Stun Gun Justice

Here is my problem with the Taser. We were all told that Police needed pepper-spray because it was better to pepper-spray someone than shoot them. That sounded reasonable, much better the trigger happy cops pepper-spray someone rather than blow a couple of holes in them. BUT THEN came evidence that the cops used pepper-spray when people were handcuffed, that effectively is torture, the person has been arrested, but to then cause someone in custody pain is something Banana Republic's do. And let’s not forget how cops also use dogs to rip people up well after they have surrendered. We now have the Taser, a weapon already responsible for 200 deaths in America, my fear is that the cops we have in this country have already proven themselves liars when it comes topepper-spraying people without justification, and we will see that with the Taser. Would it be acceptable to any of you that cops Taser someone in handcuffs?

Cut backs in Police budgets means it only takes 19 weeks to train people to be cops. 19 weeks is a joke, it creates cops who don’t have the articulated skills to diffuse situations, and so they will reach immediately in an alpha-male kinda way for their Taser. Why would we give cops another weapon to use when we don’t have an independent police complaints authority – how can we as civilians hold the cops to account when we don’t even have a place to go and complain if they over step their authority.

We can’t rely on the media to discuss this as they won’t be the ones who get Tasered, and seeing as we live in an extremely conservative society right now where Bigots like Bob Clarkson are defended by the masses and parents pop their kid into the local prison kindergarten and then show shock that he is murdered, we are left to argue these issues on the fringes.