Don't tase me, bro! The UN says it's torture!
By Conrad Quilty-Harper 
posted November 25th 2007 4:04PM
posted November 25th 2007 4:04PM
In a month that has seen several people killed after being tasered, a UN committee of ten experts has ruled that tasers constitute torture and are capable of killing. This flies in the face of the manufacturer's statement, which is that any resulting deaths after a taser is used are "attributable to other factors." Intended to prevent officers from having to use lethal firearms, the taser has arguably become well established as just another tool in a regular officer's arsenal for use in scenarios where a firearm would never be considered. As for what effect this ruling will have on the sale of tasers, we're guessing "not much" until all the involved parties come into agreement about the lethality (or lack thereof) of the taser.
+47 for boatboy. If there was any doubt in my mind that Tasers are awesome, it's gone now -- if the UN hates it, it must be good.
Honestly, I don't have a lot to add to the discussion, but I will echo the sentiment that I would rather be tasered than shot or bludgeoned. Some *tiny* fraction of people who are tasered have serious reactions (like heart stoppage or whatever), but that's going to be true of basically anything that's capable of stopping an aggressive person from hurting the officer.
I wonder, if your heart stops while being tased, will being tased again, start it back up?
Agreed. Check out an example of that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMaMYL_shxc
I don't think a lot of people understand "use of force". Police are given tools that are only to be deployed to control a situation or stop a threat. Officers are only supposed to use the amount of force necessary to control a situation. Any time an officer uses force, whether it is hands, mace, or baton it is only supposed to be used to control a situation or stop a threat.
Of course a tazer can be used as a device of torture, but so can water.
It is part of police officer training to learn a use of force continuum. This is method of choosing the right amount of force for a given situation. If a perpetrator is trying to kill an officer or a civilian, the proper amount of force would be deadly force, which may include a firearm. If the perpetrator is simply resisting arrest for a misdemeanor offense, the proper use of force may be anything from joint manipulation and take downs to mace, to a tazer.
Using any of these devices would be consider torture if used beyond the scope of controlling a situation or stopping a threat.
concise
concise
there are already studies being made about this and the aFFECT on the human brain!
http://www.spymac.com/details/?2308382
Yes the UN wants all police to use "Harsh Language" instead of taking action. Yea please UN what are you going to do about all the torture and atrocities going on in Africa?
Once the media finishes brainwashing us tasers will be just as effective as a sidearm to most people. They have to show people dieing on tv and being tortured and screaming enough first though. What good is a docile wage slave zombie with a bullet hole... but with the fear of being electrocuted and possibly killed by pre existing medical conditions sure sounds good on paper to the neo pigs.
The Taser is not non lethal, it is merely less lethal. Law enforcement should be trained to use the device in accordance with rules set forth for use of extreme and/or deadly force. The mitigating factor is that knowing that the discharging of the device is far less likely to result in death. This can lead, subconsciously, to overdependance on its use. There is little way to hamper this, except by following the same guidelines for weapon discharge the firearms carry. Officers who use their sidearms are required to go through procedures to justify their use (as opposed to television and Hollywood trigger-happy police).
A weapon is a weapon, regardless of the levelof lethality. Accountability needs to be maintained regardless of the perceived or actual danger inherent in its use. Is the taser statistically less lethal? Most assuredly so. Does that imply that it should be used with disregard to public safety, or without consequence? Most assuredly not.
Guidelines need to be established and followed regarding the use of non- and less-lethal weaponry that are in accordance with lethal weaponry in order to stem the tide of wanton misuse and abuse of said tools. Non- and less-lethal weaponry should be viewed only as a means of reducing the number of deaths inherent in apprehending suspects who would only be stopped with the use of deadly force, and not as a means for more easily subduing persons for whom use of deadly force was not formerly authorized. Always, in times of doubt, or moments of crisis it will arise that an individual officer or law enforcement agent will need to make judgment calls regarding such use, and it can be hoped that experience and extensive training will prevail and will tend toward the use of less- or non-lethal force, but with the aforementioned accountability that has equal weight to lethal force and takin ginto account situational merit and testimony of eye witnesses.
Screw the taser, they need to go back to shooting people.
LoL. Expect news from courts: "This guy didn't die because I shoot him! He died because his head had a hole!! His death is attributable to other factors, namely that he couldn't live with hole in his head. But his inability live with hole in head has nothing to do with my shooting!!!!!"
The problem isn't the tasers, its the few dumb police officers that abuse and overuse them in every situation. Cops are so lazy these days they can't even arrest a woman in a wheelchair without tasing her. lol, And don't act like there hasn't been an abuse of the taser where someone who isn't resisting arrest being tasered.
