Is Taser use really safe or is it being used wrong?

Question

Wheelchair-Bound Woman Dies After Being Shocked With Taser 10 Times
http://news.yahoo.com/s/wkmg/20070919/lo_wkmg/14147512

A Clay County, Florida woman's family said it's seeking justice after their loved one died shortly after being shocked 10 times with Taser guns during a confrontation with police. The family of 56-year-old Emily Delafield said it would take the Green Cove Springs Police Department to court, according to a WJXT-TV report. Note: This kind of thing is happening too much, especially when it is obvious the perpetrator is handicapped. Sounds familiar doesn't it?

You mean to tell me an old woman in a wheelchair couldn't be subdued after the first 8 or 9 times she was tasered?

I think it's a sad statement in our country when cops can't control even a woman with knives in a wheelchair. What about Pepperspray or use the billyclub to break her arms even. There are many things that could have been done. They could have turned her wheelchair over. What has happened to common sense?

Answer 1

It seems to have become an easy way out for police. I read an article about a 11yr old that was tasered because the officer could not maintain control (makes me wonder what if it was a 20yr old) I understand the stress factors of a cop is quite high, but it does seem to be getting out of hand. A cop may be tasering a person with a unknown physical condition. I seen where this was ruled as a homicide. Ten times is a little to much for a woman in a wheelchair I think. More like brutality to me.

Here is something disturbing as well:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2eb_1190058888

Sway_27 might one day have shock treatment...maybe she will see clearer

Answer 2

When CBS News Correspondent Wyatt Andews first started looking into police use of the TASER stun gun a year ago, the weapon had been connected to more than 40 deaths. The company that makes the weapon insisted that none of the deaths was the TASER's fault.

So, says Andrews, "We began asking, simply, how could that be? What was the real safety record of this weapon?"

"Today, in what clearly is a law-enforcement revolution, tens of thousands of police officers see the TASER as a godsend.

"The gun shoots two barbed fish hooks into the body, bringing 50 thousand volts. Most of the time, the suspect goes down--and the cop's revolver stays put."
Today, by the count of CBS News, 70 people have died after being TASERed, including 10 in August alone, Andrews observes. And while the company asserts every one of these victims died of something else, many critics believe the company has not done enough research to know that with certainty, Andrews adds.

The ACLU's count:

Since 1999, at least 148 people in the United States and Canada have died after encounters with police who shocked them with Tasers. More than half of those deaths occurred in the past year, of which 15 took place in northern and central California.

Answer 3

The woman was armed! I'm willing to bet that you've never been in a knife fight? Well, let me educate you. Knives are just as deadly as guns...more so in most cases. I'm surprised the cops didn't shoot her.

And they used the taser INSTEAD. Would you prefer they use that magical bullet that makes the woman all better, and cheery, and can walk again?

Turned her wheelchair over? Break her arms? They'd be tried for police brutality in a heart beat. Everyone would've been like, "Why didn't they just use their tasers???". But, because an accident occured, it's an issue.

Answer 4

While sad that a Taser can cause damage to people, it is still far better than being shot. For many years people wanted police to be equipped with a non-lethal way of taking people down. They got it, and when things go wrong, the media is all over it.
Tasers allow for law enforcement to take down people with far less effort than wrestling them down, and I’m willing to bet that less that .01% of people tased have any lasting negative effects. Compare that to a bullet. The Tasers themselves are a fantastic solution. The fact that the sensationalistic media makes it seem like every person a cop has to talk to gets tased and dies is just making up for their lack of ability to find and report real news.

Answer 5

I think everything depends on the suspects demeanor, for example if one believes that someone is to be killed by a taser they would react prudent; however, if they perceive it as less than lethal chances are they will put up a fight. I would like to see the toxicology report for the above alleged victim prior to issuing my opinion. One item of interest what if the wheelchair victim had killed one of the officers? That police department would be the laughing stock of the FOP.

Answer 6

Most people who die after being hit with a Taser have cocaine in their system.

I don't know anything about this particular case, but in the tests, (which are admittedly controlled experiments, as oppesed to real life, which is not) a person Tased once or twice is fine.

The thing is, if they are being threatened, and they often are, the Taser is not going to kill the person outright.

Shooting them, which is the next step on the escalation of force, will.

Answer 7

YES! Tasers are used in an illegal and wrong fashion by all cops (and it doesn't make a difference if they are rent-a-cops or not). What gives anyone (even cops) the right to subdue someone when they are simply carrying out there US Constitutionally right to question their representatives and/or candidates about their plan should they get elected. Our criminal justice system is "fractured" and it will remain so until the American citizens begin to see the wrongs that are constantly being enforced (if you will). One book that was written in 1976 was Behavior of the Law, written by Donald Black. That book, although written in 1976 is just as important today as it was in 1976! I am not talking about Marxism or any other form of political pressure. The cops are supposed to be there to protect EVERYONE'S rights including the person that asks the questions of their representatives and government officials. It is time Americans do whatever they have to in order to get our criminal justice system back on track. When will the cops begin to taser everything and everyone when they are simply carrying out their rights? People don't even have to be "acting crazy" to get tasered these days either. Our system is fractured and the American people need to regain some control in bringing about real change and not "pseudo-change" that will never bring anything back into focus!
It is terrible when an American's rights are simply ignored in order to bring about personal control of an individual. We must not only question our leaders it is a right we are not utilizing.

Answer 8

Seems like if your in the wrong and confront the police than except the worse>To bad it had to end that way>But that's an exception>How many lives are saved using the taser than other forces>

Answer 9

Unless the person in a wheel chair is shooting at me I'd probably not taser that person, thats common sense.

Common sense in America exists but there are a few exceptions,

there for a lawsuit is needed to punish the county so that they'll be penalized and all law enforcement agencies can train on a taser and anyone who doesn't have common sense will instead have been properly trained.

Answer 10

To answer your second question about why couldn't the police subdue a woman in a wheelchair:

You left out the part about her having TWO KNIVES AND A HAMMER!!!

How about the next time they have to deal with an armed suspect they call you to disarm them and take them into custody.

The old way would have been to just shoot her.

Quit quoting news articles out of context and leaving out the important information. Your as bad as CNN.