I wish we could all put this to rest, already. TASERs work. The Thomas A. Swift Electronic Rifle (named by the inventor, who was a fan of the children’s books) sends electricity through the body and incapacitates the recipient. In doing so, it saves lives — cops’ lives and suspects’ lives. Period.
However as a Canadian officer correctly points out, the alternative is often the use of a firearm — deadly force to be sure. Taser’s own website (admittedly a for-profit company) indicates numbers that are so drastically in favor of TASER deployment, that argument is difficult.
If you don’t trust the company that makes them, how about the departments that use them. In almost all major police departments, the TASER is considered “intermediate” force. That means it can be used when someone is fighting, charging, threatening to injure or kill, or displaying a non-deadly weapon at the police. With the TASER, that individual is immediately and effectively incapacitated. I was “TASERED” in the police academy. It hurt. But one minute later I was fine. The same could not be said of a steel baton to the knee (guaranteed lifetime injury), a bite by a police dog (arrgh), or a gunshot (duh!).
Watch the video here, and ask yourself the single, key, and only question about TASERS: Would I rather get hit with this, or one of the alternatives. The dog in the background of this video is ready to take care of business. I think the suspect himself explains the benefits of the TASER better than I ever could. That should settle the argument.
Sometimes police work is ugly. That is the suspects’ fault, not the cops’. Remember my favorite quote:
“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”
Sleep well.
Nov 21, 2007 at 1:20 am
Dear Philosophicalcop,
“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” VIOLENCE BEGETS VIOLENCE REMEMBER THAT.
How could anyone say that it is a relatively safe weapon when you have no idea of the individual endurance to it? what may seem like a flea bite to you may take my life and alot of others. Such as in the case of Robert dziekanski why would you need to bother with tasers when a simple translater could have resolved the problem????? There was so need for his death.
And as for your final quote Sometimes police work is ugly. That is the suspects’ fault, not the cops’:<<<<<<<< What in the world happened to due process. Your exactly right, they are ”suspects” as in they have the suspicion of wrong doing but, that doesnt mean they have been found guilty yet.
But you are right in the terms that, police work can sometimes be ugly but that doesnt undermine the fact that you guys are still LAW enforcers NOT LAW PUNISHERS.
Nov 21, 2007 at 9:16 am
Mindy,
Thank you for your well-articulated thoughts. I agree that someone might have a sensitivity to the weapon. The same is true when an officer handcuffs someone with brittle bones, or sprays someone with pepper spray who has a rare eye disease; there is nothing we can do about that, yet we get blamed for it.
Regarding due process, I am a fierce defender of this and other constitutional rights. When I use a TASER on someone to detain them lawfully under the constitution, it is because they have victimized someone else and denied THEM their due process.
Finally, about the translator. Sometimes there is no time for that. Sometimes there is…I am the last person in the world that will tell you cops never make mistakes — we do. But that does not make a weapons system more or less valuable. Cops shoot people we should not shoot, but I still want to carry a gun…
Keep up the discourse, it is the only way we can learn from each other!
Nov 28, 2007 at 7:20 pm
I suppose being right comes with the territory of being a cop, and by virtue of you being more powerful you are right. You have the firearms, the billy clubs, the tasers and the law on your side, so of course you are right. Might is right. Only a coroner can tell if Robert Dziekansky was killed by taser or by brutal force. He was killed. The video of R. D. at Vancouver Airport shows clearly that after tasering, those power crazy cops just murdered him. Nobody can withstand the repeated rammings of the knee into the man’s neck or side of his head, which happened with the cops full body weight. The evidence shows murder. So put a lid on it policeman, you guys are more often wrong than right. The cops involved at the Vanc. Airport were trained killers and must be held accountable.
Nov 29, 2007 at 9:32 am
I appreciate your feedback. You should re-read my post; I noted that cops sometimes do wrong. My point was not to blame the DEVICE, but the actor holding the device. If those cops were wrong then they should be fired and prosecuted. But don’t take a good took away from other cops because of their actions. Thanks for visiting.
