Is using tasers to *punish an unarmed person that poses no threat to to the police immoral & unconstitutional?

Question

Law enforcement officers that taser to punish are breaking the law. It is an example of the misuse of technology and there is the danger that it become routine to taser people at the whim of the cop.

Tasers scare the hell out of me as much as guns do. Fearing the misuse of tasers by cops makes me fear, not respect,both the police and the gov't that is supposed to protect me from harm. I feel we are turning communities into prisons with cameras and tasers. The use of tasers can kill and efforts to minimize that fact by cops who feel comfortable using the taser at the slightest provocation in a minor police encounter, like a traffic violation stop, concerns me a great deal.

What's your A to my Q? Then comment w/o insults, please.

I hope that use of tasers does not become an epidemic. I just saw a video clip of a very big cop in Warren, Ohio tasering a blond women wearing handcuffs and he tasered her twice. She was on the ground & unconscious when she was tasered the second time. I think there is indeed a problem that many who post here keep minimizing. Another cop was off to the side of the video just watching. The video came from the car cam. The cop doing the tasering did not seem to be in danger or threatened by the women who fell to the ground the first time she was tasered.

I think the cop tasering the woman on the ground was punishing her. That is what it looked like to me.

Even good cops can become accustomed to tasering. Look up the *Lucifer effect and the *Stanley Milgram torture experiments to understand how that can happen.

Answer 1

I think using a taser is ok if the person is uncontrollable. However I don't think it should have been used on that guy in Florida. There was like 8 cops there they should have been able to arrest him without tasering him.Actually,I don't think he should have been arrested. The more people who think that that was ok,the more it will happen. I also think that when a cop tasers someone,endorphins start kicking in and it gets abused.

Answer 2

An officer that "punishes" someone is always going to be illegal since that is not what the police do. Only a judge can render punishment.

I think what you are saying is that the use of the taser in itself is punishment which is not the case. People often fear what they don't know. Try educating yourself about the taser and I think that you won't be afraid of it. Tasers don't kill, gees I'm so sick of reading that!

I rather be tased than sprayed with OC spray. I don't know understand why you have such a problem with the taser other than you believe false facts about them. Why would a police officer using a taser bother you? I guess we should just go back to beating the snot out of people with batons?

Educate yourself. Why is the criminal the victim? A man resists arrest of poses a threat to an officer and a taser is used, and suddenly the criminal is the victim? It always goes back to the person respecting the law, doing what your told, then you won't have anything to worry about. If you aren't a criminal then you will never get tased.

Answer 3

Tasers are not fatal. I had to be shot with the taser in order to carry one. Tasers are safer than impact weapons, as they do not leave any lasting effects. I can not break a bone, or cause a concussion with a taser. There are times I would rather beat the crap out of some stupid criminal, but unfortunately I have the taser now so I have to resort to it. The taser is not used unless it is necessary to prevent injury to the suspects, civilian or officer. Please do some more research before you jump to conclusions about the taser.

Answer 4

Using a taser to punish someone is indded unconstitutional and illegal. In fact, police do not have the authority to punish wrong doers. The merely make arrests. Using a taser to disable a person who is resisting arrest is not punishment.

Answer 5

"Is using tasers to *punish an unarmed person that poses no threat to to the police immoral & unconstitutional?"

Yes it is, but using a taser to force someone to submit when they are acting belligerent and disrupting an event is not.

Taser related abuse is rare. You seem to think it's systemic, but I can think of Meyer's case and another one involving a kid that needed help that was tasered (the latter was clearly a case of abuse). Meyer's case is borderline; I saw the video and I think the cops acted within their right. It was an event and they were interested in restoring order. They were not going to give Mr. Meyer any more chances to rudely dominate the event.

Answer 6

Using tasers to "punish" someone would be an abuse of authority. No different that hitting someone unnecessarily with a billy-club. However, a taser is a method to gain control of a person who has refused to acknowledge and comply with an officer's instructions without significant bodily injury. It replaces having to hit someone with a club.

Answer 7

I disagree with your point of view... I don't think your average cop is setting there thinking "Hmm, this guy is being a jack-*** .... I think I'll taser him to teach him a lesson"... I think they are thinking "Oh Sh*t! this guy is freaking out on me.. ok lets put him on the ground to keep this situation under control".

Granted.. I'm sure there are some that abuse the power on purpose.. but there are bad eggs in every walk of life.. and it isn't accurate to judge the whole by the extreme.

Answer 8

Yes, but tasering someone obviously out of control and resisting arrest even after being warned about being tased isn't.

Answer 9

Tasers only kill those with bad hearts, so if you have a bad heart obey the law, other wise we'll see you on youtube...

Answer 10

If a police officer tazers someone who is just standing around and poses no threat to themselves or others it's wrong. That said, if your swinging and screaming, refusing to get out the car by holding onto the door handle, or attempting to evade arrest, I say tazer.