Reader comments
Are Tasers good tools for police — or deadly force?

DON'T TASE ME BRO!

In all cases the cops were justified. Why? We all know why. Cops clear other cops, not a jury. Yea, we don't follow the Constitution when investigating cops actions.

Two things:

1. The headline sets up a false dichotomy. A tool is merely something useful; deadliness doesn't disqualify something as a good tool. Guns are good tools for police and hunters--and also deadly. Knives, too. Looking at it in that context, I'd have to say Tasers are good tools for police. The question is not whether they're good tools, it's how they should be used. Personally, I think sometimes they're used too much; though not necessarily deadly, they are weapons and can be dangerous. They're tools of necessity, not mere convenience.

2. If Taser is actually an acronym, then nobody should be using the word "tase." As an acronym, it can't be broken down into "tase" as the action and "taser" as the thing that performs it, because it's not a normal word. The thing is a *Taser* (probably should be capitalized, TASER), and if it's used on you, then you've been *Tasered*. Sort of like if you get hit with a laser beam, you don't get lased, you get lasered (laser is actually an acronym too, by the way; just don't ask me what it stands for). Probably doesn't matter to anybody except me...but there it is anyway.

If Officers are going to be using this device then I would hope that it would only be used in a situation where a gun would have been used but they chose to use the Taser instead of killing the subject.They should use great care in when the use of it would be justified. I have one question. What about their using it on individsuals who have a heart condition? For the most part I don't trust the judgment of todays regular police officers to use it only when needed. I feel they will overuse it to get compliance to their every whim?

that cops are just a little too trigger happy with their tasers. If they are going to use them, I feel that everytime they deploy their taser, they should have to be tazed again in the exact manner and for the same duration as their victim for each taser use, so that they do not lose sensitivity to the victim as they deploy their allegedly non-lethal weapon.

These weapons should be banned from standard police officers & use.
They have caused too many unneeded deaths in petty traffic and every day offenses nation wise.
Plus most local police officers will take this taser short cut and not take that other extra step verbal or physical wise !............

if the police use it, it must be good.

when a subject resist arrest and has aids or sores that is when you apreciate the taser.

If you don't want to be tased, don't break the law!

The article is incomplete on the motorist who was tasered by a rogue officer. He merely refused to sign a speeding ticket, which is not illegal in Utah, and the ticket is still valid without a signature. For that the officer tasered the man while his pregnant wife sat in the passenger side of the family SUV. You also left out that the officer was disciplined and relieved of duty for several weeks because of his outrageous conduct, in addition to the offer to settle with the motorist for $40,000, an admission of wrongdoing by Utah.

I'll bet the reputedly berserk guy who was recently killed in a restaurant by the gunshot of an off-duty security guard would have preferred being hit with a Taser.

I'll bet his family, who condemns the lethal actions of the guard as being premature and unnecessary, would have preferred the same.

The first comment by “Ing” is excellent.

Over 6000 children between the ages of 16-18 die every year while using a "tool" and nobody cares. In point of fact, we encourage them. This is more than the number of people who were killed in the World Trade Center attack AND all soldiers killed in the first four years of the Iraqi war. 6000 each and every year and nobody cares.

And this doesn't count the trauma, injuries and damage they cause to others. And we still let them have their driver license. A car is a "tool" as well, and yet we apparently prefer to be more concerned with faulty research, skewed statistics and an indifferent (at best) attitude of "if the police want it, it must be bad" from a vocal minority.

Go ahead, take the TASER away. But I don't want to hear a single one of you start to whine when there are more incidents of officer-involved shootings.

It is always nice to hear those that have never deployed the TASER nor have been "shocked" make uninformed comments about thier use. As a former deputy (SLCO), I have been shocked more than once and have deployed the TASER numerous times. I can say for a fact that the TASER allowed me to resolve a situation that would have been justified for lethal force on the use of force scale. A suspect tried to run over two Midvale officers, then tried to carjack two vehicles, broke into more than one home while evading arrest, and assaulted numerous civilians and officers. I deployed the TASER and he was safely taken into custody without further harm to anyone (including himself). Repeat. No further harm. I would have been justified in stopping the threat (permanently) but had the tools to prohibit any destruction of life.

I have been shocked and while it hurts, there have been no lasting reprecussions whatsoever.

Until you have been on either end, try and give the deputies and officers the benefit of the doubt. They work hard so you can sleep well at night.

Research hasn't proven that TASER's kill people, and research hasn't proven that they don't.

Maybe they should also study the effects of being hit in the chest or back with a bullet from a 9 mm calibre handgun, and compare the mortality rate.

The fact is, this is an intermediate weapon to use before the handgun. If it didn't exist, the handgun would be used, and personally (without doing the research) I believe many more people would die from the handgun.

Before everyone judges the cops for doing their jobs, maybe they should find out what kind of intimidating situations our police force is put under...

The taser is making cops lazy. Rather than negotiate or restrain someone, they can just shock them. If a few die as a result, well that's OK, isn't it? Unfortunatley, this isn't a 'just don't break the law' situation. As cops become dependent on the things, it's amazing how quickly an ordinary encounter with a cop can deterioriate into a blast from one of these things once cop attitude kicks in.

How can anyone condemn the officer that tazed Masssey after reading about the young lady that shot the cop in Utah County.
There is no way to know if someone is a threat. The only guideline is their action. Massey was a jerk who disobeyed a direct order from a police officer. He earned the tazeing by his actions.
By the way, the law does state that a speeder IS required to sign a ticket.
As Mark Twain said, "Get your facts straight before you try to distort them."

Interesting comments. However, before one judges those who dispense the use of force, perhaps you should walk a block in the officer's shoes. Have you gone through scenario based training? I am willing to bet that if you do, you will see a whole new light to this conversation. When YOU are confronted by a suspect with unknown intentions or are trying to bring order to an unknown individual, let's see what use of force option YOU choose (and subsequently, if YOU go home that evening. The best thing Taser International could do is travel the country bringing ordinary citizens into scenarios to see what would happen to them. It is easy to be brave behind the keyboard; but what would happen to those of YOU in reality based scenarios?

LASER: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission from Radiation ;)

I'm sure that these tasers are not used when not needed. Just look at peoples behavior nowdays, always wanting to be in control, never wrong of anything and so on. People need to realize that when stopped or arrested the officer is merely doing his or her job. It doesn't necessarily mean your are guilty of anything because that will be proven in court. In other words shut your mouths and don't be threating and you won't get shot or tasered. Let the officer do his job and take your complaints up with the judge. People are too combative nowdays.

You will always have trigger happy cops just like you will always have rude, inconsiderate people. Its like the comment earlier. If you don't want to get Tased than don't break the law. There are too many people in today's society that are so disrespectful and think they can do anything without getting in trouble. This is a consequence for a wrong action.

Before you judge the use of tasers by a set of anecdotes told in a news story, make sure you understand all of this from the officer's point of view. When dealing with an individual who does not cooperate, you always feel you life or health may be in danger. You never know if they have shanks, knives, or other weapons hidden somewhere, or perhaps a gun. You do not know what kind of training they have in physical combat. Every time the gun is pulled, many questions are asked, and justification has to be proved, that is, guilty until proven innocent. This is a better choice than just using deadly force.