taser

"There's one thing that's undeniable -- that if I use my firearm, the chances are that you will suffer extreme injuries or death," said George Gascon, the newly installed police chief in San Francisco, California. "The chances are much greater of reducing injuries with a Taser."

"Some area police departments will change the way they aim Tasers at suspects after the manufacturer warned shots to the chest could be fatal.

Officers from the Bethlehem, Easton, Bethlehem Township and Colonial Regional departments are being ordered to avoid one of the biggest targets -- the chest -- and aim instead for the back or legs."

http://articles.mcall.com/2009-10-20/news/4461073_1_tasers-electronic-co...

A police officer really felt threatened by a 72-year-old woman?  Talk about lazy, incompentant, and power trip.  I'd be curious what percent of 70+-year-old people would die if tasered...  "You feel lucky, Punk?"

http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/06/09/new-video-shows-officer-shove-the...

I understand the utility of a non-lethal method of subduing criminals, but Tasers aren't it, and they're being dangerously overused.  That a police officer would use one on a highschool student because the student was talking on a cell phone indicates that the officer is completly unaware of the deaths they've caused.  The student shouldn't have disobeyed the officer, but if the student had any kind of a heart condition, it's entirely possible he could have been killed.

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/09155/975068-100.stm

"The 5-foot-2, 110-pound Mitchell died after being shot once with a Taser, which delivers a 50,000-volt electric charge. The Macomb County medical examiner's office says an autopsy report has not yet been completed. The Warren Police Department's internal affairs office ruled the use of the Taser was justified, and the officers involved in his death are back on the job. But Mitchell's family is suing the department and the city, arguing there was "no articulable reason" to use the Taser on him."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/28/michigan.taser.death/index.html