Taser Deaths On The Rise: Are They Cruel & Unusual? (VIDEO)

Are Tasers a good alternative to Police Departments' use of automatic weapons, or are they "cruel and unusual"?

Across the United States, over 12,000 law enforcement agencies have added Tasers to their arsenals, and with Taser deaths on the rise, CBS News has put together a video report investigating the controversy behind police use of Tasers.

Since 2004, the Houston Police Department alone has used its Tasers 2,500 times. In California, there have been 55 reported deaths from Tasers; in Florida, 52.

And in the past three years there have been several incidents that have raised national concern about Taser use, notably the 72-year-old woman who was Tasered by Texas police during a traffic stop, and the man with a heart condition who was Tasered four times in his own home in California.


WATCH:

Comments

[drauz]

05:16 PM on 09/23/2010

Any Law Enforcement weapon devised for limited purposes is soon utilized far beyond the scope originally intended. Thus, Tasers, meant as a less-than-deadly alternative to deadly force, has become the new police baton. Except it IS deadly in a not-insignificant proportion of cases - especially if you are among its victims.

Don't expect change, though. The sterling business case (& their lobbiests) is reinforced by the Blue Code of Silence. All in a context of how justice is managed these days - everyone is guilty of something... it's just a matter of LE discretion & how innocent you can afford to be.

[thinkingwomanmillstone]

05:08 PM on 09/23/2010

The police, who have lost all conflict resolution ability, think of the taser as an quick alternative to talking to people or heaven forbid putting out any physical effort. If you look at the body language and facial expressions of the officers in the videos, you see bullies enjoying hurting people.

[joefoss]

04:43 PM on 09/23/2010

Of course, Tasers are "cruel and unusual"--how many people have to die to prove that?
The problem is that every time the police are given a new crime-fighting technology, they tend to overuse/abuse it. Often, law enforcement officers receive little training and even less supervision on the proper use of new equipment.
=I knew a guy in the Army who had permanent dark rings around his eyes--he was called, of
course, the "raccoon"--because he was "MACE-ed" at an anti-war rally.
=Tasers are supposed to be employed only when a situation is so out-of-control that the "offender" poses a risk to him/herself or to others, including law enforcement officers. The Taser is a non-lethal alternative to a firearm. It's under those conditions--and only under those
conditions--that it is to be used.
=But, of course, it's so much easier to "Taser" someone into submission (e.g., a drunken woman) than to have to wrestle them to the ground, the "old-fashioned" way. And, tragically,
sometimes people die from its inappropriate use. Here in New York, in 2008, for example, a suicidal man on a building ledge was Taser-ed by a police officer and fell to the street. The man died, and the police lieutenant who ordered the action was so distraught that he later committed suicide himself. TWO deaths that never should have happened.
="Don't Tase me bro!" isn't a joke--it's a plea for life.

[JanineMarie]

04:19 PM on 09/23/2010

A few years ago police officers tasered a 6 year old at school. The child had glass in his hands and according to the school, they could not control him. According to the police they were "afraid" the child would hurt himself or someone else" and so they felt it was the only recourse they could take. I was so disgusted I could scream. The only question I had was what would they have done had they not had the taser? Shoot the child? I recently saw footage on TV where the cops tasered an old over and over again. It is truly disgusting. Legalizing torture.

[Soundofthunder]

04:16 PM on 09/23/2010

Tasers don't ki/// people.

They make easier for sad is tic power m a dd cops to ki/// people.

S

[RasputinsLiver]

04:21 PM on 09/23/2010

Not trying to be sarcastic, and maybe I'm just out of the loop in twitter language, which I am (never having done it before), but what does your second sentence say?

[RasputinsLiver]

04:29 PM on 09/23/2010

I forgot the "HuffPo language" often required by we little people of HP Posterland.

[RasputinsLiver]

04:22 PM on 09/23/2010

AH!

Nevermind. I suddenly just put the whole thing together just as I hit post comment.

Agree with you totally. FFed.

[hackerblaster]

04:16 PM on 09/23/2010

If tasers were used instead of deadly force okay but good grief. A lot of cops seem to just want to torture people with them. Use pepper spray if someone refuses to get handcuffed.

