Tasers

Much like tobacco use, it would be impossible to prove beyond a doubt that a taser was the cause of death in a specific case. In any given case, a person could have died from a number of reasons, and the taser doesn't leave evidence of causation, as opposed to what happens with a physical beating. Similarly, we know that smokers are more likely to get cancer, but cancer can also come from random chance or other causes. The individual case cannot be proven, even if there is a systemic flaw.

There seems to be a disturbing trend here. Too many people are dying from the taser.

The only physiological literature I was able to find on the matter when researching it about a while ago basically suggests that while the taser's charge is very strong, the bursts of electricity are too short to kill people. They extrapolated results from an experiment that was not carried out on humans, using some estimates about typical conductivity in the human body, under normal circumstances, to claim it was safe.

However, 99.9% sure isn't good enough for a weapon used regularly by police across the country on a daily basis. At least with billy clubs the resulting evidence is well enough understood to know if the force excessively endangered a citizen's life.

Tasers may have saved officers from some bruises. But it comes at the high price of most of the respect that the public may have held for them ... not to mention the cost of some statistical portion (perhaps all) of those 20 lives.

As a teen, I feared, yet respected police. Then I came to respect their role in society. Since the question of tasers has come along, I now have an inclination to both fear AND disrespect the police. I'm not talking about the cops on the streets, I'm talking about the institution. There is ONE reason for that. The taser.

Since this is a question that requires medical experts, I believe that is should have to go through a process similar to that carried out by Health Canada when approving new drugs.

Tasers may be a useful tool in the law enforcement toolkit, but any ongoing use of this weapon should be accompanied by full documentation of every event where a taser is used.

Since police don't typically like more paperwork, this could act as an incentive. Incidentally, it would also provide us with more information to make better choices with respect to the use of tasers if they are here in the long run.

____________
Now that reading week is over, and there are no more strikes to interfere with regular classes, I'm sure it'll become unrealistic to set aside an hour or two to writing stuff that has nothing to do with my school work. Fewer pieces, usually shorter, will be the norm over the next six weeks.