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Peppered through different threads have been comments, pros and cons, about the use of tasers to subdue and/or to help protect an officer in a dangerous situation.
There was a recent situation in VT where a trooper used a taser to subdue a person who was just coming out of a seizure -- apparently, from news articles, individual was struck in the chest - died - autopsy stated death was a result of the taser - this link is the latest update.....
I suspect that this case/situation is going to be closely followed by many law enforcement officers / AG offices, etc., as it is now being investigated as a homicide.
Thoughts? opinions? Is being tased in the chest as opposed to somewhere else on the body more dangerous?
Peppered through different threads have been comments, pros and cons, about the use of tasers to subdue and/or to help protect an officer in a dangerous situation.
There was a recent situation in VT where a trooper used a taser to subdue a person who was just coming out of a seizure -- apparently, from news articles, individual was struck in the chest - died - autopsy stated death was a result of the taser - this link is the latest update.....
I suspect that this case/situation is going to be closely followed by many law enforcement officers / AG offices, etc., as it is now being investigated as a homicide.
Thoughts? opinions? Is being tased in the chest as opposed to somewhere else on the body more dangerous?
No, I've been TASED 3 times, twice in training and once (by accident) on the street. Research "Excited Delerium", it ties in, very heavily as to why some people die when being TASED. It makes sense, but then again, I'm no Doctor.
It is my understanding that a civil action, wrongful death, has already been filed and I believe, is being settled out of court -- a far as the homicide investigation, I will be truly surprised if charges are NOT filed in connection with the case.
It is my understanding that the officer[s] were advised that there was a medical issue going on rather than the victim simply being combative or 'not listening'.....and that information was ignored, unfortunately. Even if it was a truly concerning situation, could using a taser elsewhere on the victim's body subdued him enough but not endangered him physically?
Tragedy for everyone --and perhaps this situation could have been handled in a different manner.
We really, really, need more "Crisis Intervention" teams (CIT) on our police forces these days. These officers are specially trained in dealing with the mentally ill.
We also need (IMHO) to be investing in mental health services in this country. So many police shootings or other deaths involve someone having a mental health crisis. Maybe as a result of the economy, maybe not.
Our officers are generally trained to deal with criminals; not patients, the depressed, the schizophrenic, etc.
I don't want to see the mentally ill killed in the street, and I don't want officers hurt or killed either. If training is not the answer, what is? (no snark, genuine question)
It is my understanding that a civil action, wrongful death, has already been filed and I believe, is being settled out of court -- a far as the homicide investigation, I will be truly surprised if charges are NOT filed in connection with the case.
It is my understanding that the officer[s] were advised that there was a medical issue going on rather than the victim simply being combative or 'not listening'.....and that information was ignored, unfortunately. Even if it was a truly concerning situation, could using a taser elsewhere on the victim's body subdued him enough but not endangered him physically?
Tragedy for everyone --and perhaps this situation could have been handled in a different manner.
It is your "understanding" or you know this for a fact? Where you there? Did you hear what was told to the police? How do you know exactly what was told to the police? You know people do lie to the police? Did the police even hear what was said to them (I could write a thesis on this)?
Do you know if the police had any prior contacts with this person? Medical issue and not being combative? How do you tell the difference? Your an expert at telling the difference between the two? Were the people there an expert at knowing the difference between the two (no, the police aren't and ARE NOT, contrary to public opinion, trained in such matters)?
I could go on and on and on. Don't base an opinion on a newspaper article, which I can gurantee has left out an awful lot of information needed to make an accurate assessment of the situation.
Yikes Phil! I specifically stated it was my understanding which is certainly different than saying "I know" -- I am simply sharing an article / situation that is going on in my area. It has become controversial at best; there have been groups that have been asking the governor to put a temporary stop on all use of tasers, which, is not going to happen.
I can only speculate that should this case, currently being investigated as a homicide, result in formal charges and ultimately a trial, all elements/witnesses etc., will be presented.
Until then, at best, I can only state that it is my understanding, as well as the community's understanding, based on the news and written articles.....
I personally have not formed an opinion/decision at this time other than to concur with NLVgal that having additional crisis intervention training / staff could hopefully help negate situations such as this one.
Yikes Phil! I specifically stated it was my understanding which is certainly different than saying "I know" -- I am simply sharing an article / situation that is going on in my area. It has become controversial at best; there have been groups that have been asking the governor to put a temporary stop on all use of tasers, which, is not going to happen.
I can only speculate that should this case, currently being investigated as a homicide, result in formal charges and ultimately a trial, all elements/witnesses etc., will be presented.
Until then, at best, I can only state that it is my understanding, as well as the community's understanding, based on the news and written articles.....
I personally have not formed an opinion/decision at this time other than to concur with NLVgal that having additional crisis intervention training / staff could hopefully help negate situations such as this one.
First, if you want an opinion, I believe tasers will be banned for police use, sooner or later. The issues surrounding them have become very complex and are going to be too great to deal with. Which, will, result in a mass increase in officer involved shootings and thus, suspect deaths. All because of some people who do not like the use of tasers.
In so far as my personal departments policy on tasers. Yes, I carry one every day and have used it many times. Many times it has saved me from going "hands on" with a suspect. That means, I didn't have to "beat the hell" out of someone to gain compliance. Please remember, when you strike someone with fists, elbows, knees, feet, etc injury generally occurs; sometimes very large amounts of injuries.
Not too mention, as I stated, I haven't had to use deadly force, because a taser took care of the situation and stopped the problem, before it escalated there.
Second, we are "supposed" to aim slightly lower then the chest area, just for this specific reason. However, please under stand this maybe difficult to do at times. What if only his chest if visible to me? Stress to the situation makes people (yes, police officers ARE people, not Supermen/women) revert to training. Training to me means, "Aim for center mass." The chest area is the largest area of a person and thus, "center mass." No matter how much training you have, large amounts of stress can degrade your training to its lowest common factor.
Finally, I stated what I did, because I didn't see anything in the original article you posted, which backed up some of your suspicions. You clarified by saying, "What I've heard around my community." Ok, so just rumor and innuendo. No substantive facts; which, brings me to another point: People read, hear, and god see something on TV an they automatically think that is the truth.
I jump into things, as quick as possible, to shut that line of thinking down. Therefore, it doesn't go viral all over the place, based upon untruths.
My apologies if I offended you. It was not and is never not, my intention. My ONLY intention is to educate people and make them think outside of their personal feelings.
Our city has a taser related death a couple years ago but it was cleared. Phil what makes you think the taser will be banned? Has your city had any problems? And your completely right if it is banned, police shootings will go way up.
Our city has a taser related death a couple years ago but it was cleared. Phil what makes you think the taser will be banned? Has your city had any problems? And your completely right if it is banned, police shootings will go way up.
Public opinion. My city hasn't had any problems, however this case and others, as Sugarmaple pointed out, will make things worse.
You can have 2 million taser arrests all go great. 1 go wrong and, of course, certain groups will scream, yell, cry and moan. The ones who cry the loudest will get heard. The general public has no clue as to what is going on. They will agree with whatever minor issue which occurs. Hey, the police beat up EVERYONE. "I hear that at the barbershop."
So, they will jump on the bandwagon and force politician's to ban their use. San Francisco has REFUSED to allow their officers to carry Tasers. Why? Well, the liberal public opinion is soon coming to a city near you.
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I specifically stated it was my understanding which is certainly different than saying "I know" -- I am simply sharing an article / situation that is going on in my area. It has become controversial at best; there have been groups that have been asking the governor to put a temporary stop on all use of tasers, which, is not going to happen. 
