We don’t know how many people are killed by police. That’s an outrage. But seriously, think about it: police kill more people than America executes. We spend a lot of time and money when it comes to executions. And we don’t even count those killed by police. And this isn’t even a pro- or anti-police…
Read more
There’s an excellent article by the Atlantic’s Conor Friedersdorf about the use of a taser for non-compliance. I’ve long argued that, without an actual threat, tasers should not be used for compliance. The taser is too easy, usually not necessary, and sometimes kills people. Now I’m all for people complying with lawful orders; you do…
Read more
NYPD subdue armed mentally disturbed man. Nobody seriously hurt. That’s the headline you should read every now and then. But you rarely do. I’m not a big fan of the Taser, but this seems to me exactly what it is designed for. What’s odd, at least to me, is that here is a perfect use…
Read more
Best I can figure, it was invented (or at least inspired by) the Taser corporation (correct me if I’m wrong here). But it’s not a real cause of death. That being said, it’s usually used to get cops off the hood when someone dies after being Tased. But now some high guy dies and the…
Read more
The first thing that jumps to mind in the death of Eric Garneris that somebody who is repeatedly saying “I can’t breath” is, in fact, breathing. It’s a basic rules of choking, first aid, and well, the way we speak. [Update: Seems I’m probably very wrong about this.] Also, I’m no expert in chokeholds (because…
Read more
An NIJ report says Tasers are fine when used on “healthy, normal, nonstressed, nonintoxicated persons.” Okaaaay… [Thanks to The Agitator] [Update: I just read the report. It is quite an unambiguous green-light for Taser use: “Law enforcement need not refrain from using CEDs to place uncooperative or combative subjects in custody.” It’s that “uncooperative” part…
Read more
That’s the result of a study by Bruce Taylor and Daniel J. Woods of PERF in Police Quarterly. You can’t read the whole article without a subscription, but here’s the abstract (CED = taser, to you and me): The Conducted Energy Device (CED) weapon holds the potential to reduce injuries for officers/suspects. However, the dearth…
Read more
No it wasn’t. This is the story of poor 40-year-old Robert Dziekanski. He was flying first time, to visit his mother and emigrate to Canada. He didn’t speak English. She told him to wait by the luggage carousels. He did. She couldn’t get in there and waiting outside for hours, thought he missed his flight,…
Read more
Damn Yankees. The Orioles lost. It was kind of a mismatch. But the O’s did at least make things interesting by getting the tying runs on base in the 9th. There was some minor scuffle near me that resulted in many crying children. Oh, nothing like the bleachers in Yankee Stadium to make me want…
Read more
I don’t think I’ve ever used that headline before. I don’t like Tasers, generally. But if you run from police and can’t be easily caught? I got no problem. It’s tasing in situations of unarmed passive non-compliance that I strongly object to. I’m going to the Yankee game tomorrow. Go O’s!