Jun 19 2008Tasers Not As Safe As Previously Thought, 1/3 Of Victims Require Medical Attention

teats!

The Geekologie writer ladies and gentlemen!
Now 700% less funny than he thinks he is!!

Well, no shit.

With 275 deaths only in the US it was quite obvious.

(quote from wikipedia: "Taser International claims that Tasers are safe, but critics disagree, citing the number of deaths occurring after Taser use. Amnesty International has documented over 245 deaths that occurred after the use of Tasers.")

They are way more dangerous than regular guns, that are fired in extreme situations only. As long as tasers are conceived as safe, non lethal weapons people will continue to die. And while it is right that everybody breaking the law should be judged and punished if found guilty, killing people on the streets with electric shocks seems a little bit excessive...

Being tased sucks.... it sucks a lot. And when people ask me why exactly I'm missing that small patch of hair on my inner thigh, I explain just how much prom sucked.... it sucked a lot.

And for the record, Dan is a douchebag asshat.

The day I'll accept being called a 'douchebag asshat' by a guy who got tased at his prom is the day you can put me to bed with a fucking shovel.

Well of course they went to the hospital. I would be willing to bet more than 1/3 of the people who get Tased are so drunk that they can't go directly to jail or when they fall from being Tased they hurt themselves. How do I know this? I do Security in a major Tampa hospital ER. I also have been Tased because I carry one while on duty.

People people! Where are your critical thinking skills? This means we have to go and buy a bunch of tasers before they get pulled off the market. And as for their bleeding heart liberal statistics, I'm pretty sure a good portion of people who drive go to the hospital every day. I'm thinking a large number of chain saw operators make an ER visit. There's risk involved with everything.

Just to clarify, it was a report by the Canadian Press and the CBC, not CBS.
Also, it was a follow up to an ongoing Study from a House of Commons committee on public safety.

This study was the result of an incident that happened at the Vancouver Airport (my hometown) where I guy who was stuck in the waiting area for over 8 hours without being able to get any help got pissed off and security called the police, who with little attempt to calm him down fired a taser and ended up killing him. This taser report is a whole lot of smoke and mirrors if you ask me - the police didn't let airport staff him instead waited for ambulance to arrive which took 12 minutes longer. Murderers with badges now politicians throw a red herring.

I think a scientific study is more trustworthy than a news report ( http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/09/largest-ever-study-finds-tasers-safe/ )

And I think people have got it the wrong way round, it's not 1/3rd of taser targets needed medical attention afterwards, it's that 1/3rd of police enjoy tasering people who are need of medical attention.

Electricity is nature's way of telling you to stop resisting.

Ahhh yes, yet another reason to loath cops...

Personally I would choose to get tased rather than shot. I know weird right.

I always wished I had a Stupid Gun. If someone were doing something incredibly stupid, you could shoot them with it and it'd knock them out for about 15 minutes, after which they'd wake up with the full realization of what they were doing that was just that stupid (of course, there would have to be a non-unconscious version for drivers). Now I know that the taser gun is not my dream made reality, but it comes pretty close. :)

Don't tase me bro!

Wikipedia says The United Nations classify tasers as a form of torture. Sadly, several people have died unnecessarily as a result of being tasered.

Here's the article. The URL should take you right to the section on torture, if it doesn't, simply scroll down to the "Torture" heading.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taser_controversy#Torture

The police are supposed to be there to protect us, right? When the police turn against us, and are allowed to attack and kill citizens without punishment, who will be there to protect us from the police?

Tasing, what a concept. The most disturbing thing I find about Tasers is that my brother in law "got hold of one" because a mate owed him money. It's not a barbed cable launcher but a punch someone in the groin and press away.
Don't get me wrong I'd prefer tasing to being shot any day of the week. I prefer blood IN my body rather than ON the floor and would take my chances at never getting into that sort of trouble.

However, tasing your mates because it's "Funny" is going to be the next best thing judging from the burn marks on my brother in laws mates. I hope they don't take off like LASER pointers where every chav has to have one on his keychain.....

Main problem with tasers is that they were conceived to be used as an alternative for the GUN, but are being used as an alternative for talking. (Or the billyclub)

"Non-lethal" does not mean "harmless."

(By the way: The claim of non-lethal/harmless comes from the manufacturers and the biggest client...)

Thank you Clinch. You are the voice of reason.

Honestly, I'd rather be tazed and need "minor medical assistance" than get shot and need "minor mortician assistance"

#21, so friggin true, cuz cops are trainded to shoot to kill, none of that shoot the leg to get you to stop moving shit, center mass baby! yup i would much rather get tazed. Shit i once grabbed one of them mercedes emblems that shock your hand, and it sucked balls! does that count as getting tazed?

damn here i am making posts and some mothefuck-knobjokeing beeotch decides to start posting as Dan also! (#2) if you do not like the geekologie writer then don't fucking read the shit! trying to act all cool and shit, you smug cocksucker! I am officially chaging my name to: Ginormagantuan......... yes that sounds pretty fucking girnormagantuous allright, yeah........ damn I'm a fucking douche!

