Taser Incidents
Recently there have been a number of high profile incidents involving the deaths of people due to being hit by tasers by the police. In Vancouver, last month, Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant was killed by one. Due to the recent number of deaths, I think the time has come to do a full review on the use of tasers by the police.
In the case of Robert Dziekanski, he may have been acting erratically, but there were four police officers there and he was unarmed so they could have easily tackled him to the ground and handcuffed him. Although some might have claimed excessive force was used, at least he would still be alive today. In addition, the Vancouver Airport Authority offers translation services in 125 languages including Polish, so if you have someone who cannot speak English acting erratically, wouldn't it make sense to get a translator first to find out why. I saw the video of the incident and it seemed totally unnecessary to taser him once, but certainly after he was on the ground in pain, it was completely inappropriate to taser him a second time, which is likely what killed him. In light of this one, another one in Montreal, and one in Halifax recently, we need to start treating tasers as lethal weapons much like we do with the police sidearms.
All police have firearms, but they go through extensive training and only use them if their life is threatened. This is why we don't hear often about individuals being killed by police firearms and when it happens the suspect usually was armed himself and threatening the police. There may be a smaller likelihood of dying from a taser than a gunshot, but nonetheless it still can kill one.
In the case of Robert Dziekanski, the four police officers should be suspended until a full investigation on the case is completed. If it is determined any of them acted inappropriately, the possibility of charges should not be ruled out. In the mean time a full review of the use of tasers by police should be conducted to prevent any future such incidents.
I don't believe the police should be banned from using tasers as the police do put themselves in dangerous situations that sometimes do require lethal force, but they should be used only if the officer is in danger, not as a method of subduing a suspect who poses no danger. If a suspect was running towards an officer with a knife and threatening to stab him or her, then it would be appropriate to use a taser, but if a suspect is acting a little crazy but posing no threat to the officer directly, using a taser is not appropriate.
By requiring all officers who carry them to go through extensive training and to only use them as the last resort, we can nearly eliminate such incidents, much as the same way we really hear about one being wrongly shot by an officer.
In the case of Robert Dziekanski, he may have been acting erratically, but there were four police officers there and he was unarmed so they could have easily tackled him to the ground and handcuffed him. Although some might have claimed excessive force was used, at least he would still be alive today. In addition, the Vancouver Airport Authority offers translation services in 125 languages including Polish, so if you have someone who cannot speak English acting erratically, wouldn't it make sense to get a translator first to find out why. I saw the video of the incident and it seemed totally unnecessary to taser him once, but certainly after he was on the ground in pain, it was completely inappropriate to taser him a second time, which is likely what killed him. In light of this one, another one in Montreal, and one in Halifax recently, we need to start treating tasers as lethal weapons much like we do with the police sidearms.
All police have firearms, but they go through extensive training and only use them if their life is threatened. This is why we don't hear often about individuals being killed by police firearms and when it happens the suspect usually was armed himself and threatening the police. There may be a smaller likelihood of dying from a taser than a gunshot, but nonetheless it still can kill one.
In the case of Robert Dziekanski, the four police officers should be suspended until a full investigation on the case is completed. If it is determined any of them acted inappropriately, the possibility of charges should not be ruled out. In the mean time a full review of the use of tasers by police should be conducted to prevent any future such incidents.
I don't believe the police should be banned from using tasers as the police do put themselves in dangerous situations that sometimes do require lethal force, but they should be used only if the officer is in danger, not as a method of subduing a suspect who poses no danger. If a suspect was running towards an officer with a knife and threatening to stab him or her, then it would be appropriate to use a taser, but if a suspect is acting a little crazy but posing no threat to the officer directly, using a taser is not appropriate.
By requiring all officers who carry them to go through extensive training and to only use them as the last resort, we can nearly eliminate such incidents, much as the same way we really hear about one being wrongly shot by an officer.
posted by Monkey Loves to Fight at 7:13 PM
3 Comments:
Personally I believe everyone has been jumping to conclusions as to the cause of his death. Yes, I believe police were the cause of it, but not the taser. If you look at the video you can see after the victim is down on the ground, one of the officers is putting his full weight with his knee on Robert Dziekanski's neck, which is a HUUUGE no-no. Thats my theory anyways. the possibility is still there that the Taser caused it, but I would like to wait for the autopsy report before jumping to conclusions.
the neck is really a fragile place....so I wouldn't doubt the possibility.....I still think those 4 rcmp were pretty lazy to whip out the taser right away....like geeze at least calgary cops manhandle you a bit before they decide to say screw it zap em!
Tory@york, you might be right on this particular case, although considering there have been three recent deaths by tasers, it does seem that they are somewhat problematic.
Manuel - I fully agree. Tasering him once was unnecessary, but at least he might have lived, tasering him again once he was on the ground on pain was completely unacceptable. When tasers were first introduced in Britain, they could only be used in a case where one would otherwise use a firearm and clearly in Dziekanski's case, use of a firearm wouldn't be appropriate. If the police started treating tasers like they did firearms, there would be relatively few cases like this since an officer goes through extensive training to use a firearm and only uses it when their life is threatened, not as a method of subduing a suspect.
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