Guess what, kids? Tasers are safe!
In the "first large, independent study of injuries associated with tasers", researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine found that of 1,000 people subjected to a taser's electric charge, 99.7 percent suffered only mild injuries.
The other .3 percent were hospitalized or died, but researchers found that the taser had only exacerbated an existing condition. Um, like an aversion to mind numbing bolts of electricity being applied to one's body?
I kid. Totally not going to kill you.
"The taser is a weapon and it can clearly cause injuries and even deaths in some cases," according to one of the doctors involved in the study.
Ok, so they might, but probably not. They're like those kindergarten scissors that can cut construction paper but not hair.
"The question is 'how likely is it to cause a significant injury' and whether that risk of injury outweighs the benefits it brings," the good doctor continued.
Now we're talking.
And we all know those benefits include hours of electrified fun. Forget the latest Apple gadget or overpriced game console this holiday season. Tasers for everyone!
Santa: And what would you like from Santa?
Kid: A taser, please.
Santa: You'll tase your eye out, kid.
Kid: Not according to a staff of medical professionals at one our country's top universities, I won't.
Santa: Fair enough.
But if our staff's pre-occupation with all things tasers - as well as the variety of YouTube videos featuring adults volunteering to be tased - are any indication, the fun will not be confined to our nation's children. Sign me up.
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October 8, 2007 1:38 PM
I guess gone are the days of explaining a charge or mirandizing a suspect. Now we can just incapacitate whoever we find annoying, say a university student asking a question of a Senator in an auditorium, and ask questions later.
It's a sad day when a weapon replaces critical thinking.
October 8, 2007 3:47 PM
Amnesty International has a list of around 800 people who have died after being tased. If that's .3% of those who were tased, that means that tasers have been used over 250,000 times. Wow, that's a lot of criminals, until you consider that there are 2.5 million Americans behind bars, a higher percentage than any other nation on the planet. Hmm. "Land of the free" my ass.
October 8, 2007 6:02 PM
It's not like police are walking through the streets randomly tazering the good citizens of your community. People who get tazified by the police are generally not being cooperative. In case it's not already known, when the police get involved, they're in charge. You are not their supervisor because you pay their wages through taxes. For those who like to get confrontational with the cops, I pose this question- would you like Tazer or truncheon?
October 8, 2007 7:45 PM
I think I've seen enough evidence to know the police are trigger happy with the Taser. What bothers me is the argument as to whether it is "safe," in the same way as, say, a bar of soap in a sock is a safe way to administer a beating.
October 8, 2007 11:24 PM
"Go forth and taser more, you have our blessings!"
"Independent study" paid for by the Justice Department; NOT!. About as independent as the 911 commission study.
The "controversy" in the media isn't about the health risk of a taser (which shouldn't be ignored either), but the cops
abusing the use of a taser. It is supposed to be the alternative to extreme force or use of lethal weapons, i.e. guns.
In none of the situations that were video taped and viewed by millions would not have esculated to the use of
extreme or deadly force, or should have anyway. For example, the Florida/Kerry tasering. If they didn't have tasers, would they have just put him in a choke hold, or eventually just shot him for the crime of asking a tough question or as some say, being a nuisance? No, they would have just dragged his butt outside. With multiple cops on scene, and no physical threat to them, the use of the taser was a demonstration put on by police/authority. Pure and Simple. In other situations, they taser the victim multiple times in a span of 5 minutes, all the while insisting the victim move to a position as ordered by the cops (lie down/stand up, roll over). After being tased multiple times, the victims musles are spasmatic and most likely can't move as ordered, and probably recieve another jolt when they don't comply. This is an example of poor taser training. They were never intended to be used to "shock until immobile", and is NOT recommended by most taser companies. ALL taser guns have a warning that they CAN BE lethal. Anyone can receive a deadly shock if the conditions are right for heart arithemia, tachardia and other heart conditions. Even a "healthy" person, with their heart racing, pumped with adrenaline can be in danger when tasered multiple times. This study was a feeble attempt to justify the use of a taser as an alternative to guns, when the situations wouldn't have warranted either.
October 16, 2007 11:53 AM
Electric shock is well known as a common form of torture.
It is ironic that there is tremedous controversy concerning the torture of suspected terrorist by federal agents, and no concern that law enforcement uses torture on its own citizens (by electric shock, tasers)
February 15, 2008 5:31 AM
Z-Mar Technology sells fabric that can be sewn into shirts or coats that stop tasers in their tracks.
You can buy it by the yard for cheap online.
Anyone can purchase it.
To many people have died due to tasers.