[G0atmaster]

wow man, the pirate talk sure screwed up what I was trying to say, lol

[TrashMan]

Taserin' can cause heart attacks, sometimes in people who are otherwise seemingly healthy.  Since they were introduced in America there are o'er 200 reported fatalities.  So every time th' police taser someone there is non-negligible risk wot it will keelhaul th' target.  What're ye lookin' at, and dinna spare the whip!

Doesn't the risk of deadly injury ALLWAYS exist?
Hell if the police jsut used their staffs or fists, is hte chance of a injury that could end up severe any smaller?
A hit on the head-  possible brain damag.
A hit on the back - posible spinal damage
A hit in the groin - ouch...double ouch.

Do ye really think wot hearty did somethin' wot deserved a possible death sentence, I'll warrant ye?  The ornery cuss were bein' down on th' ground an' had six officers surroundin' wot scurvey dog, I'll warrant ye.  How much o' a danger were bein' he really?  Drink up me hearties, yo ho!
As far as I'm concerned this 'ere is police brutality.  The taserin' were bein' completely unnecessary, nay matter how big a dick th' hearty were bein' bein'. 

If his was on the floor and STILL trashing and jerking around, despite several warnings - taser away I say.

[Dark Hunter]

I second what TrashMan said: if the guy was still struggling around after it was quite clear he should have submitted, and had been warned that he would be tasered if he continued, then the police were well within their authority to do so.

The fact of that matter is: if you resist the police, you will get hurt. Everyone knows that. They weren't tasering him because he spoke too long, they tasered him because he was resisting arrest (or resisting removal from premises, or whatever).

If all the people screaming "police brutality" had their way, we'd be living in anarchy by now.

an', OH nos out o' a population o' 300 million 200 people have died from somethin'!!!

QFT.

[Knight Templar]

Like Jay-Z, I too got stopped for doing 55 in the 54.

Also, http://danecookcrazyanticslolololstoversfrenchbreadpizzas.ytmnd.com/ - Don't taze me bro, don't taze me!

[Ulala]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vR-4DawSUM&NR=1

in this one you see an officer look up and smile, maybe almost laugh after they taze him. 

[Knight Templar]

I'd laugh. The kid was pretty funny. Especially the whining at the end.

[Ulala]

annoying bastard or not, i guess i just wouldn't appreciate seeing the law-enforcement officer take pleasure in causing pain. 

[Knight Templar]

They're doing their job. To enforce laws. If they enjoy it, all the better, they're probably prone to do it more effectively.

Really though, the kid was being a prick. He stepped out of line, and wouldn't back down. So he was subdued in fashion. Hell, even the crowd cheers as he gets owned. Lolerz.

[Agent_Koopa]

Aye. The police were more'n justified. The dog was resistin', would not stop hollerin', and was warned. 'E wouldn't shut up, that be 'is problem, by Davy Jones! Fersooth, if he would have just shut up, 'e could've settled things peacefully, an' no-one would need to get tasered, arrr.

[Flipside]

an', OH nos out o' a population o' 300 million 200 people have died from somethin'!!!

QFT.

Well, that's a nice attitude to take, I only hope one of those 200 people who die isn't someone you know. Yes, accidents happen, and I'm not commenting on whether it was deserved or not, what I'm commenting on is a lot of Policemen see the Taser as a 'safe weapon' if 6 cops can't floor a hyped teenager, what did they do before Tasers came along? They didn't shoot them.

I'm all for officer safety, that's what Tasers are created for, the Taser is a weapon, it may not be as dangerous as a gun, but statistically it still means your chances of surviving being shot in the leg by a Police officer is actually higher than your chances of surviving being tasered in it.

I'd also like to add that if I'd said 'Oh no, 3000 people died of something out of 300 million' about 9/11, there'd be all sorts of outcries.

[karajorma]

Hell if the police jsut used their staffs or fists, is hte chance of a injury that could end up severe any smaller?
A hit on the head-  possible brain damag.
A hit on the back - posible spinal damage
A hit in the groin - ouch...double ouch.

Why do they have to hit him at all? He's on the ground. He's subdued. He's not a danger to either the officers or the general public. Why is any further force needed? To get him to stop shouting? He has the right to shout. It might get him stuck in jail on a disturbing the peace charge but that doesn't mean the police are justified to taser him in order to stop him.

