The Irresponsible Deployment of Tasers by Canadian Police Essay

In our research study we hope to show that the goal to Tasers it to provide law enforcement with alternatives to deadly force in order to minimize harm to both community members and police. We also want to show that no use of devices or techniques may be safe to everyone, but that we can't look just

The use of deadly force by police officers is a very important subject in today’s society. Many consider the use of deadly force excessive in most cases. However, there are many aspects to look at when considering this topic, such as: Why was deadly force required? When did the officer feel it necessary to apply deadly force? What will be the implications for the officer after the fact? How does the use of deadly force affect society as a whole?

Have you ever thought about what happens if a person breaks a law? What if this individual breaks a minor law and creates a larger problem? A strong topic is upon our society when it comes to law enforcement and the tough physical and verbal oppression that they have the potential to put on people when it comes to breaking the law. Police officers are supposed to be society 's saviors, guardians, and our friends. However, when things do not go quite right, and when someone breaks the law, there will always be that chance that things could escalate. These officers are supposed to deescalate situations and solve problems. That is what society relies on them at any given moment. Sometimes it takes an escalation of force to deescalate a criminal situation. This is why society sees the men and women in uniform with weapons capable of hindering life to the fullest. However, when this force is used and abused, it creates problems. The public eye becomes weary of the police in many different ways for using excessive force to deescalate a situation. Excessive force and police brutality are often caused by depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, as well as other mental disorders; due to the way they are portrayed by the media, excessive force and police brutality have a direct effect on the American society as well as fellow officers in all branches of law enforcement.

Taser International, Inc. v. Ward, Court of Appeals of Arizona, Division 1, May 13, 2010

The probes can penetrate up to two inches of clothing with pinpoint accuracy (TASER International, n.d.). The charge is sent thru the wires and into the probes. The charge is transmitted between the two probes, jamming sensory and motor functions, and inhibiting muscular control (Seals, 2007). This effect continues in 5-10 second cycles each time you press the trigger (Seals, 2007). The TASER is designed to deliver a jolt of electricity to the victim, which results in complete loss of muscular control for a short period of time, allowing a police officer to handcuff and gain control of the offender. The Arizona based TASER International makes most of the TASERs used by law enforcement agencies today. TASER International claims that since early 1998 to 2010 over 406,000 TASERs have been sold worldwide, for law enforcement use. In 2007 TASER International produced $100.7 million in revenue, 85 percent coming from the United States.

Moreover, to limit officer’s discretion on unjustly use of deadly force, law enforcement agencies need to adopt new practices and techniques when dealing with the public if deadly use of force is not required. Officers should adopt new practices of using the taser as a means of force. “Tasers [are] developed to subdue suspects with non-lethal means” (DeLone, Thompson, 2009, p.416). Many law enforcement officers praise the use of tasers as a tool to “increase the safety of both officer and citizen by decreasing the use of deadly force” (DeLone, Thompson,2009, p.418). Individuals who are not complying/showing aggression with officers and or have some sort of weapon can be easily subdued and controlled with the taser rather than being shot at

Use of fire arms as the choice weapon by police officers have been around since the late 1800s. Police departments started issuing firearms to police officers in a response to better-armed criminal populations, (Bulman, 2010). Recent studies have shown that less lethal weapons decrease the rate of police officers and suspect injuries. Because evidence supports less lethal weapons for police officer, many law enforcement agencies have agencies are stressing the use of less-lethal weapons. In the early 19th century, the less than lethal weapon of choice was the wooden club, (Bulman, 2010). Less than lethal weapons have evolved to technology such as conductive energy devices (CEDs), commonly known as the Taser.

Some may say tasers are good and that they are lifesaving, but the shock that comes from the taser can be extremely painful and life threatening. If the taser does not take a life, it can ultimately impact and alter the taser victim’s life. Furthermore, like most products the taser is not always one hundred percent effective or reliable. Due to how dangerous the taser is, with intention or not, and the many outcomes by its use, they should be banned.

