Tased and confused (Boston Globe)

[struggle4progress]

Lifesaver, lethal weapon, aid for crowd control, tool of torture?
By Ric Kahn, Globe Staff | February 20, 2005

To some, the Brookline Police Department's affection for Taser stun guns just didn't add up ... Indeed, the town is no Wild West: Its officers have fired a gun 0 times in service since '99 ... So why was the Brookline PD in the market for the latest in electro-charge weaponry -- 15 Tasers? ...

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/02/20/tased_and_confused/

[Warpy]

1. Tasers and beanbag rounds have been used here

in situations where lethal force would have been used just five years ago. Undoubtedly, they've saved more than one life.

They're not 100% nonlethal. People can die from them.

However, the fact that they're generally nonlethal means that cops are likelier to use them than they are deadly force, which means they're even more open to abuse.

That's the problem. Discharge of any weapon by law enforcement should trigger an investigation. That includes pepper spray, too.

[WarNoMore]

2. An interesting little tidbit;

Bernard Kerik is an officer of Taser International. I googled that information.