using a weapon on him. Violence and passive resistance are two different things. History plainly shows that when governments use violence against those who are merely resisting passively, they will always lose in the end. Just look at Martin Luther King and Ghandi....

Answer 2

We are talking about the use of FORCE. If someone is fighting or resisting the police and the police are trying to subdue the person, how can that best be accomplished? Yes, a taser may be potentially dangerous to say an epileptic or a person with a bad heart. Pepper spray can also be dangerous to people with respiratory problems or allergies and can affect bystanders or the police officers nearby. What other alternatives ar ther?

Let us look at what the police had to use in such situations before the taser was available. They had a nightstick, a blackjack and that's about it. Do you think someone who is on the receiving end of a taser is worse off than someone who was struck with a club?

The use of force is not pretty. No matter what method is used. But if in most cases a taser leaves no lasting effects.

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Answer 3

I agree, however if they resist arrest, how are you going to know they are unarmed?

Now we are not talking 3 year-old children!!

I found out in a hurry in Vietnam that a 12 year-old can kill you just as quick as a 30 year-old!

I don't think tasers should be used at all for crowd control as there are far less painful ways of doing that. If a person has not committed a felony, and his crime is being obnoxious, I would think most police are trained well enough to handle them without very much problem without resorting to violence!

I bet that is the type of police force you want in Iraq! Could be wrong!

Answer 4

The whole idea of the taser is to use non-lethal force to subdue someone. When police have to physically engage a person, it increases the risk of injury to both the subject and the officer. It also puts the subject in close proximity to the officer's gun, baton or other weapons.

Most sane people are tired of lunatics like Taser Boy. If the police give you a lawful order, you are supposed to comply. If you don't, then you are leaving yourself open to the use of physical force.

Answer 5

Its a tough call. I'll agree there are times when the police go way WAY overboard, but I've gone on ride alongs before, and many years ago I had some very basic training in law enforcement. When your job is to approach potential criminals, people who might have a gun, knife, etc, and there's a decent chance they're going to be hostile to you, you can't take chances.

Just as you and I (probably) put on our seatbelts every time we drive, a cop is at high alertness every time he approaches someone. When the risk is that someone might attack them, they can't afford to relax, ever. And when they choose to take control of a situation they have to take control 100%. Their own well-being depends on it!

So, they do everything they can to avoid wrestling matches. You'd do the same thing if you were in their shoes...

Answer 6

Ok, lets just say that the officers used poor judgment in tasering this idiot. If they didn't have a form of non-lethal force to use to subdue an idiot. I guess they could use lethal force every time.

Which would you choose? As for me if they did make a mistake, I'd prefer the non-lethal.

Answer 7

the cops have killed about 150 with those. They apply them to people with heart conditions, and the elderly.

They claim it's not as problem.

I propose that every cop who gets a taser has to prove it's no big deal by being provably, even publicly tasered.

We are sliding way fast toward fascism around here.

Answer 8

There are many ways to kill with bare hands.

Tasers cause pain for only 5 seconds and leave far less damage than a single punch would.

Tasers end fights without further escalation.

Yes, it is legally and morally accepted in lieu of allowing conflict to escalate. This does not mean it is always necessary, just sometimes.

Answer 9

The silence is from people trying to figure out what you are getting at. Tasers are a much better alternative than bullets. No permanent damage and the effects are gone immediately. They don't use them on children. Tasers DO get your attention and the results are great.

Answer 10

if someone is physically out of control they can be just as dangerous as someone with a weapon. if people learned to control themselves there wouldn't be a problem.
better to be tased than shot.
i want a police force that will protect me or anyone else from out of control fools that believe that they can do what ever they want when ever they want.....