The most common electroshock weapons are the CED’s (Conducted Energy Device) known as Tasers. “CED’s such as Tasers, generate 50,000 volts of electricity. The electricity stuns and temporarily incapacitates people by causing involuntary muscle contractions“ (Higgins). “The electrical pulses travel from the gun through two 21-foot-long wires that look like a stretched-out slinky tipped with barbed probes. If the probes pierce skin or a layer of clothing two inches thick or less, the jolt contracts the muscles and throws the suspect off balance. It makes the suspect unable to move, and gives the police a full five-seconds with every ‘tasing’ to handcuff the suspect” (Kershaw). While many believe that the risk of police overuse of the Taser could be harmful and even deadly to suspects, supporters say that there are built in precautions to prevent this, such as the Taser having a data port to record each time the Taser is used (Kershaw). Officer Burns of the Seattle police department stated that “there had been numerous instances in Seattle, where officers had used the Taser instead of fists, nightsticks, guns or pepper spray, which can have much longer effects than Taser shocks, and that suspects had recovered immediately”

I was shocked to learn that your two police officers were wounded. These events show that police need extra protection since your current personal protection system does not work well. As a protection product inventor, I contact you to introduce our new invention to provide extra protection for police officers.

Throughout history, law enforcement agencies have trained and taught individuals within their organization how to use various weapons from non-lethal to lethal in which are required for them to carry out their daily jobs. However, with crime rates continuing to increase and only a handful of non-lethal weapons available to law enforcement, a physicist in the late 1960’s by the name of Jack Cover, would invent the first taser that would become known as the go-to weapon for officers. This weapon provided officers a way to use non-lethal methods when dealing with suspects who are not compliant and present a threat to themselves, the public, or law enforcement personnel. From 1976-1995 tasers were considered firearms as they were originally propelled

Not to say police shootings are always unjust, but they are almost always preventable, to some degree. But what I’m worried about the most is militarizing the police. I know this may stray off topic a bit but as one of the designer/creators of this project, I don’t want this to be used casually to harass citizens just for something like a speeding ticket. The point of this is to stop a bullet and blind the attacker so the cop can mase, taze or subdue a dangerous criminal. My hope is that cops will be responsible when it comes to this piece of equipment. The biggest shortcoming is the shortcoming of others who are not responsible enough to use this shield in the right

Law enforcement agencies have not placed strict protocols on the use of stun guns. For example, there are no limitations on whom and when the device can be used. There have been cases were elderly people and also significantly under aged people have been tased by a stun gun. This is problematic because situations that involve elderly people being tased will more than likely turn out wrong and that goes for under aged people as well. The electric current that stun gun probes deliver to the body temporarily immobilize a person’s muscles. This means that the person being tased will more than likely fall directly onto the grown if standing. Elderly people are very fragile and cannot resist a fall of this magnitude. They can easily suffer a fracture when impacting the ground. Statistics provided by the centers for disease control and prevention reveal that “10 percent of women in their 60s, 27 percent of women in their 70s and 35 percent of women in ages 80 and older have

The major pros for taser gun is that, tasers are non-lethal weapon that can effectively take down the suspects without any violent consequences. However, if tasers are the best weapon for the law enforcers, why every countries around the world isn’t are using this effective weapon. Almost every European nations forbids using tasers in any form. The major issue that taser has controversies with is that it is using electricity on human body. Although taser is known to be safe non-lethal weapon as the Taser International argues, however there are few death of a person who was being tazed. Since taser guns are using electricity, when the subjects are suffering from a heart disease, it might have a negative impacts on the subject, worst case, causing death (Mun 2013). Since police officers do not know whether the suspects of intention has a issue in their body, such situations like this is hard to be avoided. Other cons of taser is over usage of taser on the suspects. As we already know, taser is non-lethal weapon, and due to this characteristic, sometimes law enforcers over uses taser. According to this news article, this man in America was tazed 8 times before getting arrested for being not cooperative to the police (SBS News 2014). If this suspect was suffering from a heart disease or other illness, getting tazed 8 times can be crucial to his body condition. Although the situation is threat to the officers, however

Today, stun guns come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Perhaps surprisingly, some of the smallest stun guns are actually the most effective ones. When shopping for stun guns, look for a device that is powerful, convenient, and easy to use. In terms of affordability, practicality, and reliability, the tiny Runt Stun Gun is one of the best devices on the market today.