I've worked in a Close Security state prison for going on 23 years and I know that tasers are nothing to mess with! We have them, but they are very rarely used, even with 1300 convicted felons! The tasers are kept in a restricted area and are only used in emergencies and then only with the approval of the shift captain. There's basically three kinds. There is the hand-held 'cattle prod' type where they actually have to be close enough to touch the person - then there is the kind that shoots two little barbs attached to wires (this is the debilitating kind and I think what was used in the instances where the people died) - then there is an electrified shield-type thing, mostly used in prisons and jails to gain control in an emergency. None of them carry a minor little shock. They are strong enough to put a person out of commission and keep them that way for several minutes as a way of subduing them without actually injuring either them or the officers. They are referred to as 'less than lethal weapons'. And all of them do a whole lot more than just "shock and startle a person"! In the hands of the police, they are only as good as the officer using them, and that makes me a little nervous about the possibiity of misuse. They are SUPPOSED to be used as a means of last resort, as a way of subduing someone with the least risk of injury and only when all else has failed. It poses less of a risk, both to the subject and the officers, to do this rather than to have to physically fight someone to subdue them.
klmno, with three police officers standing over a compliant teenager there was no need for a taser. I can sort of understand though why they felt it necessary to have it there to use if necessary. When they get a call, they have no idea what they're getting in to - they have no idea if the person might be psychotic, wildly high on drugs, or if they're armed or not. They probably just had it there as a precaution.
It all falls back on them being used as they are supposed to be used and not misusing them. As far as the police using them on kids if necessary ... well, lots of 'kids' are committing adult crimes now. They not 'kids' like we were 'kids', if you know what I mean. Teenagers are on the corners doing drug deals, they're involved in gang activity, they're committing home invasions, car-jackings, armed robberies and kidnappings, and many of them have guns! If a police officer is shot by a 16 year old, he's just as dead as if he were shot by a 40 year old! There was a case in the local news last week where a 13 year old was shot and killed! He was out late at night in a high crime area and tried to rob a man who was walking down the street. He didn't really have a gun but threatened to shoot the man and reached into his jacket pocket like he was going for a gun. The man carried his own gun for protection and, believing the boy was reaching for a gun, the man drew his own gun and shot the 13 year old who later died. The man had no police record and had never been in trouble with the law. No charges will be filed. It's a darned shame, but sadly it's the way the world is these days.
