No Tasers for San Francisco PD

[Bateluer]

http://www.ktar.com/index.php?nid=6&sid=1270522

I am confused, the officers can't get tasers or stun guns because they may be lethal. So you arm of the officers with hand guns, guaranteed to be lethal? I'd rather be shocked than shot, personally. I know there have been a lot of abuses and deaths in the news related to Tasers, but most seem to be from the officer's abusing them. Couldn't that be addressed with training?

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco's police commission has rejected a plan backed by the police chief to arm officers with stun guns.

The commission voted 4-3 Wednesday night against drafting a policy for the use of the devices by officers after hearing from researchers and experts who said stun guns could be lethal.

Some commissioners have expressed concerns about the device's safety.

But Chief George Gascon says arming officers with stun guns would reduce the number of police injuries, save some suspects' lives and save the city money.

The former Mesa police chief cites a study that found as many as a third of officer-involved shootings in San Francisco over the past five years could have been avoided with Tasers.

San Francisco is one of the few major U.S. cities that does not arm its officers with the devices.

Tasers are manufactured by Taser International in Scottsdale, Ariz

 

[dainthomas]

They should go back to billy clubs. At least some of those tubbies would get a workout.

 

[rudder]

Tasers are fine... just too many dumb ass cops think tasering someone 20 times is a good thing.

Cops in Nashville killed a guy who was tripping on X or LSD. Rather than subdue the college kid... they shot him 19 times with a taser causing him to have heart failure.

 

[Hacp]

They should go back to billy clubs. At least some of those tubbies would get a workout.

Plus it gives the criminals with guns and other firearms a fighting chance.

 

[dainthomas]

Plus it gives the criminals with guns and other firearms a fighting chance.

No, they'd get both. If the perp is still crawling (in a threatening manner) after a couple dozen whacks, then they can pop 'em.

 

[Rhonda the Sly]

Tasers are used because they're supposed to be a nonlethal alternative to guns that don't put officers in immediate proximity to potentially dangerous people, like batons do. If the tasers are proving to be too lethal or prone to abuse for the police commission then they're not doing what they're billed to do.

That said, these officers probably should still have tasers because they allow police to escalate more incrementally than going from baton to gun. They're not that lethal, San Francisco Police Commission!

 

[kage69]

The exposure of Police abuse via taser has gotten a lot of press lately. Thanks youtube? I expect more cities to follow suit, or at least opt for other non-lethal technologies.

I'm all for cops staying alive, but I think the label of "non-lethal" and a tasers reach causes these devices to be abused more readily than say, a baton or fist. Those leave marks too.

 

[StageLeft]

What do the numbers say? Have these resulted in less lethalities? More safety for cops? Despite their risks I bet they are overall a boon for policing.

 

[MotF Bane]

It's SF. Do you expect sense?

 

[Atreus21]

What do they expect us to use, man? Harsh language?

 

[highland145]

What do the numbers say? Have these resulted in less lethalities? More safety for cops? Despite their risks I bet they are overall a boon for policing.

This.

Like to see the news is all tased perps were shot instead. Might reduce the court backlog.

 

[Bateluer]

What do they expect us to use, man? Harsh language?

They could give you an iPad that could profit instructions on how to 'talk sternly' to offenders?

 

[Ns1]

They should stick to billy clubs and fists as the preferred means of subduing a suspect

 

[CitizenKain]

Maybe the police could work harder on not instantly tazing everyone they come across. But that would require competent police, and that isn't going to happen in this country.

 

[JEDIYoda]

awwwww........boohooo

 

[Bateluer]

Maybe the police could work harder on not instantly tazing everyone they come across. But that would require competent police, and that isn't going to happen in this country.

Because the police are so effective in other nations . . .

 

[highland145]

Because the police are so effective in other nations . . .

They were very effective in that vid posted a few weeks back. Brought them out in the street and shot them. Taped it for propaganda.

 

[woolfe9999]

Maybe the police could work harder on not instantly tazing everyone they come across. But that would require competent police, and that isn't going to happen in this country.

Police are no better or worse here as anywhere else, and as a group, no more or less competent than any other. What is the hate for police in particular?

Anyway, I agree with the OP's original statement, that if police are in certain instances over-tasing people and causing death, that issue can be addressed through training.

- wolf

 

[sandorski]

Maybe the police could work harder on not instantly tazing everyone they come across. But that would require competent police, and that isn't going to happen in this country.

This really is the problem, albeit exaggerated in your Post. The Police have misused this new Technology so much and the Technology has proven to not be as benign as advertised, that at this time it seems prudent to rethink arming the Police with them.

Better Training and much more stringent policy regarding various threat levels probably will adequately address the issue and make Tasers a useful tool.

 

[squirrel dog]

Why isn't there a bullet that would rinder a person helpless,but not hurt/dead ? Not a bean bag , not a plastic bullet , something else .

 

[nobodyknows]

Tasers are used because they're supposed to be a nonlethal alternative to guns that don't put officers in immediate proximity to potentially dangerous people, like batons do. If the tasers are proving to be too lethal or prone to abuse for the police commission then they're not doing what they're billed to do.

That said, these officers probably should still have tasers because they allow police to escalate more incrementally than going from baton to gun. They're not that lethal, San Francisco Police Commission!

I think there is the problem, abuse. Police, especially big city police suffer from the "us versus them" mentality and don't realize that because someone gets stupid once that doesn't automatically make him sub-human.

 

[highland145]

Why isn't there a bullet that would rinder a person helpless,but not hurt/dead ? Not a bean bag , not a plastic bullet , something else .

Physics, if it's fired.

 

[nobodyknows]

Why isn't there a bullet that would rinder a person helpless,but not hurt/dead ? Not a bean bag , not a plastic bullet , something else .

Tranquilizer dart?

 

[Pocatello]

Tranquilizer dart?

Just like Chuck. But everybody responses differently to tranquilizer, just like tasers. It might be harmless to some people but it might be deadly to some.

 

[DucatiMonster696]

It doesn't matter what the SFPD is armed with in the end as they will always be considered the "evil bad guys" by the left in the city who would still whine even if the cops were armed with Star Trek phasers with a stun setting.