Tazers are just weapons. Like guns, and guns do not kill people, people kill people. (Remember that slogan) And ignorance is a leading cause of why a few contract cops turn into power hungry and aggressive individuals. They believe that they are acting in the best interest of society as a whole however their actions often cause grieve for the better officers. In Canada we pride ourselfs on the history and importance of the RCMP, however the brutal (accidental) slaying of a polish man has tarnished the badge of every police officer. People, in authority must exercise restraint in the use of force. Be clear on your objective and evaluate the possible impact of the use of force. Policing airports, campuses, highways and schools does not require a SWAT team mentality.
I personally, and I think a majority of people agree with me, like the rampant use of tasers when they are not justified. What bothers me the most is that I don't know just how many misuses are not being reported or are being covered up by these same cops that misuse the force. I've seen my local cops get out of their car with their tasers drawn, I thought the taser was supposed to be used as a 'second-to-last' resort next to the gun. I thought it was supposed to be used when a subject was being violent towards the office or other people or had the intent to harm himself, from what I've seen cops taser then ask questions, and that seems to be the norm now.. there is a problem there and it needs to be addressed by holding the officers that do these things accountable for unlawful/unjustified use of force. These tasering will continue to happen until somone starts holding them accountable.
It is kinda, but I have seen cops come out of cars with guns drawn if they think the suspect might be armed.
edit.. that's supposed to be 'Don't Like the rampant..."
In other Breaking News: The UN also notes that water can be used as a torture device and is capable of killing.
people still care what the un says? my wife has one of these and if you mess with her, she will put you down. everything is torture now a days, just ask around. boo hoo.
I hope if I get tasered, it's somewhere where there's ambient disco music in the background (maybe like Barnes & Noble cafe), so people from afar think I'm getting down and boggying, rather than embarrasingly writhing, contorted in pain, on the floor for failure to put down the green tea as instructed by security.
Saw this on a T-shirt, fits pretty well here.
Top 10 U.N. Slogans
10. If an impotent, bloated bureaucracy can't solve it, then it's best left festering.
9. You can't spell "unethical" without U.N.
8. Genocidal dictators, beware our non-binding resolutions.
7. Bringing peace to our world (actual results may vary).
6. Tomorrow's corruption today.
5. Raising pointless squabbling to an art form.
4. We take bribes so you don't have to.
3. Try our world famous cheesy fries
2. If troubles abound, we'll be nearby doing nothing.
1. If this is an emergency, please hang up and dial America.
Guess you won't have a career in comedy then, oh well, there's always the job of claims adjuster.
When the UN considers waterboarding torture then tasers stand no chance. Seriously, have you seen waterboarding? It works because it scares the poop out of you. I had worse done to me in college. Piss on you all who think most people who get tased don't deserve it. Even if the cop is wrong don't argue and do what they say and 99.9% of time they'll take it easy on you. Watch all the episode of cops where the cop says to get on the ground, guy runs his mouth and doesn't do it and then cries and says, "I didn't do nothin'" when he get tackled to the ground.
So much for the internet being a place of logical debate.
D Koenig:
Kudos for showing a logical and informitave argument. and scratch the above for you.
Waiownsyou:
No disrespect intended, but the amount of volts do not determine the amount of letahlity there is in any electricty, short of literally cooking you. It is the amount of amps that can kill someone, depending on wether or not there are enough to disrupt the two nodes in the heart that send electric pulses through it.
Misha Lockton:
If you are a U.S. citzen, i am sorry that that is the way you feel about the volunteers who are sacraficing themselves for your liberty and freedom.
If you are a citizen of a different country, i am sorry that you feel that way about the military that was the pillar of strength that saved europe, asia, africa and perhaps the rest of the world from succumbing to the nazi and imperialist movements.
you should decide who is the more "hot-blooded" before making any more comments of that strain.
On the whole, i think that tasers are a neccesary evil that should be banned when crimnals stop fighting back with intent to kill, and when news coverage stops proclaiming every use of police hand-to-hand force as brutality.
dvorak.org/blog
I believe that the keyword here is 'aggressive'. The problem is that since a taser doesn't usually kill you, police officers are using it more than is advertised. There is a simple rule commonly used with a grain of salt when accurate statistics are not available. It says that 20% of cases are known while 80% are not. Ask experts if you find my estimation outrageous. Check that against the known cases to see if they were justifiable and you will realise that the truth is ugly.
The problems is that we expect officers to be responsible, caring, blah, blah,... but they are humans. Humans always choose the easiest way to do task. Zap!
How about the U.N gets more outraged about torture in ummm, Darfur!
I bet you don't know what the hell is going on in darfur, why it happened/happens, or even where it's located.
If you don't think Tasers are missused, check this out.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=fae_1195587967
The internet will never be a place of logical debate :P
Russia saved europe
you guys were late to the party there
Tasers are being used as a complience device and in extrodinarily stupid occasions
see
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_yorkshire/7096456.stm
http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=23278&comview=1
Binge drinking is bad m'kay.
Of course the manufactureer is downplaying the danger of the taser! They want profits!
And "Generic", the police aren't human. They're thugs in uniform. I think most cops who use the taser do so with malice, and with the intent to harm the perp.