Query: after the first death as a result of tasering by law enforcement, why were tasers not banned from use by law enforcement? There have been dozens of deaths, and yet tasering continues. The TASER (Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle) is a barbaric tool...and being completely misused by some Peace Officers.
It's important to remember that those people who died were innocent; in this country, one is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. At least, it used to be that way.
I've seen video clips of people being tasered while in handcuffs, or while two or three officers were holding a person on the ground. People have been tasered for not getting out of their vehicles, or not moving fast enough when an officer says "jump". This whole thing is out of hand. Police now routinely use the TASER in cases where they would not use a firearm or a baton. The ethical questions involved are significant. No one should ever be tasered unless that person actually is attacking an officer or another person.
The militarized police need to take stock of their methods. Many of them appear to be treating every civilian as an "enemy combatant", not as an individual with unalienable rights. Who is providing oversight?
Next will be the tasering of folks involved in peaceful civil disobedience and not threatening officers in any way. That's when you'll know for certain that we now live in a Police State.
