Another Taser Video
and another example of how tasers, rather than a means of last resort, are being used to force people to comply simply because it seems so much easier.
And why worry? After all, the manufacturer tells us they're completely "safe".
As I pointed out before, their "safety" isn't the issue. It's how they're being used that's the problem. The increasingly careless use of these weapons to force obedience is the best argument I've seen for banning their use. And Digby says it quite well:
Police in the country are now allowed to torture speeders by the side of the highway in order to get them to comply. The only difference between this officer slugging the speeder in the stomach and putting 50,0000 volts of electricity in him is that the latter doesn't leave any marks. The intent, the pain and the goose-stepping authoritarian message are exactly the same.
Time to take their new toy away.
