[ziggy]

strange but this afternoon I went for a drive into town and there was a high speed chase with guns and spike belts involved and I got right into the middle of it.The rifle was a large calibre and at least ten cars took part in the chase.No one got tasered at least and the culprit was taken into custody.Should be on the Calgary news this morning.I took pics and video but wont put that on yet.

[snuggles61]

romanP romanP:

I don't understand the controversy over tasers. Sure, sometimes they kill people, but what do you want? The police have to arm themselves against dangerous people somehow. Tasers are effective, and while they may kill some people, guns are far more likely to kill people.

The Ottawa Citizen today said that 22 people have been killed by tasers since 2002. In six years, 22 people have been killed. I would call that a write-off. More people have died fighting in Afghanistan doing something valuable.

The whole this is they're not supposed to die period..tasers are considered to be 'non-lethal 'weapons hence the controversy.

[ShepherdsDog]

pre existing health problems and extenuating circumstances(certain drugs in the perps system) can result in death. The shock itself isn't intended to be lethal, just incapacitating. I don't know about you but a taser would be preferable to a bullet. Pepper spray can be ineffective in windy conditions, due to dispersal and on some people it just doesn't work.

I've been exposed to CS Gas(tear gas), while in the military and it burned like a bitch. But....I've also seen first hand, and know a couple guys, who are unaffected by it, for some reason. The Taser needs to be studied closer, but it shouldn't be discarded as a tool for law enforcement.

[ziggy]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

ziggy ziggy:

$1:

How come you can't pack your rifle?

Because i didnt register them.

great. Tell that to the bear. What a load of crap that registry is.

Ya and im not too sure about bear spray but I think there's a lot of paperwork involved,It has to be registered,your name and address recorded at the place of purchase and kept on file.

It's considered restricted and is registered as a pest control product.

[Choban]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

Tasers are lethal weapons and at this point they should be treated as such. I know myself if I am confronted with someone aiming one at me I'll treat it the same as if they were aiming a loaded pistol at me.

This is a good point. Some may blame the media for exaggerating the cases resulting in fatalities, while the thousands of other taser incidents that end well are ignored. But the fact is that a lot people may react to a taser as if they had a gun pointed at them.

"The suspect in this matter was armed with a knife, and clearly refusing to comply with directions from the officers to disarm," Const. Jacqueline Chaput told a news conference called to elaborate on Tuesday's incident -- the Winnipeg Police Service's first Taser-related fatality.

"That poses a threat to the officers. That poses a threat to other members of the public, and officers made the decision to employ the electronic control device to ensure public safety as well as their own safety."


Before tasers were introduced, alot of suspects would have a gun pointed at them. Do we want to go back to those days. A man with a knife who will not drop it when ordered to by police is asking for what they get.
Before tasers were introduced they would have shot him, I still say 2 deaths in 7 months compared to what could be is acceptable.

[Zipperfish]

Choban Choban:

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

Tasers are lethal weapons and at this point they should be treated as such. I know myself if I am confronted with someone aiming one at me I'll treat it the same as if they were aiming a loaded pistol at me.

This is a good point. Some may blame the media for exaggerating the cases resulting in fatalities, while the thousands of other taser incidents that end well are ignored. But the fact is that a lot people may react to a taser as if they had a gun pointed at them.

"The suspect in this matter was armed with a knife, and clearly refusing to comply with directions from the officers to disarm," Const. Jacqueline Chaput told a news conference called to elaborate on Tuesday's incident -- the Winnipeg Police Service's first Taser-related fatality.

"That poses a threat to the officers. That poses a threat to other members of the public, and officers made the decision to employ the electronic control device to ensure public safety as well as their own safety."


Before tasers were introduced, a lot of suspects would have a gun pointed at them. Do we want to go back to those days. A man with a knife who will not drop it when ordered to by police is asking for what they get.
Before tasers were introduced they would have shot him, I still say 2 deaths in 7 months compared to what could be is acceptable.