[RasputinsLiver]

04:33 PM on 09/23/2010

Well, numerous studies over the years have clearly shown that both police and military are great attractors for sa-distic socio/psych-opathic people with serious control issues.

There're good cops, sure. But way too many have watched too many episodes of that id-iot show COPS and believe in the classic cop mentality of "Us vs. Them", We, The People being "them".

They see we citizens, any of us, little kids to elderly infirm adults, as perps just waiting for them to bust us and make their day.

[RasputinsLiver]

04:14 PM on 09/23/2010

They should be banned.

Or at the very least, have a very strict low-voltage limit.

Cops have been using these things at will, seemingly sometimes for amusement, on everyone and anyone from the grade school age kids to elderly already physically and mentally incapacitated men and women.

Horrifying the types that're cops these days. genuine socio/psycho-paths.

[Matt Herren]

04:52 PM on 09/23/2010

Finally a rational argument against them. Voltage limitations are an excellent idea... and a strict review of all taser uses would immediately cut down on senseless use.

No one is saying that improper use of a taser is a good thing... but calling them 'cruel and unusual' ... which has a specific connotation under out Constitution... means something... and they simply do not meet that burden to be classified in that way.

[OutAtFirst]

04:12 PM on 09/23/2010

Good afternoon officer, may I ask why you pulled me over.....AAAAAHHHHHHGGGGG!

[amdezurik]

04:12 PM on 09/23/2010

cops, being inherent bullies tend to Taser (torture by any other name) the "suspect" multiple times, and seem to find the twitching and pants peeing funny. to those types when they do d1e it just means the fun is over and they have to find a way to obstruct any investigation

[RasputinsLiver]

04:23 PM on 09/23/2010

That's been my observation.

[bordercollielove]

04:11 PM on 09/23/2010

It is easy to sit and judge police officers and their actions if you don't walk in their shoes. You can't condemn the whole profession on the actions of a few officers that show bad judgement.

[sean62965]

04:17 PM on 09/23/2010

Its more than just a few.

[merlin57]

04:28 PM on 09/23/2010

Yah... we now have multiple states with over 50 taser deaths.

The thing that the proponants of tasers like to argue is that cops cannot deploy it without themselves being tasered. Frankly, thats a red herring in my opinion. What is really needed is not more weapons in the hands of the police but better vetting of applicants along with more training and a consistent message that they work FOR us, not against us.

[RasputinsLiver]

04:24 PM on 09/23/2010

Of course cops would say that.

But the fact is the good ones are in the minority.

[Christaic]

03:59 PM on 09/23/2010

Tasers kill, end of story!

[Matt Herren]

04:50 PM on 09/23/2010

So do knives and clubs.

[2garen]

05:12 PM on 09/23/2010

A screw driver could be used as a weapon, a bottle, a pillow,The difference between a knife and a taser is the knife is a tool to be used or abused . Example you can cut a piece of meat or a tomato with a knife
The whole purpose of a taser is used to subdue or kill a person. This tool is not in the hands of the public generally. It is not in every house.It is used by the police state and has been advertised as a thing to subdue people with less harm. The is a lie.It is about control and that is the sole purpose of a taser. Those that manufacture such a thing have portrayed it to being safe. It is not.

[AndyWright68]

03:55 PM on 09/23/2010

Tasers are torture. According to the UN and IMO.

[Rodger leMonde]

03:55 PM on 09/23/2010

A weapon you don't understand belongs to your enemy. One day some where a cop is going to learn this and then tasers will become deadly force.

[RasputinsLiver]

04:15 PM on 09/23/2010

They have learned it and the have become deadly force.

[James in ucity]

03:39 PM on 09/23/2010

Cops need to take tazing someone as seriously as shooting someone.

They don't.

[DynamitePanda]

03:31 PM on 09/23/2010

I believe that tasers should be more regulated, and possibly used as a weapon when there is extreme merit for it, for the person being tased.

For example, a cop decides to tase a 55-year-old male who is resisting arrest and yelling at the cops to "please don't taser me". He quite possibly could have a severe heart condition, or some kind of medical status on him, that the cops do not know about. Frankly, he could have a pace maker, he could have some kind of pain pump device; when tased these devices would go haywire. Ultimately killing him if these devices *were* to malfunction.

[RasputinsLiver]

04:27 PM on 09/23/2010

Fanned and faved for an excellent post