I suppose THIS guy should have been tasered too. His offence was the same after all, right?

[Dark Hunter]

@Flipside:
I'm not saying those people don't matter. I'm saying that those deaths are the result of unfortunate accidents, and the police can't be held responsible. The difference between this and the 9/11 attack is that death-by-taser is definitely something accidental, as tasers are not designed for the purpose of killing someone, while the 9/11 attack was definitely done with the intent of murdering people.

What I'm saying is that out of how many taserings have been done (thousands, hundreds of thousands?) only 200 have died? That's an extremely low percentage. Not enough, I think, to call the taser a deadly weapon. I'll admit that it isn't a "safe" weapon. There is no such thing. But it isn't deadly.

[Flipside]

I'll agree it's not designed to be deadly, however, neither is a Baton, it's designed to incapacitate, possibly cripple, but not to kill.

I know American cops go through a LOT of baton training, on how to reduce the possibility of permanent damage etc, a baton, like a taser, can be used to bring down someone who is resisting arrest, or is running away if you're a good shot, but, if you saw someone being beaten with a baton while 5 other Policemen held him down, there'd be no question that it was out of order, occasionally Policemen may want to put the boot it, and occasionally I wouldn't blame them for doing so, but when you are Policeman, one boot is crossing the line from upholder to abuser.

Now, of course, the world doesn't work like that, and I've wandered a bit off course, but the crux is that a Taser should be treated like a baton, it's a non-deadly weapon used to bring the person to the floor quickly, with as little risk to them and yourself as possible, it's not something to be used on an already pinned, but scared or struggling arrest, I'm afraid the Police should really be relying more on Handcuffs and Hogties for that.

[karajorma]

Okay. Lets apply the same logic to beating with a truncheon (Which is what most people who agree with the use of the taser seem to be doing, regardless of any information on which one is actually more dangerous).

Truncheons are also not designed for the purpose of killing someone. Out of the many people who received their own version of the Rodney King beating how many of them died? I'm sure that's also an extremely low percentage too. I'll admit that the truncheon also isn't a "safe" weapon but it isn't deadly too. So I guess it's okay to beat a suspect with one who is lying on the floor?


See what the "Tazer the prick" brigade are missing is that this wasn't just an either truncheon or taser him choice.

[Knight Templar]

lol? Until you can show everyone that Batons can electrically shock people, beating someone with a baton is entirely different than using a tazer.

You have a kid who  won't be peacefully arrested, and won't shut the **** up. So the police are wrong in subduing him? Don't play dumb. This isn't about Police brutality or civil rights. Hell, the kid was an average whiny ass, white male, the popo would have no reason to single him out for anything other than what he is - an idiot who wouldn't shut up. The kid is in a media-centric place where the focus is to interact with a key speaker. By talking out of line, and not yielding, and by violently resisting arrest both by screaming and thrashing about, he creates a problem that needs to be solved. The Cops have a bunch of tools for solving problems. Handcuffs solved a part of the problem, but didn't get him to cooperate or shut up. You can't use mace in a room full of law-abiding people. Shooting him may be the right tool, but it's the wrong size. Which is why God invented tazers. ZAP! No more whining, bro. Problem solved.

Cute thing is, if he'd like, you know, yielded the floor when his time was up, or even just walked out with the police, it would have made a much larger statement than "I'm an idiot, tazers hurt lolol"

[Mr. Vega]

Ah, so only poor, black or hispanic people have the right to heckle anybody. Anybody else is just a spoiled brat, eh?

[karajorma]

Which is why God invented tazers. ZAP! No more whining, bro. Problem solved.

Except of course that he whined louder after he was zapped. So how did the tasering help anything?

[Dark_4ce]

That was interesting...

[BloodEagle]

I'm all for officer safety, that's what Tasers are created for, the Taser is a weapon, it may not be as dangerous as a gun, but statistically it still means your chances of surviving being shot in the leg by a Police officer is actually higher than your chances of surviving being tasered in it.

That depends on where you get hit. If, for instance, the main artery in the leg was perforated, you would probably die waiting for an ambulance.

[BS403]

I don't believe in tasers or an other kind of electric shock. Why? because even a nine volt battery can stop your heart.  If you stick a nine volt battery on your tongue at just the right time, it can stop your heart.  I knew of someone who died this way.  SO if someone can die from a little nine volt battery why take chances with a taser that puts out 50,000 volts?