Posted by Racer on January 27, 2008, at 18:52:51
In reply to It's the technological fix, isn't it, posted by Sigismund on January 26, 2008, at 1:15:30
I think the idea is to have a weapon which protects the police in a similar manner to guns, but without the issue of lethality.
I can see a number of issues which could lead to the problems we're seeing with Tasers, though:
Some officers may not be as ethical as we might like. It's not an uncommon human reaction to want to strike out at someone once in a while, maybe they've hurt you, maybe their behavior has left you feeling frustrated, maybe you just think they "deserve it" for some reason. Most of us learn to cope with those impulses by adulthood, but most of us aren't armed and placed regularly into potentially dangerous situations, as police officers are. So, maybe some less mature individuals employed in a police force may see Tasers as a "safe" means of striking out at someone. That's the sort of thing the psychological exams to join the force are designed to weed out, but they're not 100% effective. In some cases, better training about the dangers of Tasers might help.
And sometimes, the situation looks so dangerous that immediate force seems the only option. Since I've never been a police officer faced with that situation, I can't say what I'd do.
{sigh} I'd like to say that it's all one thing or another, but the fact is, there have been so many mentally ill individuals shot and killed by police over the years that I think I gotta say that at least Tasers might be an improvement over that -- at least someone is more likely to survive a Taser than a couple of gunshots...
I dunno. I guess I'm glad I don't have to know any answers about this...
poster:Racer
thread:808494
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20070708/msgs/809223.html