tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post7904911571828813691..comments2023-12-31T03:18:37.403-06:00Comments on "E pur si muove!": Yet Another Dubious Use of a TaserLester Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14746157071827337723noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-4545908401566983672009-09-06T11:00:49.207-05:002009-09-06T11:00:49.207-05:00Will,
That's a good point, and very pertinent...Will,<br /><br />That's a good point, and very pertinent, but I don't think it means that tasers should <i>never</i> be used. After all, shooting someone with a pistol is far more violent and likely to be fatal than shooting with a taser. So at least the first half of the principle I laid down in the post survives. The principle was:<br /><br />"Tasers should only be used as substitutes for more violent measures (such as clubbing or shooting the suspect), and only in situations where these more violent measures would be justified, or when less violent alternatives would be excessively hazardous for the police officer involved."<br /><br />Come to think of it, your point would probably require me to take out the example of clubbing the suspect with a nightstick, as that is probably less dangerous than tasering.<br /><br />As to how it affects the second half of my principle -- about excessive risk for the cop -- I am less sure. I guess your point would raise the bar somewhat as to what should count as "excessive" hazard.<br /><br />Anyway, good point. Maybe I should post about this.Lester Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14746157071827337723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-68027008112100223712009-09-06T03:19:45.926-05:002009-09-06T03:19:45.926-05:00Tasers have killed people with weak hearts, like a...Tasers have killed people with weak hearts, like a Polish immigrant who couldn't speak English, tasered by the Mounties, here in Canada at the airport; he died soon after.<br /><br />If tasers are ostenibly meant to be non-lethal forms of subduing dangerous people, they don't always work; there's certainly a fair chance the person tasered might not live. Thus, tasers are unacceptable; the police should not be permitted to use them. Period.Will S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02714519301979594160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-53301214205025524922009-08-22T21:38:32.407-05:002009-08-22T21:38:32.407-05:00"The guy said something about getting his gun..."The guy said something about getting his gun. That statement puts him in a high-risk category."<br /><br />No. Talk about a gun is not a gun.<br /><br />"... he might be concealing a small knife (or other weapon) that he could use to gash the first officer to get close."<br /><br />This is true of everybody, so on this reasoning the cops could legitimately taze anyone at any time. Look, being a cop is a dangerous job, and this particular risk is clearly within the limits of the danger they have a duty to accept. If they have a right to taser people for a flimsy reason like this, that in principle multiplies this risk and shifts it from them to everybody else, including you.<br /><br />"Would they use a taser, if they could have ordered him onto the ground and arrested him without the taser?"<br /><br />Unfortunately, this happens all the time. Just go to Youtube and do a search for words like "traffic stop taser" or "grandmother taser" or "grandfather taser." You will get quite an eyefull, thank God we live in the age of dashboard cams and cellphone video. Cops do a dangerous and necessary job, but that does not make them saints.Lester Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14746157071827337723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-19395067172829916702009-08-22T15:02:19.365-05:002009-08-22T15:02:19.365-05:00The guy said something about getting his gun. That...The guy said something about getting his gun. That statement puts him in a high-risk category. Even if he complied with the police, he would be in a high-risk category. But if they ordered him to get on the ground, and he ignored them (which I suspect), then he is even more dangerous, as he might be concealing a small knife (or other weapon) that he could use to gash the first officer to get close. I'm sure that's happened before. I'm going to give the police the benefit of the doubt here. Would they use a taser, if they could have ordered him onto the ground and arrested him without the taser? I think it's more paperwork for the officers anytime a taser is used.Max Kuenkelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12807026662107157577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-30926666913351984332009-08-20T10:39:08.954-05:002009-08-20T10:39:08.954-05:00Yes, we see that attitude a lot.Yes, we see that attitude a lot.Lester Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14746157071827337723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-52264582016211476502009-08-20T08:43:35.544-05:002009-08-20T08:43:35.544-05:00"is it pious because it is loved by the gods,..."is it pious because it is loved by the gods, or it is loved by the gods because it is pious?"<br /><br />"the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must"<br /><br />and like, the dude was totally asking for it!Jeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00810448111306323791noreply@blogger.com