South Bay civil rights group asks San Jose to ban tasers

[struggle4progress]

South Bay civil rights group asks San Jose to ban tasers

05/09/05 4:10 PDT
SAN JOSE (BCN)

A South Bay civil rights coalition presented a letter to San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales today asking the city to ban the use of Taser stun guns by police officers.

Citing alleged excessive use and several studies showing potentially lethal risks associated with the controversial weapons, the Coalition for Justice and Accountability also presented the letters to the city's police chief and councilmembers. <snip>

However coalition spokesman Aram James said officers across the nation, and presumably in San Jose, are actually using more force on civilians than before stun guns became a staple of law enforcement.

Coalition members accuse police officers of trading de-escalation tactics for the use of Tasers, which have even been used to subdue children. <snip>

http://cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/2005/05/09/n/HeadlineNews/TASER-BAN/resources_bcn_html

[Psephos]

1. I've seen the bad press about Tasers lately

and I'm inclined by nature to dislike them, anyway.

However, if Tasers are banned, it seems to me that removes some of the ability of cops to respond with graded force. Not sure if that's a great thing, either.

Peace.

[Massacure]

2. Banning tasers is turning the issue black and white unnecessarily.