Comments on Mad Analogy: Ban tasers

I would also note that the truncheon is the first generation of nonlethal weaponry. A billy club implies a threat of physical force, but leaves marks that must be explained. The taser leaves none of these inconvenient marks, only the occasional corpse.

There have been about 114 deaths by taser and 374 judicial executions in the U.S. since 2001.

For a responsible, trained user, a taser is doubtl...

2007-11-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

For a responsible, trained user, a taser is doubtless a humane, reasonable weapon. My problem is that tasers are often used by people are not reasonable or responsible, and tasers are a perfect a torture device. If it didn't inflict pain it wouldn't be so dangerous. But as we all know, bad people are everywhere, even in the police, and giving them a device that delivers excruciating pain yet leaves no marks is bad public policy.

In short, no amount of training is going to deter a determined sadist on a power trip.

Tasers are the first generation of "nonlethal" wea...

2007-11-16T07:08:00.000-08:00

Tasers are the first generation of "nonlethal" weaponry, but of course, they're proving to be anything but nonlethal if misused.

I believe because the cops THINK of them as nonlethal weapons, they are more likely to use and overuse them.

I believe the cops should receive as much training on using tasers as they do on handguns.