I would like to send my condolences to the loved ones of the young man killed in Oakland. Convincing as that officer may have been in court of his innocence, one thing remains true, that Oscar Grant is dead.
The young man was defenseless. He could have been anyone. Convict or a pregnant protester. Controversy about the use of taser guns is not just how they effect the victim, now the controversy is if it is safe for an officer to have multiple weapons in holsters. If an officer does not know the difference between a taser and a handgun,
how many of the United States citizens are AT RISK? That is the question that needs to be answered by law enforcement.
Taser Guns Controversial?
Written by Joseph Nicholson
The effects of a taser gun
eHow website
Though the vast majority of people shocked with Tasers suffer no lasting effects, part of the Taser controversy is how the weapons are used, and the implications of this use. Police officers in the
United States
generally carry Tasers, even the ones assigned to public schools. This has resulted in several
children being Tasered, including a 6-year old boy and 12-year-old girl in Miami, and a 15-year-old boy in Michigan who died soon after. Though Taser International claims its weapons are safe on people weighing more than 60 pounds, and some school officials laud the guns as effective tools of intimidation, use of Tasers on schoolchildren remains controversial. Other concerns center on the use of Tasers as a means of political suppression, since they are more likely to be used on protesters than conventional weapons, and that their nonlethal designation masks potential risks to nonviolent demonstrators. A pregnant woman Tasered in 2005 brought attention to these risks, especially regarding people with health risks that might not be immediately apparent to a police officer. That same year, the Taser was criticized as a potential means of torture after a Texas inmate died from cardiac arrest in the wake of nearly three minutes of continuous shock from police Tasers.
Read more:
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4923539_effects-taser-gun.html
Tags: Death Oscar Grant Taser Controversy Safety
