Why tasers should be banned

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Keep Southwest Georgia in Business. Gray DC Bureau. Investigate TV. Amnesty is concerned that Tasers are being used as a routine tool of law enforcement rather than as a weapon of last resort. It says the vast majority of people killed by Tasers were unarmed and posed no danger to police. Officers subjected 92 people to between three and 21 shocks. One man died after being electro-shocked for 57 continuous seconds.

The rate of death appears to be increasing. In one week in November alone, four people died in the United States after being hit by Tasers. Canada has had its problems with the controversial weapon as well. In September, Claudio Castagnetta, a year-old Italian, died in a Quebec City jail after he was jolted with a Taser while allegedly having a psychotic episode.

And in November, Howard Hyde, a year-old paranoid schizophrenic man, died in a Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, jail 30 hours after being Tasered by police. What is striking is the similarity in the behaviour of the officers in Nottingham and that of the RCMP.

In fact a large number of films to be found on YouTube show the same total lack of concern for people who are already on the ground and are no threat. A red mist seems to descend in the officers. Or is it merely panic? Certainly the shooting of the war veteran in Wales would seem to indicate that police officers are so imbued with the doctrines of health and safety that they think nothing of hurting some innocent member of the public rather than risking their own safety.

Many believe that this is the right way round and point to an increase in violent crime. But I would argue that when there are British police officers under investigation for water torture and numerous complaints about the violent policing of the G20 demonstrations it seems only sensible that the new home secretary suspends the weapon until a full review has been completed.

The Taser is bad for the police and bad for the public and it should be banned in all but exceptional circumstances.