Tell Congress, Tasers are Deadly Weapons that Must be Regulated!
- by: Susan V
- recipient: United States Congress
The UK’s Guardian did what no United States news source has done. It published an ongoing and interactive report of the number of people killed by police this year in the US, which has, in turn, prompted Senators to call for a mandatory reporting of all police killings. But other details from the report are not being addressed - those confirming that death from Taser use is anything but rare.
With 27 Taser deaths recorded this year so far, the Guardian's report proves these devices are deadly weapons that should never be used on some people (unless death is the intent) and should not be considered a non-lethal alternative for de-escalating a situation.
The ACLU has conducted investigations on Taser use in several states and found that in most cases use of these shock devices was not justified.
In one of its reports, “Stun Gun Fallacy," ACLU criticizes Taser International for advertising its product as a “non-lethal alternative to deadly force.” The company’s website still claims that “TASER exists to save lives,” and recommends their use as a way to "Diffuse Tense Situations."
A “tense situation” can mean a lot of things. But the ACLU says “the use of Tasers needs to be limited to situations that most likely would otherwise lead to the use of deadly force.”
Tell Congress to adopt nationwide, uniform regulation of Taser use that would include recommendations by the ACLU that protect vulnerable populations and others from unnecessary lethal force.
We, the undersigned agree with the ACLU that taser use by police departments should be federally regulated.
Based on numerous investigations in several states, the ACLU found tasers were often being misused or abused. In one investigation, for example, ACLU Oregon found “that police officers have used Tasers to coerce compliance in situations where there was no likely threat of significant injury or death to the officer or to others.”
And after a number of investigations, ACLU discovered not only that “There is no federal regulation of the Taser industry, “ but also that there was “no medical consensus regarding either the short- or long-term medical effects of CEDs,” (conducted energy devices).
In its 2007, ACLU called for “a two-part standard in determining when an officer should consider Taser use."
CEDs should be used only by authorized trained personnel to subdue or control a person whom the officer reasonably believes:
Creates an immediate, credible threat to the physical safety of the officer, another person, or the individual himself/herself; and
Unless prompt action is taken to immobilize the person, there is a substantial likelihood the situation could lead to the death or physical injury of the officer, another person, or the individual himself/herself. (ORS 161.015(7) provides that “‘Physical injury’ means impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.”)
ACLU also last year included information about avoiding use of Tasers on vulnerable populations and near vulnerable parts of the body.
And yet here it is 2015, and too many people are dying from improper use of these lethal weapons, with an untold number seriously injured by them.
It’s past time for Congress to set national, strict regulations on use of CEDs/Tasers.
Visit:
http://www.aclu-or.org/content/taser-use-local-law-enforcement-0
http://www.aclu-ia.org/iowa/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Oct-19-2014-FINAL-Taser-Report-wappendix.pdf
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