I wasn't talking about this specific case. And my point was that, due to national media coverage of any taser death, suspects may overreact to a potential taser strike more than they rationally should, and escalate the situation to one involving deadly force.

Also, it should be noted that the Taser was not marketed as a weapon that incapacitates most of the time but kills occassionally. It was marketed as harmless. It is evidently not harmless. Therefore, it's my opinion that they should only be used when a person arrested is actively fighting the cops (as opposed to passive resistance). Also, in my opinion, there has to be some study and consequent change or procedures of taser deaths in custody. I don't think any kind of neck or chest pressure should be applied directly after.

[Scape]

Man dies after cop hits him with Taser 9 times

This while cuffed in custody and the last two shocks were when he was unconscious. The autopsy showed no drugs in his system.


This was 45 min away from where this happened, and btw he is the 1st cousin to Bell one of the jena 6.

[romanP]

snuggles61 snuggles61:

romanP romanP:

I don't understand the controversy over tasers. Sure, sometimes they kill people, but what do you want? The police have to arm themselves against dangerous people somehow. Tasers are effective, and while they may kill some people, guns are far more likely to kill people.

The Ottawa Citizen today said that 22 people have been killed by tasers since 2002. In six years, 22 people have been killed. I would call that a write-off. More people have died fighting in Afghanistan doing something valuable.

The whole this is they're not supposed to die period..tasers are considered to be 'non-lethal 'weapons hence the controversy.

Truncheons are also non-lethal weapons. A truncheon can definitely be used to kill a person, regardless. A taser is far less lethal than a gun. Of course, we're talking about the police, so there are going to be abuses, and there will be the occasional death. But considering 22 deaths in six years, that's nothing compared to the number of people guns could kill. At least if you shoot the wrong person with a taser, they have a chance of living. Bullets have a tendency to ricochet or just outright hit people that weren't supposed to, and have a much higher chance of killing an unintended target.

[Choban]

In Today's Calgary Hearald

Tasers score high for safety in study
Batons deemed most dangerous
Sherri Zickefoose, Calgary Herald
Published: Wednesday, July 30, 2008
As the national debate over the safety of Tasers rages on across the country, a new study finds batons are causing the greatest rate of injury when used by police during arrests.

The two-year Calgary study, the first use-of-force examination of its kind in Canada, also found pepper spray was the safest tool employed by police to subdue suspects who were resisting arrest.

The Canadian Police Research Centre report examines 562 cases in which Calgary police used Tasers, pepper spray, batons, unarmed techniques and choke holds -- against people resisting arrest.


The 14-page study found Tasers "scored high" in safety for both suspects and officers in Calgary. Though they were used in nearly half of all cases involving suspects resisting arrest, one per cent ended up hospitalized and 87 per cent sustained either minor injuries or no injuries, according to the report.

Batons, on the other hand, used in roughly five per cent of arrests that required force, caused the greatest rate of higher-level injury. More than 39 per cent of subjects were injured. More than three per cent were hospitalized and nearly 26 per cent required outpatient treatment.

"The commonly held belief" that Tasers carry "a significant risk of injury or death . . . is not supported by the data," according to the report, researched by Dr. Christine Hall and Calgary use-of-force expert Staff Sgt. Chris Butler. The stun guns are "less injurious than either the baton or empty-hand physical control."

On Friday, the Saskatchewan Police Commission announced it will not be authorizing the general use of stun guns by members of the province's 14 municipal and First Nation police services until more information is available.

SWAT team members in Saskatchewan will continue to be allowed to use the stun guns.

In Calgary, pepper spray, used in roughly five per cent of force-involved arrests, produced the lowest rate of injury to suspects. More than 80 per cent of people sprayed suffered no injuries. Fifteen per cent had minor injuries and four per cent had what researchers called "minor outpatient" injuries that needed medical attention, but not hospitalization.

Police who used the spray suffered no injury in nearly 89 per cent of cases.

