Monday, March 31, 2008

SHOCKING LAW ENFORCEMENT

I get a kick out of some of the promotional material we get in our City Hall mail box. The latest gadget is the TASER gun for law enforcement. This post card caught my eye.

The statement that officers are 68% more likely to get hurt by a fist than a bullet made me pause and consider the point. Officers aren’t supposed to fight. So, this made sense.

I checked out their website. http://www.taser.com/ The info was geared for the positive of course, but to state the obvious, officers wouldn’t have that hesitation to protect themselves and others if there was less opportunity to make a mistake in a deadly way.

Police Chief Keller said, there are two Tasers ordered. They will arrive shortly and our officers will get the training just as Town of Ulster officers have. Ulster has had two in use for over a year. The rare times they were used were a great success and avoided the permanent damage that a gun would do.

Fewer Officer Injuries Mean Fewer Workers’ Compensation Claims and Less Officer Downtime. Now that’s an Alderman’s dream come true. We have too many officers out for physical reasons and seventy percent of the major claims were incurred during interventions with mentally disturbed and/or impaired subjects. These instances occurred when officers were forced to physically engage subjects at close quarters. The city could cut down on lost time and injury claims overnight.


These non-deadly weapons are not reserved for just Law Enforcement either. Civilians can have them for self protection as well. Imagine feeling secure knowing you have the most effective self-defense option available, but without resorting to lethal force. However, they are restricted to just Law Enforcement in NY State.

To the right is a fella who volunteered for the receiving end of a test. As you can see, it didnt tickle.

I wanted the yellow & black Dirty Harry model.






6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is NY State on the list of permitted states for citizens to own one?

The web site has good options, but I didnt see that legislation. Do tell.

Now thats a tool for the Guardian Angels! Tell Lenny!

Anonymous said...

You are so NOT getting one, Madsen!

Anonymous said...

Town of Ulster Police carries Tasers.


Cops tend to carry them on the opposite side of their service weapon. So do they draw both weapons - like back in the wild, wild west?

Anonymous said...

If citizens cant get Tasers when criminals will get guns(and now tasers)wheres the sense of security?
Will the Tasers sold in other states be registered to keep track of them?
Yet another reason for metal detectors at school entrances.

Tipper

Eagle said...

"These non-deadly weapons..."

Righhht...I could agree with "less deadly than a gun," but not exactly not lethal. Check these out:

www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/15/taser_death_video/

www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0730taser30.html

tampabay.injuryboard.com/defective-products/another-taser-death-in-clearwater.php

www.denverpost.com/ci_6386600

...just the tip of the iceberg of taser deaths. They are less lethal, but if you want a self-defense weapon that won't kill somebody, you might want to look at other alternatives.

This is not a judgment on whether or not you have the right to own one. I fully believe that citizens have the right to own firearms, and therefore, tasers. Just make sure you do it with your eyes wide open.

Anonymous said...

we know you want the pink taser Mike...