Yeah there you go........

LOL who cares. That stat is probably the same for bee-sting victims. Besides, 100% of gunshot victims require medical attention.

Let's see, if for some reason I were to be blasted by either a bullet or taser I think I would prefer taser. Luckily they haven't caught me yet!

Anyone who has ever worked as, or known, a cop or EMT knows this: 1/3 of people are smart enough that, upon arrest, they demand medical attention. Why go to jail when you can go to the hospital instead?

Seriously, people ALWAYS want medical attention after being arrested. Being tased just gives them a good excuse.

Not saying tasers are good, but their badness isn't the only thing at work here.

WooHoo!!!!

Have you ever been shocked by a kid wearing footie pj's who insists on shuffling his feet along the carpet and then come to you for a hug? I have...

But let me get this straight. Since tasers aren't safe, what are we going to do next? Hm? Ask people politely to stop being bad, perhaps give them a cookie if they calm down? And then if they behave after having had the cookie we lead them to a cop car with a trail of Fruit Loops with some crayons and a colouring book in the back of the squad car?
And here's a small list of all unsafe things, i.e. things that could kill you:
spoons
knives
forks
pencils
pens
staples
nail files
credit cards
paper
dental floss
toothpicks
pianos (and their wire)
screwdrivers
pilers
hammers
laundry soap (or any type of soap including bar soap)
loofahs
washcloths
clothes
shoes (especially high heels)
any type of beverage
any type of food
pillows
lamps
stairs

I could go on. The point of the matter is this...the world isn't safe nor is it fair. And how are you to protect yourself from rouge cops? That's what the Second Ammendment is all about...plus don't do anything wrong. Omg, what novel ideas.

@29 you get a D- in the subject of funny

Tephlon is right, the problem with tasers is that they're being used much too often, with relatively little provocation. Of course people would rather be shot with a taser than a gun, I don't think anyone is saying otherwise, but the fact is that tasers are being used as a crutch by the police.

#29 that was horrible very horrible first of all all the things that you listed arent that dangerous as opposed to tasers. You use those things the right way and are not retarded or 2 years old your fine and wont kill yourself or injure yourself. So my point is your point sucks tasers have killed quite a few people and are not completely safe so i don't know what your talking about.

Accidental impalement on pencils and pens have killed more people than tasers. People drown on their favourite beverage and choke on their food everyday. So on and so forth...oh, and many of the things listed are implements that have been used to kill someone else, not necessarily a mishap in an accidental suicide sort of way.
Then again, revolving doors kill 1000 people a year and masturbation mishaps (usually due to autoerotic asphyxiation) kill 3000. But I'm sure many people assume that only the people mentioned on the news are the ones dying.

So in the end, people can die from almost anything, no matter how inane we might think such a death could be.
And no one has yet to suggest what to use instead of tasers which was another point of my post.

Anyways SmokingGirl... Tasers are an electric shock of course its gonna kill you i mean your getting shocked with 50,000 volts of electricity how is anybody gonna survive that nobody is made to take 50,000 volts and be all right after that. Yeah i mean its better than taking a bullet but is it safe? Of course its not. The cops use it because they need something else to torture criminals or just innocent civilians besides using guns which can for sure kill you. It's just another way cops can have fun by driving 50,000 volts of electricity into your body.

Yeah, well, let's think about this for a moment, all you sad dipshits that want to outlaw tasers.

1) Tasers are only used when the suspect RESISTS ARREST, which, by definition, means they are presenting the officer or surrounding people with potential harm.

2) 33% of people tased need medical attention. Last time I checked, 100% of people who have been SHOT need it! (Or the services of a funeral parlor. You pick.)

3) You ass clowns are so determined to disarm our law enforcement and our law abiding gun owners, has it occurred to you to consider trying to disarm the criminals for once?

So, it's rather simple. If you don't resist arrest and comply with the nice officer (especially when you're not guilty of anything) then you won't be tased or shot and will probably be on your merry way in a few minutes. If you piss and moan and resist arrest, you will be apprehended with the minimum necessary force-- so every time your fool ass gets back up, you'll be hit again.

GOD you people bitch and whine a lot.

Some people would like to justify actions of all police which is insane. It is not the weapon as much as the people using it. Smoking girl obviously don't know what a taser is based on her comments. My point is that tasers are dangerous and should be extensively researched before using them. Some people are being killed because of mis use. You don't shoot someone in the chest or head with one unless you intend on killing them. Rogue cops who have no regard for human life and kill unjustifyably should take account for their actions like any other murderer.