Taser Study Ignores the Elephant in the Room

[flashl]

Wake Forest Taser Study Ignores the Elephant in the Room, 294 Dead and Counting

A recent study on Tasers lead by Wake Forest University Medical School gives a false sense of safety to a proven dangerous, and at times lethal, weapon, says Bay Area activists. Community leaders and civil rights advocates are condemning the study as insufficient, misleading, and not truly independent of law enforcement bias.

Taser Experts and Civil Rights Leaders Say Study is Disconnected from Reality

SAN JOSE, CA – A recent study on Tasers lead by Wake Forest University Medical School gives a false sense of safety to a proven dangerous, and at times lethal, weapon, says Bay Area activists. Community leaders and civil rights advocates are condemning the study as insufficient, misleading, and not truly independent of law enforcement bias.

The study, presented at the American College of Emergency Physicians' Scientific Assembly in Seattle on October 8th, 2007 has been touted by Taser advocates as evidence of safety, yet further examination of the study leaves more questions than answers.

Nationally recognized Taser expert Aram James of the Coalition for Justice and Accountability (CJA) says, “The study concludes -- without supporting data -- that Tasers reduce injuries to both police and the individuals Tasered. But the authors, offer no systematic data to support this conclusion.” James says that actually the study's own data belies their own conclusion of safety. The abstract reported 23% of 597 subjects received some sort of injury. “Nearly 1 in 4, hardly support for the proposition that Tasers are safe -- and when coupled with 293 taser related deaths, a statistic conveniently ignored by the authors of this study, the conclusion that Tasers are safe is not only not true but in fact a lie of deadly proportions.”

[dsc]

1. I can answer one of the questions

Secrecy is needed so that the study isn't affected by cherry picking of data.

[seabeyond]

2. but but but it is scientific, and it is doctors, and it is a study.

it has gotta be true and we are not all to look beyond at anything else but blindly believe and trust...

or so i am told

cause there is no way there would be manipulation or flat out lying or an agenda at hand

[Gregorian]

3. If anyone wants to see their "research" it's on Youtube.

I don't want to post it here, because I don't want to see the video again. It was pigs in plywood containment areas. Total mayhem. These assholes just zapping away at the poor animals. I mean, you would probably have to be a right wing authoritarian to even conceive of an idea that consisted of putting an electric jolt into another person.

So if you're interested, just search for taser, and probably pigs over at Youtube.

[aikoaiko]

4. The question needs to be whether Tasers are safer than other methods of subduing noncompliant ...

...persons.

[seabeyond]

5. except the argument could be had, a more dangerous means to subdue

may not allow the little of incidents appear to be so desperate they need some form, as in a choke hold, gun or ... taser.

i believe what i have seen from the adopting tasers as a normal tool now a days for the police, they are a lot quicker to pull out and use than they would if they didnt have it. if this is the case, than no.. that may not be the question to ask

[aikoaiko]

6. I agree it will be difficult to parse out, but I think most people forget that

people were dying and being injured before Tasers.

[seabeyond]

8. and i think the cops reaches for the taser too damn quick today.

i dont think people were forgetting about deaths in the past, but it wasnt often a cop pulled out a gun on a 26 yr old preg black woman pulled over for speeding and wouldnt get out of the car, or a student in a college library that didnt do exactly what they were told quietly without voicing objection, or the many other abuses of the taser. didnt they even use it on a kid? little kid.

i think the cops see it as so not a big deal, i am not convinced that it would take less than nothing to be threatened with a taser.

[aikoaiko]

10. I doubt cops are using force now that they didn' t use before.

The technology may be different (taser), but before it was arm locks with batons, rib-breaking gut shots, wrist holds, squeezing the cuffs, etc. Police have been and will continue to use pain to gain compliance with a taser or just their own bodies.

[Nostradammit]

7. In the land of the free we give people 50,000 volt shocks

For non-compliance with the authorities and then shrug our shoulders when some of them die.

Freedom isn't free, dontchaknow?

[seabeyond]

9. Freedom isn't free... oh i hate that one. btw, i care n/t

[Nostradammit]

11. It's one of my personal peeves, too

Bumper-sticker patriotism.

They just can't seem to grasp that the founding fathers would have hated Dick Cheney with the heat of 10,000 suns.

[Mutineer]

12. It's still far less lethal than a gunshot wound

just saying.

[flashl]

13. Thats true

yet the use of the taser appears to be more widely in use than a gun. Seldom would you hear of an officer seeking compliance shooting a person while lying in a hospital bed, on an individual without proper id, on children as young as 7 years old or non-compliant little old ladies in wheelchairs.

On any day, using a news aggregator and searching for the word taser produces hundreds of incidents of use, stories about deaths, concern about use, lawsutis, etc.

There also have been complaints and lawsuits from law enforcement officers who were injuried during the demos.

[seabeyond]

14. this is the wrong thinking argument, that an officer would pull out a gun

for the things they seem comfortable pulling out the taser for. the cop would be fired, or his ass would be in jail if he so willy nilly, at the slightest offense, were to pull out his gun with the ease they pull and shoot the taser

[flashl]

16. My point is the taser is used in ALL levels of force

whereas the gun is used at level 4-5?? therefore taser use is higher.

[Snarkturian Clone]

15. Do not use that electronic weapon to give me a mild shock,

fraternal unit.

[cuke]

17. BS article

"Nationally recognized Taser expert Aram James of the Coalition for Justice and Accountability (CJA) says, “The study concludes -- without supporting data -- that Tasers reduce injuries to both police and the individuals Tasered. But the authors, offer no systematic data to support this conclusion.” James says that actually the study's own data belies their own conclusion of safety. The abstract reported 23% of 597 subjects received some sort of injury. “Nearly 1 in 4, hardly support for the proposition that Tasers are safe -- and when coupled with 293 taser related deaths, a statistic conveniently ignored by the authors of this study, the conclusion that Tasers are safe is not only not true but in fact a lie of deadly proportions.”

They complain that the study concludes tasers reduces injuries WITHOUT SUPPORTING DATA!! They go on to claim that tasers don't reduce injuries WITHOUT SUPPORTING DATA!!!