Tasers too extreme for police use
Should the police use Tasers? A new weapon is now used by the Butte police to bring people to jail. Since the recent acquisition of the Tasers, the police have used them on two occasions. The second incident ended in death for a 42-year-old Butte man. Tasers are lethal weapons and should not be used.
Tasers work by disrupting the body's communication system. A 50,000-volt shock is passed through darts that are fired from the Taser. The darts are connected to the weapon with wires and attach themselves to skin or clothing. When the dart strikes, the Taser sends a powerful shock through the wires and into the body.
The shock can penetrate two inches of clothing. The pulsating electrical output disrupts communication between the brain and the body, causing massive involuntary contractions of every muscle.
The electric chair, developed by an employee of Thomas Edison, killed the condemned man by applying two jolts of 2,500 volts of electricity for a period of 20 seconds. The Taser of today applies an electrical charge of 50,000 volts for five seconds.
Tasers cause elevated blood pressure and heart rate. An irregular heart rhythm, known as ventricular fibrillation, is produced instantly. Heart conditions, drug use, and a diagnosis of "excited delirium" are conditions that preclude the use of the weapon.
When the officer fires at a victim, he has no way to know if these are conditions that exist. Since many of the future victims will probably be on drugs. Why use a weapon that is known to have such adverse effects?
Forest rangers subdue raging grizzly bears by tranquilizing the animal. When asked why tranquilizer guns could not be used as an alternative to more lethal means, Silver Bow County Sheriff John Walsh replied that the police are not there to reinvent the wheel.
Why do the police need to use extreme measures to bring a man to jail? Butte has always been known as a hard-drinking and hard-fighting town. Many men have been jailed simply by the police overpowering them.
Since 2001, more than 103 deaths have been reported as a result of Taser use. Tasers have been used in nursing homes and schools. Victims range in ages from six years old to 75 years old, and even pregnant women have not been spared.
The death of Butte's own citizen, Otis Thrasher, was brutal and unnecessary. He was resisting arrest at his home on July 5 when the police fired two darts from their Tasers. One dart lodged in his torso, and one dart lodged in his forehead. He never regained consciousness and was removed from life support systems on July 15.
Public awareness is growing as these weapons are introduced into our communities. A number of lawsuits have been filed by the families of Taser death victims. The U.S. Justice Department has recently commissioned two new studies about taser safety.
The Web site http://www.infowars.com/subject_archives/ps/tasers_archive.htm documents cases about their abuse. Tasers should be removed from the hands of the police, as the death toll continues to rise from the use of these lethal weapons.