Fried Pork

Tasers fired only five times
Police tasers have been pulled on 46 people, including two aged under 16, since they were officially introduced this year. In most cases the weapon which packs a 50,000-volt electric shock did not have to be fired, with people giving themselves up without the need for it to be used. Figures provided under the Official Information Act show that between January and the end of June, Tasers were presented 46 times, but fired only five times. Most of the targets so far this year have been men, almost half were Maori, and in two cases the guns were pointed at teenagers aged between 14 and 16. Police believed half of the people were affected by drugs or alcohol, a quarter were having a "mental health crisis", and 36 of them were believed to have had access to a weapon. In 89 per cent of cases the Taser was only pointed rather than triggered. Green Party police spokesman Keith Locke was concerned the "terrifying" power of Tasers could see police rely on them as an easy way to control difficult people. "It's a terror weapon, which is one reason police like it. But it could lead to more medical problems, deaths, and is not the best way to treat mentally ill people."

Look, the cops have lowered the physical requirements to be a cop meaning you have less physically confident Police which means they require a weapon that can enforce compliance, and that’s what these figures really show us. These aren’t 46 examples of people with weapons approaching Police, these are 46 examples of forced compliance which isn’t what the taser is allowed to be used for, in Australia they are now rethinking Tasers…


Tasers face ban after findings they can kill
THE controversial Taser stun guns may be scrapped in Queensland after a review warned that the weapons could kill and could not be modified to prevent a repeat of the death of a man this year when he was shot 28 times with the 50,000-volt device. The joint Crime and Misconduct Commission-police review, launched after the June heart-attack death of north Queensland man Antonio Galeano, has ordered an overhaul of police training and operational policy, requiring the stun guns to be used only when there is a "risk of serious injury".

…and let’s remind ourselves that the NZ Police have not been honest with Taser’s in NZ and in fact have tried to cover up their cock ups using the Taser…

Constable zaps himself and innocent teen with Taser
A constable who took a Taser to a central Auckland domestic dispute wound up shocking himself and a 16-year-old and later pepper-spraying an innocent 21-year-old woman. The constable accidentally blasted himself with the Taser's 50,000 volts as he reloaded the weapon while trying to stun a man at the centre of the domestic incident on October 1. One shot accidentally struck the man's teenage son. After five attempts to hit the man, the officer eventually used pepper spray. This hit the man's 21-year-old daughter, also an unintended target. The man eventually gave himself up. The constable, who had had Taser training, was not injured. The weapon is the police's much-vaunted alternative to firearms and is being tested by 170 frontline police in Auckland and Wellington. Police revealed details of the incident after Weekend Herald inquiries. Detective Inspector Bernie Hollewand of Auckland City police confirmed that the constable fired the Taser five times - three times loaded with cartridges and twice in "contact" mode, where it is used like a cattle prod. The first shot hit the son. Mr Hollewand said the officer claimed that just as the red laser sight was on the man's chest, he pulled his son across him. It is believed that at one point the officer received a jolt after putting his hand in the Taser. "The constable did remove one of the cartridges before a five-second discharge cycle was complete and he did feel in his hand that the device was arcing 50,000 volts." But an official police update of the Taser trial, published on October 17, makes no mention of the constable firing five times, or missing his target, zapping himself or hitting the boy. It simply says a man was contained after the Taser was fired. Police Commissioner Howard Broad also did not mention the incident when he appeared before a parliamentary committee, saying frontline officers supported the introduction of the weapon, and yesterday National Party police spokesman Simon Power wanted to know why. Police media officer Jon Neilson said the fact a Taser had been fired more than once in a single incident was not "relevant".

…here’s the beef, Cops will use tasers to force compliance because they can’t physically enforce compliance any longer, my issue is that this will get abused and with the lack of oversight on Police behaviour it’s only a matter of time before they kill someone.