Ontario man tazed, dies

[FlamesAddiction]

I wonder how many police favour tasers over diplomacy? Before tasers, police had to rely on wits and tact to deal with disorderly people, but now it seems too many are taser happy.

I realize all cases are different, but I bet there are a lot of officers that just itch to use their tasers. I know I would if I had one.

[hockeycop]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I wonder how many police favour tasers over diplomacy? Before tasers, police had to rely on wits and tact to deal with disorderly people, but now it seems too many are taser happy.

I realize all cases are different, but I bet there are a lot of officers that just itch to use their tasers. I know I would if I had one.

They still have to use their wit and diplomacy. Tasers are not their first response option, they are always talking and always trying to find a peaceful solution.

The only reason people are under the impression that the police are "taser-happy" is because it is constantly reported by the news. The fights ending in broken arms and noses for both police and subject before the days of the tasers were rarely reported in the news.

The guys that are being killed after being tasered are (99% of the time) under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. It is not the tasers killing these people, it is their abuse of their body. These same people were being killed in dog piles when the police would forcefully subdue them. Google "excited delirium" and read about it. It was killing guys in dog piles and the same guys are getting killed by it with the use of tasers.

Every cop in training and who uses the taser iis tased. How many of them are dying? I have never heard of one.

These are an incredibly effective tool for law enforcement and to take it away due to the lack of public education (which the media exploits) would be an incredible injustice. I hate seeing guys die, but at the end of the day, whether they were dog piled or tased is unlikely to have made a difference in the outcome.

For those suggesting to talk more and/or wait it out... Please go on a ride a long, watch cops, go break up a bar fight. Tell me how that works out for you, and then try to justify your lack of action when someone innocent is seriously injured or killed.

Tasers are a less-lethal option, just like a baton or OC spray. They are not for use on armed and potentially lethal subjects. They are for the crazy drunk swinging the stairs, the guy trashing an airport, and the potentially combative or actively combative person. They are designed to immediately stop and drop a threat.

It isn't candyland and sometimes sh** hits the fan. The police have to react immediately and chose what is best for themselves and the public. No one who hasn't been on the job or at least in a fight for their life is in a position to tell them what they "should" have done. If it could have went better, then they already know, because that is what they do.

[Caged Great]

People with heart defects getting sapped by a taser may also cause them to die, not just excited delirium.

Most heart defects are undetected unless you're looking for it (See athletes that have to retire after going through a large battery of tests). People with the defects are very susceptible to heart attacks when zapped, or zapped repeatedly.

A possible death sentence for something minor is not a good idea, even if it helps to protect the cops from harm.

[bcb]

The case in question seems iffy to me. What concerns me more, are the cases we hear, of cops allegedly tasering people already in custody. If the perp. is already down on the ground, and wearing handcuffs, there is no excuse to taser him, EVEN IF he is "disrespecting" the officer by painting the air blue with vulgarity.
This is not an issue of respect for police. To be honest, I'm not really opposed to the use of a taser in the case we've discussed at length. And I suspect that the majority of Canadians wouldn't be either.

What I think people are concerned about is the one "bad apple" cop who might, for example, deploy a taser because the person he had just written a speeding citation to, was acting "belligerent".

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by moon

...to avoid being killed by a cop ... is to not ... act like a jackass ...

I see. "Acting like a jackass" = "Should be killed by cop". That should help with the overpopulation problem. Go to an average high school and you can wipe out half the male population.

Using lethal force, including tasers given they can be lethal too, should be a very last resort for cases where the person is likely to kill someone else. NOT for "acting like a jackass".

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

I see. "Acting like a jackass" = "Should be killed by cop". That should help with the overpopulation problem. Go to an average high school and you can wipe out half the male population.

Using lethal force, including tasers given they can be lethal too, should be a very last resort for cases where the person is likely to kill someone else. NOT for "acting like a jackass".

See, for that post right there, some people would consider you're being a Jackass. Therefore you should get tasered and die.

[hockeycop]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

People with heart defects getting sapped by a taser may also cause them to die, not just excited delirium.

Most heart defects are undetected unless you're looking for it (See athletes that have to retire after going through a large battery of tests). People with the defects are very susceptible to heart attacks when zapped, or zapped repeatedly.

A possible death sentence for something minor is not a good idea, even if it helps to protect the cops from harm.

People with heart defects may also die from fighting with the police in the dog pile method. The only way to guarantee safety when dealing with the police is not to give them a reason to escalate force. Don't fight, don't swing stairs, don't break property, don't act threatening.

To the other comment about taser use on a cuffed subject. This is explicitly against every use of force policy in North America. No way this should ever be the case.

[moon]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

I see. "Acting like a jackass" = "Should be killed by cop". That should help with the overpopulation problem. Go to an average high school and you can wipe out half the male population.

Using lethal force, including tasers given they can be lethal too, should be a very last resort for cases where the person is likely to kill someone else. NOT for "acting like a jackass".

Getting tasered=getting killed?

In an Average high school half the males would really continue to defy cops when warned and threatened with the taser?

You must have gone to a different high school than I did. Most high school kids I know would act tough until the cops got there and then cowered in fear that the cops might call their mommies.

You want to act like a jackass go right ahead, but once the cops get there perhaps its time to listen to them. Again is that really too much to expect from people?