TASER, (Frazer Chronicles)
Now there's a word, TASER, that evokes all sorts of reactions, from a law enforcement tool, to wonderment and misunderstanding, to humor. I've watched Tru-T.V. and got a big kick out of watching drunks, to punks, to old ladies getting zapped by cops with TASER's, rolling around on the ground, unable to control themselves. But there's a serious side to these actions regarding zapping somebody with these things that I never realized, death.
I didn't even realize that there are several different types of these high-voltage stun devices available out there, in use today. Each can cause cardiac arrhythmia in susceptible subjects, leading possibly to heart attack or death in minutes. There is also the possibility of igniting flammable materials, gasses or vapors, some of these C.S. (methyl isobutyl keton) gasses are used by law enforcement as a restraint, before administering a TASER jolt.
Of course the TASER (I will use TASER in reference to all high-voltage devices herein) was suggested as an tool in the interrogation of prisoners in the war against terror. During the course of training in the United States military, it became apparent that the use of TASERING soldiers or civilian personnel during these training sessions could potentially cause seizures or ventricular fibrillation and the Aberdeen Proving Grounds recommended not to use any high-voltage devices on American personnel.
The United Nations Committee Against Torture, (CAT), an agency charged with overseeing torture, cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment came to the conclusion that the use of electric pulse TASER guns constituted a (form of torture) and could even cause death. Thus the U.N. declared TASERING a form of torture and shouldn't be used.
Police departments across the country have endorsed the use of the TASER in law enforcement as a valuable tool in subduing suspects or keeping control of a (situation). The number of cops that have been TASERED during training, (according to most cops) is no big deal. Amazing to me is the number of police officers that say that they have been "zapped" by a high-voltage device, must be close to 100%.
However a few cops have come forward with how the devise must really feel, describing it "as the worst pain that they have ever felt," and "would never do it again." Strangely police officers in at least five states have filed charges against TASER International, the largest producer, citing serious injuries after being TASERED, including one report of spinal injury.
There is little credible study or analysis reporting TASER use and the deaths resulting from their use. Although the use of these devices clearly is painful, debilitating and seems possibly to be an additive in causing death, Local, state and the federal government authorities seem reluctant to explore the issues of the use of these tools of law enforcement or to tabulate statistics.
It seems to me as if the law enforcement community has embraced the increased use of these instruments of high-voltage in the course of their daily duties. Is it possible that risk-averse police officers resort to the TASER in situations which, in years past more conventional alternatives might have been used, you know, like talking at length to a suspect?
We have all watched cops "take charge" of a situation and move people away from possible injury or death. Some of us have been involved with law enforcement personally, leaving us to wonder exactly where they are coming from and what, exactly what they intend to do. We all know that there is abuse by police, we all know there are bad cops and we all know that there are corrupt cops. I make a distinction between a bad cop and a corrupt cop, given the fact that some people that are cops simply do a poor job at their profession.
There seems to be a brand new attitude with regards to law enforcement throughout the United States. More and more reports of physical abuse are being cited, more head injury seems to be inflicted as police light up or shine a suspect. The "blue wall" seems to be getting higher and thicker and nobody within the force seems to be at fault when it comes to excessive force. Where is this all leading us?
There are even recently invented new terms to explain away, or re-invent meanings of some words. While TASERS are not technically considered lethal, some authorities and non-governmental organizations question the degree of safety presented by the weapons and the ethical implications of using a weapon that is designed to disable a person can be lethal.
The term "non-lethal" is a label often tacked onto the use of TASERING somebody, a rather new term in law enforcement, I'm thinking. Also brand new, over the past ten years, is the term "excited delirium" as a contributing factor in the cause of death. This "excited delirium" has NOT been be excepted as a valid medical term. It is not listed in the diagnostic and statistical manuals of mental disorders by the American Medical Association.
TASER International in their printed training material has stated that repeated TASERING can "impair breathing and respiration," and that "prolonged TASERING can contribute to significant potentially fatal health risk."
Seems to me as if maybe we need to throw a lasso out there and reel in some of this wild west, Roger Ramjet activity that seems to be getting worse. At 67, I know one zap would do me in, cops scare me to death, they always have.
There is little credible study or analysis reporting TASER use and the deaths resulting from their use. Although the use of these devices clearly is painful, debilitating and seems possibly to be an additive in causing death, Local, state and the federal government authorities seem reluctant to explore the issues of the use of these tools of law enforcement or to tabulate statistics.
It seems to me as if the law enforcement community has embraced the increased use of these instruments of high-voltage in the course of their daily duties. Is it possible that risk-averse police officers resort to the TASER in situations which, in years past more conventional alternatives might have been used, you know, like talking at length to a suspect?
We have all watched cops "take charge" of a situation and move people away from possible injury or death. Some of us have been involved with law enforcement personally, leaving us to wonder exactly where they are coming from and what, exactly what they intend to do. We all know that there is abuse by police, we all know there are bad cops and we all know that there are corrupt cops. I make a distinction between a bad cop and a corrupt cop, given the fact that some people that are cops simply do a poor job at their profession.
There seems to be a brand new attitude with regards to law enforcement throughout the United States. More and more reports of physical abuse are being cited, more head injury seems to be inflicted as police light up or shine a suspect. The "blue wall" seems to be getting higher and thicker and nobody within the force seems to be at fault when it comes to excessive force. Where is this all leading us?
There are even recently invented new terms to explain away, or re-invent meanings of some words. While TASERS are not technically considered lethal, some authorities and non-governmental organizations question the degree of safety presented by the weapons and the ethical implications of using a weapon that is designed to disable a person can be lethal.
The term "non-lethal" is a label often tacked onto the use of TASERING somebody, a rather new term in law enforcement, I'm thinking. Also brand new, over the past ten years, is the term "excited delirium" as a contributing factor in the cause of death. This "excited delirium" has NOT been be excepted as a valid medical term. It is not listed in the diagnostic and statistical manuals of mental disorders by the American Medical Association.
TASER International in their printed training material has stated that repeated TASERING can "impair breathing and respiration," and that "prolonged TASERING can contribute to significant potentially fatal health risk."
Seems to me as if maybe we need to throw a lasso out there and reel in some of this wild west, Roger Ramjet activity that seems to be getting worse. At 67, I know one zap would do me in, cops scare me to death, they always have.
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