Day of Blogging for Justice: Standing Up Against the Police Pre-Trial Electrocution
Due to a crazy work schedule, I’ve been away from the blog for a couple of days. But I wanted to do a quick post regarding the “Day of Blogging for Justice: Standing Up Against the Police Pre-Trial Electrocution” (police tasers). I have some friends who are cops and some of the stories I’ve heard about what they see would make you want to lock yourself in the house. I don’t know what it’s like to be shot at, nor do I know what’s it’s like to daily place your life on the line to protect others.
But I do feel that those who do take on the task of protecting and serving the black community, need to do so with the understanding that there are still trust issues to be worked through. While I agree with the idea of personal responsibility, I also believe an officer needs to know the the fastest and most efficient way to keep themselves and the suspect under control. We’ve seen times when officer frustration turns into police brutality and that’s usually when someone gets hurt or killed. 50,000 volts is a lot to shoot through a 15-year old kid and tasering a handcuffed man is not acceptable. Just recently, a mentally ill man was killed in Fort Worth by police tasers.
So I’d like to know what you think. Are police tasers an acceptable method of subduing a person? While you’re added, check out the Villager’s post on the issue. He also has some other interesting posts around the blogosphere regarding the topic.
May 13th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I’m way late on this, but I wanted to throw my two cents in. Tasers were never intended to be a device for controlling or intimidating noncompliant suspects. They are supposed to be an alternative to deadly force, in circumstances where deadly force is required. The objective is to preserve the suspects life while protecting the lives of officers and citizens. However, they are routinely deployed solely for the purpose of intimidation and punishment. Consequently, police agencies have become complacent about their use. Officers have to be re-educated about the risk of deploying a Taser. They are not “non-lethal” weapons. They are less-than-lethal weapons that can and often do result in the death of a suspect. Police department training and policy has to reflect that reality. Tasers are only to be used when a person’s life or limb is in danger.