"No use of force technique available to police officers can be considered 'safe.' . . . Every use of force encounter between the police and a citizen carries with it the possibility for injury for one or all of the participants, however unexpected that injury might be," a synopsis of the report reads.

The study is expected to be posted online by the Canadian Police Research Centre at the end of August as part of a larger study on the use of force and restraint expected to be done by 2009.

"The whole point was to look at all subjects and situational features to see where the problems lay in injury and death," said Hall, an epidemiologist based in Victoria. "Use of force by police officers is really, really low. In two years and 827,000 face to face interactions, use of force occurred in 0.07 per cent."

[2Cdo]

It's tiring listening to the uninformed calling for tasers ban because the are not "non-lethal" weapons. they were never advertised as non-lethal, just less lethal. No weapon is completely non-lethal. a good punch to the head could kill a man, as could a rolled up newpaper. But nobody wants to ban hands or newspapers!

[Zipperfish]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

It's tiring listening to the uninformed calling for tasers ban because the are not "non-lethal" weapons. they were never advertised as non-lethal....

from the Taser website, Q&A Section:

$1:

Q: Is a Taser a lethal weapon?

A: No.

source

You're right, CDO, it is tiring listening to the uninformed.

[hurley_108]

Choban Choban:

The 14-page study found Tasers "scored high" in safety for both suspects and officers in Calgary. Though they were used in nearly half of all cases involving suspects resisting arrest, one per cent ended up hospitalized and 87 per cent sustained either minor injuries or no injuries, according to the report.

Batons, on the other hand, used in roughly five per cent of arrests that required force, caused the greatest rate of higher-level injury. More than 39 per cent of subjects were injured. More than three per cent were hospitalized and nearly 26 per cent required outpatient treatment.

"The commonly held belief" that Tasers carry "a significant risk of injury or death . . . is not supported by the data," according to the report, researched by Dr. Christine Hall and Calgary use-of-force expert Staff Sgt. Chris Butler. The stun guns are "less injurious than either the baton or empty-hand physical control."

Great, Tasers carry a smaller injury rate. What are the death rates? I'd rather get my arm broken by a baton than get dead from a taser.

[2Cdo]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

2Cdo 2Cdo:

It's tiring listening to the uninformed calling for tasers ban because the are not "non-lethal" weapons. they were never advertised as non-lethal....

from the Taser website, Q&A Section:

$1:

Q: Is a Taser a lethal weapon?

A: No.

source

You're right, CDO, it is tiring listening to the uninformed.

The rest of the answer;

$1:

However, TASER devices are not risk free and may cause injuries, primarily from falls or physical exertions, so their use should be taken seriously.

Same source

[hurley_108]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

2Cdo 2Cdo:

It's tiring listening to the uninformed calling for tasers ban because the are not "non-lethal" weapons. they were never advertised as non-lethal....

from the Taser website, Q&A Section:

$1:

Q: Is a Taser a lethal weapon?

A: No.

source

You're right, CDO, it is tiring listening to the uninformed.

The rest of the answer;

$1:

However, TASER devices are not risk free and may cause injuries, primarily from falls or physical exertions, so their use should be taken seriously.

Same source

So it was the fall that killed Dziekanski?

[Zipperfish]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

2Cdo 2Cdo:

It's tiring listening to the uninformed calling for tasers ban because the are not "non-lethal" weapons. they were never advertised as non-lethal....

from the Taser website, Q&A Section:

$1:

Q: Is a Taser a lethal weapon?

A: No.

source

You're right, CDO, it is tiring listening to the uninformed.

The rest of the answer;

$1:

However, TASER devices are not risk free and may cause injuries, primarily from falls or physical exertions, so their use should be taken seriously.

Same source

So, it's clear then--contrary to your uninformed claim--that a Taser is advertised as non-lethal.

Man, you really set yourself up for that one. Best thing for you to do now is walk away with what little is left of your dignity. Thanks for showing up though.