The Use Of Primitive Tasers On The United States Of America

By the late 1800s, police officers were issued firearms to counteract the better equipped criminal. In recent years, there have been resurgences in the importance of non-lethal and less-than-lethal weapons for law enforcement use. However, the devices in use today are worlds away from in terms of technology compared to what their police forefathers used. Generally, the use of force by law enforcement officers is permitted and often necessary under certain circumstances, such as in self-defense or in the defense of another individual or group.

The research topic we have chosen to research is Tasers. The use of Tasers has been a very controversial topic in the last few years. Reporters, doctors, and human rights groups have all expressed concern that police officers will use a Taser in situations when no weapon is required and concern has also been expressed over if the Taser is really a less-lethal option. No one claims the use of Tasers to be risk-free but studies have found them comparatively safe. We believe that people opposed to Tasers ignore a body of the reports showing the technology is safe and effective. The research question we hope to answer is: Is the deployment of a Taser a safe and viable

Kinetic energy and electric weapons are less-lethal weapons that are used by law enforcement officers today. Kinetic energy is used by specially developed firearm rounds that are designed to incapacitate a suspect non-lethally. The specially developed firearm rounds include rubber, wax, plastic, and beanbag tipped projectiles. For example, if law enforcement officers encounter a heavy set suspect with a knife that is unwilling to comply, they can fire at the suspect with a beanbag shotgun to knock the wind of the suspect in an effort to detain him/her. Electric weapons include stun guns and stun batons which use electricity to immobilize their targets (Grant, 2008). For instance, if a suspect that poses a threat is not following orders given to them by law enforcement officers then the stung gun can be used which ultimately stiffens their muscles rendering them unable to move. Therefore, kinetic energy and electric weapons are less-lethal weapons that are used by law enforcement officers today.

In the past, police officers and the public only had their word as their testimony. They had no choice but to try convince the jury that their side of the story was the truth. High profile cases between officers and the public have left the public searching and wanting answers. Some law enforcement departments have added another piece of equipment to their police officers for their added protection, while they patrol the streets. This controversial piece of

In light of the recent spate of police-involved homicides of suspects who may or may not have put the lives of the police involved in fear for their safety and well-being, this paper seeks to examine the use of deadly force by police officers in the line of duty. The training involved in using one’s service weapon in situations that call for a determination of the use of force will be explored, as will the rules, regulations, and extenuating circumstances that lead to the firing of a service weapon in the line of duty, resulting in the death of a suspect. The Supreme Court cases that have led to and/or upheld laws allowing a broader interpretation of what is considered justifiable use of deadly force will be briefly examined. Additionally, the use of non-lethal weapons, such as Tasers, by police forces and how the availability of these weapons influences the rate of deadly force will be inspected. Finally, an elucidation of the various perceptions of the general public of the police after use of deadly force is used within their communities will be addressed.

The purpose is to explain the necessity and the alternatives to deadly force. Necessity of deadly force will include laws that have been passed by the United States Supreme Court, training methods and policies of Federal, State and Local agencies Alternatives to deadly force are less-lethal weapons that are used by law enforcement today, TASERS, pepper spray, bean bag guns and batons. Does deadly force need to be used against violent suspects?

The Court in Bryan v. MacPherson stated that when the officer used the Taser with the probes, aluminum darts tipped with stainless tell barbs connected to the Taser insulated wires, toward the target at a rate of over 160 feet per second. MacPherson, 630 F.3d at 824. The Court noted that once a person is struck, the Taser delivers a 1200-volt into the individual’s muscles, making the impact powerful. Id. at 824. The electrical impulse instantly overrides the victim’s central nervous system paralyzing the muscles throughout the body, rendering the target limp and helpless making the person experience excruciating pain that radiates throughout the body. Id.; see Draper v. Reynolds, 369 F.3d 1270, 1273 (11th Cir. 2004); see also Lewis v. Downey, 581 F.3d 467, 475 (7th Cir. 2009). Although the uses of Tasers by law enforcement can help defuse a dangerous situation, the force must be justified by the governmental interest

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

It is safer for the officer to use a taser against a combative suspect rather than using hand to hand combat. Using hand to hand combat puts the officer and suspect at greater risk for potential injury. Researchers conducted an analysis of 12 of the largest agencies on the east coast. The analysis confirms that in those 12 agencies using a taser was safer than using hand to hand combat (Bulman,2010). Tasers are safe when used on a healthy person. Although they are safe to use on health person the officer has to follow the guidelines of the manufacture to ensure the safety of the people. If the person is on stimulant drug while being tased it increases their chance of injury. Those stimulant drugs include methamphetamine, crack, cocaine, ecstasy, and caffeine. Not all officers are trained to tell what kind of drug a suspect is on just by the way they act. Officers are careful when dealing with suspects who are on drugs but only are able to do so much before they have to use force to ensure their

Ever wondered if use of Tasers should be banned for all police officers in Canada? The Government of Canada must not ban the use of tasers of all police officers in Canada because tasers saves lives, tasers are less lethal weapons, and for the safety of the police officers. Tasers saves lives as instead of shooting someone, they can be tased and still live. Tasers are also less lethal than a gun, reducing the risk of dying. Also, police officers feel much safer by having them knowing they can safely take someone down rather than shooting them.

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.

This journal article discusses data on various types of less then lethal use of force weapon systems and the effect they have on the suspect and the officer who was forced to use it. It examines the future of police action and new advances in suspect restraint systems (Albert, 1999).

Whenever police officers come into contact with citizens, there is a chance that the encounter will digress to one in which force is used on a suspect. Fortunately, most police activities, such as traffic or investigative stops, or even arrests, do not result in the use of force (Alpert, 2004).

This proves that taser is an effective non-lethal weapon that can be used to subdue the criminals. Here are some possible advantages of taser guns, first, taser is a non-lethal weapon. As we may have already know, tasers are meant to take down the suspects without injuring or killing them. Also, it is safer to use in a situations where there are many bystanders in the scene, since tasers do not harm people around the intended suspects. This also leads to the second point of avoiding the usage of lethal weapons. So far, 1689 people have been killed by the police in a crime related actions (May, T. 2014). By promoting the usage of tasers, police officers around the world can lower the number of suspects being killed in the scene. Using the lethal weapon also dangers the suspects, police, and the bystanders, because firearms are a lethal weapon that can take away lives easily. Tasers also requires minimal training to use the functions, which also makes the officers and other security related people to easily use tasers in action. On the other hand, typical fire arms requires more training time to properly use them in order to avoid any accidents with it. Fourthly, by using taser, the injury rates dropped significantly. Taser have been used within law enforcement agencies from 1998, and from that time, according to the Taser International, taser helped lower injuries among officers and

**to control the violence with minimal risk to human life, non-lethal or less-than-lethal riot control techniques were developed in the 1960's**