If county wants a lawsuit, let deputies keep using tasers

Against officers using tasers by James Clark

Ask just about any police officer about using a taser gun and you will be told it’s a means of non-deadly force. That would be great if it were actually the case.

But take a few minutes and type in “taser guns” on the Internet and you will find no shortage of instances where the use of tasers has resulted in death.

What’s the best way to prevent people from dying from a taser blast? Simply not use the weapon. There’s no reason for officers to carry them.

Long before taser guns began to make their way into law enforcement some two decades ago, unruly suspects were hauled off to jail. As a deputy or police officer, that’s part of the job.

The truly worrisome aspect of tasers is that, just like all technology, tasers are becoming more and more advanced. In simple terms, that means they are becoming more powerful, injecting greater voltage into their targets each and every year.

For anyone with heart trouble, getting hit with a taser is like playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey. You don’t really know what’s going to happen. They might be stunned, or they might die.

As a community concerned about the safety of its citizens, while also protecting itself from costly lawsuits, the use of tasers makes no sense. That’s especially true since the use of tasers is becoming commonplace and they are seemingly being used more frivolously.

If officers are in actual danger, they should be drawing their firearm. If not, these well-equipped and trained professionals should have the skills, and the backup, to handle the situation without the use of a taser.