How Taser inserts itself into investigations involving its own weapons

Re:How Taser inserts itself into investigations involving it... by losteric on Thursday September 07, 2017 @04:18PM (#15195326)

That's a good point, but I think that

> At least before they shoot someone they think twice

doesn't hold in practice. Fight or flight translates to shoot or run, few police have the discipline to think twice and exercise caution despite personal risk.

Tasers were adopted because they are a safer option for both the public and police - situations like this play out with both weapons, but the taser is less likely to be fatal.

I think a more effective change is adjustable tasers, with a lower default power level. For most situations, the sheer shock of being electrocuted is enough of an immobilizer - the police don't need to start with enough power to paralyze a PCP fiend...

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Re:How Taser inserts itself into investigations involving it... by iak8god on Thursday September 07, 2017 @04:36PM (#15195470)

> few police have the discipline to think twice and exercise caution despite personal risk.

Then shouldn't police departments improve their hiring and training practices until this is the case? These are people who are sanctioned to use violence in defense of society. They are widely considered heroes for putting their own lives on the line. It's not too much to ask that they are held to the highest standards of discipline.

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Re:How Taser inserts itself into investigations involving it... by losteric on Thursday September 07, 2017 @05:32PM (#15195942)

Obviously. However, training alone is insufficient - training is the way to trust cops with real guns, but tasers and guns still fill different roles. Tasers are non-lethal ranged weapons, complementing non-lethal close-range (batons/pepper spray) and lethal ranged weapons (guns).

To me, this incident highlights a design flaw in tasers - too strong and too inflexible. Years of evidence already highlighted the training failures in some regions.

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Re:How Taser inserts itself into investigations involving it... by dragonwriter on Thursday September 07, 2017 @05:46PM (#15196047)

> Tasers are non-lethal ranged weapons, complementing non-lethal close-range (batons/pepper spray) and lethal ranged weapons (guns).

All the examples in that sentence of “non-lethal” weapons are, really, merely less-lethal (than firearms); non-lethal is a factually-inaccurate label used for misleading propaganda purposes.

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