French Taser chief hints at flying shockbot

According to a recent report, the French head of stun-gun maker Taser has plans to create a "mini-flying saucer like drone which could also fire Taser stun rounds on criminal suspects or rioting crowds." Antoine di Zazzo, fervent proselytizer of the electroshock weapon, is cutting through the is / isn't torture noise of recent UN reports with the news that the non-lethal device is about to make a serious splash in France, with president Nicolas Sarkozy promising to hand one to every policeman and gendarme. Of course, once di Zazzo's army of tiny, hovering stun machines take to the air -- sometime next year -- the police probably won't have to worry about brandishing their weapons.

[Thanks, Craig B.]

[Flashpoint @ Nov 30th 2007 10:47AM]

As much as I want to write a comment starting with: "Well I for one welcome our flying robotic,taser wielding overlords...." I will not because I know I'll be LOW RANKED so instead, I'll just say:

"Tasers don't kill people, it is the UNASSISTED FALL !"

[Tangston @ Nov 30th 2007 10:54AM]

Anyone ever played Half-Life 2? Kinda reminds me of those flying things that are so obnoxious.

Of course I'm sure the real ones will be more than just an annoyance...

[John @ Nov 30th 2007 11:07AM]

Damn, you beat me to it. I was thinking that as soon as I read this :). He probably played and was like "I must have these".

[me @ Nov 30th 2007 11:16AM]

police state here we come....

[Nick4gh @ Nov 30th 2007 2:20PM]

[Future police officer to internal affairs investigator]

"...that's correct, Sir; I attempted to incapacitate the suspect with the airborne sentry in 'tazer-mode' and apparently accidentally switched the unit onto 'deadly-force-mode'. I didn't intend to kill him, but I thought he had a weapon...

[jroc @ Nov 30th 2007 7:54PM]

Exactly, and nobody on here welcomed my comments when I said the US is turning into a police state.

[Benn @ Nov 30th 2007 11:23AM]

Just a quick question : What is Jean-Marie Le Pen doing in those Tags???!!!

[Flashpoint @ Nov 30th 2007 11:24AM]

Pretty soon we are going to have robots with itchy trigger fingers which shoot-to-kill and then claim later: "Well I thought he had a gun"

[andy @ Nov 30th 2007 11:25AM]

You guys realize that this is the same place where it's "normal" for 100 cars to be torched daily in the evening riots, right?


They obviously need to make some changes and enforce them.


They could just shoot all the rioters/troublemakers instead. While that would solve some problems quick, fast, in a hurry, and permanently, I think you guys would whine about that too.

[superfresh @ Nov 30th 2007 11:36AM]

Because we can't solve the world's problems without the ability to shock people from the air.

[trankzen @ Nov 30th 2007 2:04PM]

Who said it was normal?
"Normal"? Nope. But "predictable"? (And "predicted"?) Hell yeah, given life conditions and unemployment rates in major french suburbs.

As for "making changes" and "enforcing them", that's exactly what the authorities promissed during riots in 2005. They said they would reform the social integration model and provide more opportunities in underprivileged areas. But instead they didn't do anything, except sending out more cops and cutting off subsidies to associations of social interest.

As a surprising outcome, the situation worsened, and here we are today.

Shooting rioters (or tazing them using drone UFOs for that matter) would not make the problem magically go away, au contraire. That's just sweeping under the rug.

[Wwhat @ Nov 30th 2007 1:15PM]

Currently there are riots, and the rioters shot at the police, so now the cops went in armed with shotguns and SMG's.

Incidentally, I think tasering people that are properly pissed and in groups is the dumbest thing you can do, I know if I got tasered by some cop he better be well armed for the rest of his miserable life..

[Cameron Campbell @ Nov 30th 2007 2:03PM]

Or, you know, you could try and create more jobs, make the second and third generation French citizens who happen to not be of european descent feel slightly more welcome than genital warts, improve living conditions in the banlieu..

Nah.. TAZER UFOS FOR EVERYONE!

[jbodar @ Nov 30th 2007 3:24PM]

Wwhat-

But that's exactly why this is brilliant! How would you know which cop was controlling the saucer that tazered you? Would you just go around attacking all French police?

Although perhaps a better answer is: if you don't want to be tazered, don't run around rioting. See how that works?

[Wwhat @ Dec 1st 2007 9:34AM]

Yeah, attack all of them, why not?
(I'm not french, nor a a freaking rioting muslim btw)

As for treating them nice, you go and live with them and find out who keeps trying to be nice, and who never tries.

[Rususeruru @ Nov 30th 2007 11:28AM]

Don't tase me, UFO!

yeah not the same ring... I wonder how many of these will wind up tasing faces and heads.

[Rainier @ Nov 30th 2007 11:28AM]

UFO!!!!

[Matthew Hilario @ Nov 30th 2007 11:33AM]

Marvin the Martian is now employed by the police.

[superfresh @ Nov 30th 2007 11:34AM]

"mini-flying saucer like drone which could *also* fire Taser stun rounds on criminal suspects or rioting crowds."

Just create a mini-flying saucer. That'll be good enough.

[NewUsersUser @ Nov 30th 2007 11:38AM]

Knowing the french the saucer probably wont shoot a taser at all, a little white flag will probably just pop out the top

[Nobody @ Nov 30th 2007 1:02PM]

Knowing Nicolas Sarkozy, the saucer will probably shoot more than one taser at the same time.

[Brent @ Nov 30th 2007 12:12PM]

I think it's time these rioters got organized and started another revolution or went the hell home. Vive le guillotine!

Oh, and I'm against 'crowd control' robots...

[Wwhat @ Nov 30th 2007 1:16PM]

I think it's time those rioters went back home to their own country.

[Cameron Campbell @ Nov 30th 2007 2:05PM]

The rioters are in their country. Most of the people rioting are under 30. Most of them were born in France.

And they aren't rioting for Sharia law or something, they are rioting because they are poor and unemployed and because they want access to everything France offers everyone else who is French.

[Smilesaurus @ Dec 1st 2007 10:13PM]

Drones and flying butt-kickers get a lot of talk but we haven't been seeing much

Flashpoint, they're not trying to "kill a woman" - things got really exaggerated in every way. You want to see extremism? Look up "Willa Beasley" - yeah, I think her husband was a Muslim... wait, nevermind, he wasn't

You can't keep putting together pieces that don't match to smear a people's religion - especially not on a TECH DISCUSSION - take your stinkin politics elsewhere

[Flashpoint @ Nov 30th 2007 1:38PM]

When is the world going to address the dangers of islamic fundamentalism? For God's sake, they are trying to kill a woman right now because she allowed her class to name a teddy bear muhammed.

[Brian @ Nov 30th 2007 1:21PM]

I'm so glad you restrained yourselves, and didn't go with "Don't Tase Me UFO" as the headline

[kevjohn @ Nov 30th 2007 1:28PM]

Am I the only one who thinks it would be cool to make these bat-shaped? That would be so cool to be attacked by a swarm of tazing bats swooping down from the sky!

Uhh, except for the tazing part of course.

[NWO @ Nov 30th 2007 1:51PM]

Just say "no" to the new world order.

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com

[Ian H. @ Nov 30th 2007 3:55PM]

Totally read that "French Taser chef"... I was thinking someone had come up with a way of cooking with these...

[Jazz1 @ Nov 30th 2007 6:42PM]

Didn't I see those on the season finale of Doctor Who vs. The Master ;)