aren't those tasers that they shoot at you with thise hooks inhumane and should not be allowed?

Question

not normal tasers, those i don't love but fine.

you know those tasers but they shoot at you with hooks with wires attached to them. it literally hooks into your body and now the user gets to shock the guy at will with electricity.

this seems so wrong. i can't believe that it was even allowed in the first place. what do you think?

Answer 1

The "hooks" are a quarter of an inch long and straight. They barely go into the skin. The barbs are needed because they are connected to wires that lead back to the Taser. The wire conducts the electrical shock from the Taser to the target's body. The wire is 16 to 21 feet long (depending on which cartridge you carry) and make it possible to use the Taser to subdue a suspect from a safe distance. Without the barbs and the wire the Taser would not be a distance weapon which is part of it appeal to law enforcement.

Agencies that have began to carry the Taser have actually reported a decrease in injuries to suspects and officers. This is because even though the shock delivered by a Taser is unpleasant it allows the officers to take someone into custody quickly and without much of a struggle. This means that their is not much of a fight and less chance of someone getting hurt.

I have been Tasered six or seven times now and used my Taser in the field to take a resisting suspect into custody. I am still very much alive and none of my resisting suspects suffered any real injuries.

Stats on Taser use and injury reduction in the field:
http://www.taser.com/research/statistics/Pages/FieldUseandStatistics.aspx

Answer 2

A taser gun does shoot 2 small darts that are attached to fine wires. These darts and wires carry the electrical charge to the body of the person shot with it. The idea is that the operator of the taser gun is able to control the person from a safe distant. Now it might seem that this is an inhumane device but when you consider that the use of more force could result in the major injury or possible death of someone, then this device might be the lesser of 2 evils. The taser can be misused just as any tool can. I hope that you never have to be on the receiving end of one. Have a happy holiday season.

Answer 3

You are so correct. I think that we should go back to ore broken bones and battered skull caps. I love the baton. We need more beatings. The short 1/2 barbs are so mean. Let's swing a steal rod like a baseball bat at arms and legs. Let's not have a laser to help guide the projectile. Let's risk damaging knees, elbows, and heads. I'm all for it. Then when some chicken sh*t lawyer gets a guy off on a technicality he will still remember what he did... Now, is this what you really want or do you think that the Taser probes going in 1/2 inch and causing minor irritation is a little better than the alternative?

Answer 4

The "hooks" you describe are just slight curves at the end of the probes that ensure that the probes attach to the skin and or clothing of the subject. They don't dig in or penetrate the outer skin layer.

I can't say anything more that what has already been said by other Officers on this post about the Taser. It's an effective tool for gaining compliance from an uncooperative subject. The alternatives are much more painful and cause a hell of a lot more damage.

Answer 5

Being shot with a taser is very uncomfortable, but it lasts 5 seconds and is over, with a substantial reduction in injuries. As far as the barbs, they are tiny, and I never had anyone complain. They barely penetrate the skin.

Statistically, if a suspect and officer are in a physical struggle, 55% of the time the suspect is injured, and 45% of the time the officer is injured. With a baton, there is a better than 80% chance the suspect will be injured.

With the taser, the suspect is only injured 2% of the time, and the officer is not injured. These injuries are rarely from the taser itself, they are from the fall.

They are not perfect, but they are the best tool I've seen since I began this job in 1991.

Answer 6

Its safer for the person than being shot at or hit with an asp or batton!!! It safer for the officer than pepper spray because it always works!!!! If u get it used on u in the first place its because u did something wrong and u deserve it!!! Y should we treat criminals so well when they would do much worse things to a cop than a taser could ever possibly do to them!!! Like kill them or knock them over the head u know do things that actually cause damage to the body!!! Most of the time after the tasering is over there is no difference in the persons body than when they started!!!

Answer 7

The hooks used are straightened #4 fish hooks that are less than a half inch in length. In regards to potential injury, getting hit with a baton would cause substantially more damage, like bruising or broken bones. Pepper Spray has a lasting effect of about 45 minutes.......The pain caused by a TASER stops immediately once the exposure is terminated. The injury from the hooks equates to a bee sting........so no.......I do not think that the TASERs are wrong.....

The only reason that I would think that using the TASER is wrong is by the officer who has become "TASER dependent" and is always reluctant to go "hands on".............

Answer 8

How much electricity goes through them, cuz there are a lot of dangers with electricity. Sure it may not harm most people, or show up just by looking but they are there. People with weak hearts are at danger, electric shock can cause paralysis and scar nervous tissues, not to mention the convulsions can hurt you. Also it gives cops a false sense of safety in the fact that they think they can use it with no risks. Which means they are more likely to use a taser in a situation that doesn't require force. I can't wait until somebody dies from a taser, then they'll have to rethink this.

Answer 9

First of all, a taser is a gun that fires the hooks. A stun gun is the "normal taser" I think you are talking about.

Here is the calculus for tasers:

Balancing the officer's need for something other than a regular gun v. not having the officer be trigger happy with their taser when they could use other methods (spray, physical restraint, etc.).

You figure out how to balance that properly, let me know . . .

Answer 10

Here's a cut and paste I use to answer these taser questions.

As a matter of fact, just to please all the taser haters here on Y!A, I've stopped carrying my taser.

Now, when I'm faced with a lot of those scenarios where I would have deployed my taser, I'll be using my baton and causing injury, possibly permanent injury, not just pain.

For the very few instances when my taser could have saved my life, and theirs, I'll be using 230 grain .45 caliber bullets at 985 FPS to do my defending.

Better than a 5 second taser hit?