What is your opinion on Tasers? When should they be used?

Glenda B.

Should be outlawed. IMMEDIATELY.

I have felt this way for several years now..

What started out as a "tool for law enforcement" and which may have been a good idea to use in EMERGENCY SITUATIONS -- where the officer felt he was in immediate physical danger, but was in a situation where he did not want to discharge his firearm --has now evolved into NOTHING but a torture device.

PLUS there is NOT adequate training on taser usage. "Not enough funding."

There have been about 165 (this is from memory - I haven't googled it recently) from TASERS.

That's a lot of people who are SUPPOSED to be walking around today - it was not their time to go.

I have seen many videos of cops using tasers on people who were CUFFED and ON THE GROUND. Officers also use tasers on people who are inebbriated or drugged, so that when they are tasered they are put into various stages of complete "non-compliance" because the electrical shock has incapacitated them even more.

So.... the cops TASER THEM MULTIPLE TIMES because the suspect is "not complying." And then they die. Later, perhaps, in the cell - so the cops always say it was the alcohol or the drugs that killed them - not the taser.

TOTALLY BOGUS.

Bamford1000

Taser should only be used as a last resort when the lives of the public or police officers are put at risk.

Any criminal who goes out armed with a gun or a knife should expect force (including taser) to be used against them.

I do however disagree with the use of taser on unarmed suspects or it's use in situations that can be safely resolved using alternative methods.

lisa m

I think...NEVER This is cruel and unusual punishment.Many people have underlying medical issues that a shock can cause death.

gringo

Banning Tasers would be a mistake, however just like guns, there should be procedures, safeguards, and accountability when one uses them.

Cptainamer

Tasers are another tool and are considered second in the coutinum of force.First is Pepper spray, second is Taser, third is night stick, forth is firearms.

sbshuffle85

In Illinois,

Every police officer that uses a taser has been tased. I personally have been tased, and i feel it its a great tool that prevents injuries to both the police and suspect. Tasers dont really hurt, they incapacitate. its the longest 5 seconds of your life, but when its over its over. the TASER company has been sued for death cases approximately 90 times, and has WON every case, and has settled ZERO times.....the taser is the most studied police tool used except perhaps the gun.

I am positive the taser has not killed anyone. 90 percent of people who die from the "taser" was because they were fighting before hand, had a medical condition, and were overexherted do to the fight, not the taser. The taser doesnt affect the heart, it effects the muscular system.

To another note, pepper spray is 150 times worse, you can see or breathe, and the affects last up to 2 hours, the taser affects last 5 seconds per exposure!!!!!

i am a police officer, and people are scared of the taser becuase they know police use tasers, most people arent scared of guns b/c the odds of using the gun is less.

TASERS SAVE LIVES

by the way, my seargant has had a heart attack, and been tased afterwards....still alive....

mark

They should be used only in self defense when more lethal means are not justified. Stopping a fight between kids would not justify use of a taser.
It should not be banned however. Let us not forget that a taser can be used instead of a gun in some instances.

Eura Freak

They should only be used if they are physically dangerous to Officers.

Plus It also depends on how long the dude tasers him. If he taserd him longer than 3 seconds thats why the kid died, because his body couldnt take it.

Sammy Seal

I believe that tasers should not be used at this time because the wattage is variable and sometimes emits a lethal dose of electricity. Over 200 people have been killed by these so-called "non-lethal" tasers.

When & if the tasers are working properly, they should NOT be used to force compliance, as is the case in the U.S., but rather tasers should be used to immobilize a person assuming an aggressive posture, but is not in a position to kill anyone.

Kael M

Tasers are great at disabling someone, however if i ever get shot with one ill probably track down the cop who did it and torch his house.
Cops use tasers and pepperspray because they have no communication skills, and before every cop is armed with one they should be refined more, i think 1/2 the time they dont switch out of the 50,000 volt phase and go into the less lethal mode after contacting the target.

kpk02

In place of when you would use a gun or physical force. Although I'd be perfectly fine with getting rid of tazers and going back to using force.

This story doesn't say, but I wonder if the kid was killed by the tazer itself or by injuries received because of it. Did he hit he head on something or get injuried in some form from the fall? Or was it the tazer charge itself?

In any case, the alternative would have been to use physical force as the kid came after the police officers.

wllsh

OK....have to leave it up to the officers involved....just like any other weapon, to ptotect themselves

B B

For the most part Tasers are a very valuable tool for law enforcement.Every officer that you see with a Taser has had it used on him/her as part of her training.The majority of the time Tasers have no lasting ill effects.This case is a rarity and should not be considered the norm.You don't judge things by the minority.You judge things by the majority.Why don't you guys quit reading ONE article and calling for a ban on this tool.Why don't you think about the countless numbers of arrests across the country that are made daily utilizing the Taser but never make the paper because they go fine.Look at how many people die every year in auto accidents does that mean that you have sold your vehicles and walk or ride a bike to wherever you need to go?Try getting to go on a Ride-A-Long for a Dept. that the insurance hasn't suffocated them.Hopefully you will get to see the Taser in action and see how truly useful it can be.

STOP BEING IGNORANT!!!!

corvette

I say outlaw tasers....so they have to shoot them instead!

GrimJack

Tasers should be used whenever the police officer feels it's appropriate. If some kid in Michigan, or some guy on I-694 in Minnesota, or anyone anywhere else gets hit with a Taser and dies, that's just too bad. Perhaps they shouldn't have been fighting with the police. And, in fact, if more people realize they could die from being Tasered, then maybe they'd obey the law and not fight with police officers. (Like that guy who's 6'5" and 395 pounds and is looking for any excuse to fight a police officer.)

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