newsUK: Police Told They Can Taser Kids
02-13-2008
Daily Mail
Police have been given the go-ahead to use Taser stun guns against children.
The relaxing of restrictions on the use of the weapons comes despite warnings that they could trigger a heart attack in youngsters.
Until now, Tasers - which emit a 50,000-volt electric shock - have been used only by specialist officers as a "non lethal" alternative to firearms.
However, they can now be used against all potentially violent offenders even if they are unarmed.
It is the decision not to ban their use against minors that is likely to raise serious concerns.
Home Office Police Minister Tony McNulty said medical assessments had confirmed the risk of death or serious injury from Tasers was "low".
But he failed to mention Government advisers had also warned of a potential risk to children.
The Defence Scientific Advisory Council medical committee told the Home Office that not enough was known about the health risks of using the weapons against children.
Tasers work by firing metal barbs into the skin which then discharge an electrical charge which is designed to disable someone long enough to allow police to detain them safely.
The committee, which is made up of independent scientists and doctors, said that limited research suggested there was a risk children could suffer "a serious cardiac event".
It recommended that officers should be "particularly vigilant" for any Taser-induced adverse response and said guidance should be amended to "identify children and adults of small stature" as being at potentially greater risk from the cardiac effects of Tasers.
The Government scientists were also asked to test whether the weapons could cause a miscarriage if used on a pregnant woman.
While not saying whether police would be allowed to Taser an expectant mother, the Home Office said the DSAC committee had "specifically asked" for computer simulations to be carried out to analyse the effect on "a pregnant female".
Amnesty International claims Tasers have been responsible for 220 deaths in America since 2001. Many cities and police forces there have banned their use against minors.
Two years ago in Chicago a 14-year-old boy went into cardiac arrest after being shot with one. Medics had to use a defibrillator four times to resuscitate him.
Taser International, the American firm that makes the device, said tests on pigs suggested the weapons were safe.
The Association of Chief Police Officers, which issues guidance to forces on the use of weapons, said Tasers would be made "readily available" for "conflict management" at incidents of "violence and threats of violence of such severity that they will need force".
Non-firearms officers in ten forces will be trained to use the weapons. Every incident they are involved in will be assessed over a 12-month trial period.
I've taken the ride (yes, I actually volunteered to be tasered) and I can tell you they are safer, but not 100% safe. "Safer" meaning less likely the person hit will bleed out. HOWEVER.
If you have asthma, heart problems, etc., you cannot convince me they are safe. I felt my lungs contract and I know my heart reacted weird, too (it tenses all your muscles and people forget the heart is also a muscle. I'm not sure whey people think their organs will be uneffected by tasers). I always remind people that they are not NON-lethal, only LESS-lethal. It also insights an instant panic which can effect the heart. On a less lethal note, they also left scars. I was not hit with the harpoon like projectiles they spit, I was actually tasered via two clamps, one on the should of my shirt and one on my pants at the hip. The clamps never touched skin and I was tasered by my clothes, pretty much. But I have scars. It somehow tore open my skin and made me bleed without contact to my skin (the other guy who was tasered reported this did not happen to him, though).
The reaction of a child's body to a taser cannot be good. I am a full grown adult and I felt like I was being crushed to death by my own muscles, like every bone in my body would break if he didn't let off that trigger. So allowing children to be tasered, in my mind, is a horrible choice. The people who made that decision should take the ride for themselves. You don't fall to the ground harmlessly with no threat of death. Heck, the blow to the head from hitting the ground alone could kill you!
So while it is safer, I believe it is false advertising to say they are non-lethal, because they are not. And there are records showing people have been killed by tasers. So telling cops and civilians alike that they are non-lethal and completely safe is BS.
02-13-2008
Daily Mail
Police have been given the go-ahead to use Taser stun guns against children.
The relaxing of restrictions on the use of the weapons comes despite warnings that they could trigger a heart attack in youngsters.
Until now, Tasers - which emit a 50,000-volt electric shock - have been used only by specialist officers as a "non lethal" alternative to firearms.
However, they can now be used against all potentially violent offenders even if they are unarmed.
It is the decision not to ban their use against minors that is likely to raise serious concerns.
Home Office Police Minister Tony McNulty said medical assessments had confirmed the risk of death or serious injury from Tasers was "low".
But he failed to mention Government advisers had also warned of a potential risk to children.
The Defence Scientific Advisory Council medical committee told the Home Office that not enough was known about the health risks of using the weapons against children.
Tasers work by firing metal barbs into the skin which then discharge an electrical charge which is designed to disable someone long enough to allow police to detain them safely.
The committee, which is made up of independent scientists and doctors, said that limited research suggested there was a risk children could suffer "a serious cardiac event".
It recommended that officers should be "particularly vigilant" for any Taser-induced adverse response and said guidance should be amended to "identify children and adults of small stature" as being at potentially greater risk from the cardiac effects of Tasers.
The Government scientists were also asked to test whether the weapons could cause a miscarriage if used on a pregnant woman.
While not saying whether police would be allowed to Taser an expectant mother, the Home Office said the DSAC committee had "specifically asked" for computer simulations to be carried out to analyse the effect on "a pregnant female".
Amnesty International claims Tasers have been responsible for 220 deaths in America since 2001. Many cities and police forces there have banned their use against minors.
Two years ago in Chicago a 14-year-old boy went into cardiac arrest after being shot with one. Medics had to use a defibrillator four times to resuscitate him.
Taser International, the American firm that makes the device, said tests on pigs suggested the weapons were safe.
The Association of Chief Police Officers, which issues guidance to forces on the use of weapons, said Tasers would be made "readily available" for "conflict management" at incidents of "violence and threats of violence of such severity that they will need force".
Non-firearms officers in ten forces will be trained to use the weapons. Every incident they are involved in will be assessed over a 12-month trial period.
I've taken the ride (yes, I actually volunteered to be tasered) and I can tell you they are safer, but not 100% safe. "Safer" meaning less likely the person hit will bleed out. HOWEVER.
If you have asthma, heart problems, etc., you cannot convince me they are safe. I felt my lungs contract and I know my heart reacted weird, too (it tenses all your muscles and people forget the heart is also a muscle. I'm not sure whey people think their organs will be uneffected by tasers). I always remind people that they are not NON-lethal, only LESS-lethal. It also insights an instant panic which can effect the heart. On a less lethal note, they also left scars. I was not hit with the harpoon like projectiles they spit, I was actually tasered via two clamps, one on the should of my shirt and one on my pants at the hip. The clamps never touched skin and I was tasered by my clothes, pretty much. But I have scars. It somehow tore open my skin and made me bleed without contact to my skin (the other guy who was tasered reported this did not happen to him, though).
The reaction of a child's body to a taser cannot be good. I am a full grown adult and I felt like I was being crushed to death by my own muscles, like every bone in my body would break if he didn't let off that trigger. So allowing children to be tasered, in my mind, is a horrible choice. The people who made that decision should take the ride for themselves. You don't fall to the ground harmlessly with no threat of death. Heck, the blow to the head from hitting the ground alone could kill you!
So while it is safer, I believe it is false advertising to say they are non-lethal, because they are not. And there are records showing people have been killed by tasers. So telling cops and civilians alike that they are non-lethal and completely safe is BS.
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SaikotikGunman on
Re: UK: Police Told They Can Taser Kids
I keep wanting to hear something like:
US: Kids Told They Can Taser Cops
US: Kids Told They Can Taser Cops
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