Maybe they should put a mechanism where it stops after 3 or 4 electroshocks.

This is an excellent idea, something like a built in timer + counter, so if the counter goes to 3 or something, the timer activates to like an hour or something, and its unusable till then.

But like THATS gonna happen :\

Why install a cooldown on the taser? Why not TRAIN THE PEOPLE USING THEM TO NOT KILL PEOPLE WITH THEM?

This isn't an issue of omg taser this is an issue of some stupid cop (maybe or maybe not a redneck you racists) killing some guy. If he had shot the guy to death the questions would all be the same: was it justifiable? was the guy still a threat? murder or protocol?

If you punch somebody in the face once, it will hurt them. If you punch them in the face twenty times while they lay their defenseless, you'll do major damage. The same is true of a taser, only to a much greater degree. This is simply a question of some asshole not using any kind of judgement whatsoever other than "yipes gotta get this guy!" (for whatever reason). The fact is that they had documented proof that this guy was already using his taser way too much and they should have stepped in before he used it to kill someone.

"Come on guys he done what he thought was right and something happened or whatever I don't really know they don't teach us how to use these thar things when they gone and done give 'em to us."

This is what happens when you give stupid people any kind of power: it gets abused. In the right hands a taser is a good thing because it protects police officers (f*ck da police) and lets them take down highly belligerent suspects. In the wrong hands it's just another weapon, just like a club or a gun or mace or a KITCHEN KNIFE for Christ's sake.

dude, he was in the police car, and he PULLED HIM OUT to tazer him more. that makes no sense.

Why install a cooldown on the taser? Why not TRAIN THE PEOPLE USING THEM TO NOT KILL PEOPLE WITH THEM?

because you CAN'T. No matter what you do, cockheads like this will ALWAYS be around. So yeah.

dude, he was in the police car, and he PULLED HIM OUT to tazer him more. that makes no sense.

Yeah obviously the guy was a stupid asshole and also most probably a murderer! But the weapon isn't at fault, the guy is.

because you CAN'T. No matter what you do, cockheads like this will ALWAYS be around. So yeah.

Yeah, obviously. But limiting its use might screw people who aren't cockheads who might need to use them more than 3 times on a group of suspects or something (I don't know I am a not a crimes doctor).

We should be endeavouring to weed out the cockheads (the problem) and not be blaming a tool because it was used improperly by those said cockheads (the symptom).

edit: ASE, wasn't Lt. Curry the guy who was defending the cop who actually killed him?

i mean, that's the least of what i noticed, ase.  it's a given they're all trying to cover their own asses; one of the few ways this type of shit is guaranteed to have serious repercussions for them is when it makes its rounds through the old reliable media circuit and people start WANTING BLOOD etc.  of course they're going to try to make it seem like something happened and he died through no fault of their own under so much national scrutiny!  they have to realize after seeing all that JENA SIX shit like less than a year ago (and apparently like 20 miles away) that they probably won't get off free on this shit like they usually do if it becomes an object of attention for everyone who watches cnn or whatever and come off as a bunch of racist pigs, so honestly it's not too surprising at all that they're trying to play it off like it's nothing out of the ordinary or shady at all.  just arrested a druggie and he had a heart attack or overdosed or something and died a few hours later in the hospital thats all hehe ^^

Why install a cooldown on the taser? Why not TRAIN THE PEOPLE USING THEM TO NOT KILL PEOPLE WITH THEM?

yes kaempfer clearly this is just a case of poor training and all of the officers on the scene, one of which was actually in charge of training other officers how to use the tasers, simply didn't realize that they couldn't taser someone nine times without killing them.  he pulled a barely conscious and totally subdued (i don't think it's possible to be anything else after being hit with a taser six times) man out of the back of his squad car at the station and shot him directly in the chest with a taser.  do you seriously think OH UH I DIDNT KNOW I COULDNT DO THAT OOPS LOL is a plausible excuse?  it was clearly intentional, man, and better training won't do anything if that's the case.  where in this topic are people blaming the weapon?  i'm pretty sure everyone's blaming the racist scumbag cop!

Yeah it was clearly intentional, sorry I didn't mean it was just a lack of training (I was actually thinking of that Polish guy who was killed in Toronto but made no mention of him so that was probably confusing).

I am not defending this guy at all! I think he is pretty obvious a murderer who used the taser to kill a guy, but I am just saying he is using the taser as a crutch and it wasn't the taser's fault! I think it is a pretty good thing to give cops, is all.

Tasors only have to be used once, other means like billy clubs require beatings. And i'd rather rookies and assholes abuse tasors then something like pepper spray (as much), or use guns in there stead. It's also not just the voltage that kills, it's the strength of the current too.

Plus the tasor has to hit the chest area to be lethal, cause it's close enough to possibly stop the heart.

Tasors only have to be used once, other means like billy clubs require beatings. And i'd rather rookies and assholes abuse tasors then something like pepper spray (as much), or use guns in there stead. It's also not just the voltage that kills, it's the strength of the current too.

Plus the tasor has to hit the chest area to be lethal, cause it's close enough to possibly stop the heart.

How did you misspell taser when it appears at least fifty times in this thread?

They only would only ever aim for the chest or stomach (or perhaps the thigh) when tasering someone; they're not going to try to tase their index finger as they flail it around wildly.

Because, and I'll reiterate, every weapon inevitably ends up being misused. They should be banned, period.

I don't know if you're suggesting banning weapons or something, but if not then what would you suggest the police replace tasers with? Tasers are controllable and not very effective for committing crimes, and so criminals will never (probably) favour them over other weapons. This means that tasers aren't a weapon that escalates weapons use like guns are- more tasers for police doesn't mean more taser violence on the streets. Perhaps there will be some rise, but knives and guns will still dominate the criminal's arsenal.

Banning a weapon has never been proven to be an effective deterrent to its use anyways. If not tasers, then something else. The cops who want to abuse their weapons are going to, regardless of whether it is a taser or that sickstick thing in that Tom Cruise movie about the future. A much more effective course would be set up carefully tailored guidelines and regulations specific to the use of tasers for police and civilians and make sure everyone who owns one is bombarded with that information. This would, at least, lead to police and civilians who abuse the taser and use it as a lethal weapon being punished for their crimes rather than being able to escape through a quagmire of indecision and red tape.

I don't really believe their is such a thing as a non-lethal weapon, but there are varying degrees of lethality. Until criminals stop using weapons (never) we should continue arming our police with the tools they need to fight crime. However, with every weapon we give them we should ensure that they understand that any weapon used should be used sparingly and as a last resort, and we should ensure that they understand their will be consequences for doing so.