Dec 3, 2007 at 6:54 pm
I was just going to be a lurker on this site and not say anything until I read the comments about this post. I’m commenting anonymously because I have enough trouble of my own dealing with criminals (outside of law enforcement) so it’s better if I speak my mind “quietly”.
Mindy and Warner, we wouldn’t need cops if the world didn’t have criminals. You want to blame cops for the death of one person, but what about the many deaths caused by criminals? Where is your anger towards them?
Let me ask you this…would you want to be a cop in America without a baton, a gun, a taser? I bet not. Let’s see you walk their beat with nothing but your hands and feet to defend you, and the first time you run into someone with a weapon who could care less about you, you’ll be wishing you had something to defend yourself with.
People like you upset me because you want to some how make the playing field “fair” between cops and civilians. There is nothing fair about corruption. NOTHING. Corruption knows no fairness. It has no bounderies. It doesn’t care about life. It doesn’t care about integrity. It doesn’t care about justice. It only cares about corruption and not getting caught, and it will do whatever it can to avoid punishment.
It’s like war. Innocent people die. Civilians are also going to die, and so are cops.
This is a fallen world we live in. I know at any given moment, there are people who would think nothing of stabbing me just to get something I have. People kill over a pair of tennis shoes for crying out loud!
I’m not trying to downplay the actions of bad cops, because they are out there, just like there are bad doctors, bad lawyers, bad truck drivers, … oh yeah.. what profession do you work in Mindy and Warner? I’ll bet there’s bad people in your profession too.
If you want a “safe” weapon, then get rid of corruption. The only safe weapon (which in my opinion is an oxymoron) is to not need any weapons to begin with. It’s not going to happen because people are evil. We need cops, and cops need weapons. Afterall, the criminals have weapons too.
There are going to be flaws in everything humans make. We are human, not perfect. Guns misfire. Tasers are deadly to certain people. Batons can kill. I personally am alergic to bullets, tasers, batons, handcuffs, the back seat of patrol cars, jail cells, and anything else that would take away my freedom, which is why I tend to stay out of trouble.
I fear the day when cops will no longer be able to do their jobs because civilians hound them so bad that what’s the point in being a cop any more because no matter what they do, they’ll be condemned, so they don’t do anything.
I could rant a lot about this issue, but civilians and activists are making it so cops are restrained.
Just please try to reconsider your harshness of cops who carry these weapons. Let’s see you do their job without one. That would leave you with your gun to use to defend yourself or those you are sworn to protect. You can bet the bullet coming from the barrel of that gun will indeed kill. At least a taser gives better chances of ending a situation without a death. Now tell me which weapon you would rather a cope use first, if they have to deal with you or someone you love?
Dec 3, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Thanks for the insight, anonymous. I think many folks forget that the cops are reacting here; we didn’t start this battle. Be safe.
Dec 7, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Dec 7, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Sorry about messing up the blockquote tags in the previous comment.
Dec 9, 2007 at 10:40 am
Smally,
Thank you. Of course I should have said “usually.” There are bad cops out there, just like bad doctors, lawyers, and teachers. I appreciate the correction. PC
Dec 11, 2007 at 11:57 pm
I have thought long and hard on this issue. During my many years on this earth I have seen law enforcement deteriorate. England, until recently, did not even arm their Bobbies yet here we are in Canada and USA with guns, clubs, pepper spray, dogs and now tasers. What is next? I was proud to have mounties in my circle of friends at one time. I am no longer in awe but in fear of the uniform. I am a senior citizen who should be looking to law enforcement for security but cannot. There have been too many unnecessary deaths while in custody or relevent to police matters. Do we need you guys/gals? Yes for sure, Do most of you do a good job…Yes. It is the rotten apples that have tarnished the lot and eroded our trust in all members of law enforcemnt.