Police used Taser on unarmed, legless man in a wheelchair

[snopes]

The Merced Police Department's Internal Affairs Division is investigating a complaint alleging that an officer twice used a Taser against an unarmed, wheelchair-bound man with no legs.

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/1068479.html

[lyra_silvertongue]

I seriously thought this might be an Onion headline.

[jimmy101_again]

Originally Posted by snopes

... used a Taser against an unarmed, wheelchair-bound man with no legs.

What, he doesn't have arms or legs?

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by lyra_silvertongue

I seriously thought this might be an Onion headline.

Me too.

This makes the naked wizard police officers look downright charitable by comparison.

[lyra_silvertongue]

The whole story made me feel sick to my stomach. It sounds like the man in question and his wife may have some issues, but I don't think this situation helped anyone. The fact that he was left laying on the sidewalk with his pants down just adds to the disgustingness. It seems like every taser-abuse incident gets more and more outrageous - the naked wizard guy, the middle-aged mom tased in front of her kids.

From the article:

Opponents blame Tasers for more than 150 deaths in the U.S. in recent years. A 2005 report by the American Civil Liberties Union claims that the weapon is "largely unregulated." In a survey of more than 50 departments across central and northern California, the ACLU concluded that "in the absence of strong regulations on how police use the weapon, we are likely to see more unnecessary deaths."

The Law Enforcement Alliance of America called the ACLU report "junk science." Law enforcement agencies typically blame Taser-related deaths on other factors, such as the possible lethal presence of illegal drugs, pre-existing medical conditions or stress stemming from violently resisting arrest. A Fox News story last year quoted a study by the city of Houston that concluded its police officers used Tasers more often on black suspects than any other group between 2004 and 2007.

Three inmate deaths in the last five months have occurred in Stanislaus County Jail after corrections officers used Tasers to subdue prisoners. Last year, Merced County agreed to pay $650,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of an inmate who died after a struggle involving correctional officers who used a Taser at the Merced County Jail.

I think it's time to take the tasers away until appropriate standards and protocalls are put in place. Seriously.

[NotYouMe]

Whenever this comes up I hear staunch taser supporters make the argument, "Well, it's better than getting shot isn't it?" They're right -- it is... So is a poke to the eye or kick to the groin, for that matter, but I digress.

The thing that people miss when they make that argument is that there is a presumption of regulation in there. I would have no real problem with tasers if they were only used in place of guns. If that was the case, however, their use would be quite rare. More often than not we hear these stories in cases where deadly force would be completely unjustifiable. Sure, I'd rather be tased than shot, but if an officer sees those as the only options to restrain a cranky grandmother or stumbling drunk, there's a much bigger issue. It seems like a taser should be used only in cases where there is an immediate and direct threat to the safety of the officers or bystanders, not when it just makes it somewhat easier to put someone in the back seat of a patrol car.