Editorial: Tasers are necessary for officer safety, but with limits
July 9, 2008
Members of Grass Roots Organizing met before the Columbia City Council to ask the council to revoke their decision to provide police officers with more tasers. After showing videos in which officers used tasers on women and unrolling a scroll with the names of those who have died due to the use of the weapon, the group requested the department not use them and, if they must, that they use them sparingly and conscientiously.
While we understand GRO’s safety concerns, we have to ask if there really is a better option for officer self-defense than the taser.
Columbia’s police officers need some form of equipment to use in their defense when approached by armed or dangerous criminals. The way we see it, a taser is more humane than a night stick and more effective than a gun with rubber bullets. Although some fatalities have occurred resulting from the usage of tasers, they are still considered non-lethal weapons, and they provide stunning power that gives the officer at least a few moments to collect him or herself, assess the situation and take any necessary further action.
But the stun guns aren’t perfect, and GRO does bring up a few good points. Tasers, though considered non-lethal, have prompted 350 deaths in the United States and Canada since 2001 — 350 deaths that would not have occurred had a more benign form of officer defense been used. But until an equally effective alternative is suggested, we feel that the safety of our officers is a priority that cannot be ignored, and that they should be allowed to use tasers as a defensive tool when they are in evident danger.
Even so, we ask that the Columbia Police Department keep in line with some of the requests made by the GRO. Use of tasers should not turn into abuse; officers should utilize the weapons only when necessary for their personal safety. In addition, officers should all receive extensive training on how to use the stun guns, and individuals who have been shocked by the tasers should be given prompt medical attention to ensure that they do not receive sustainable injuries.
The power of the weapon must not be taken lightly, and officers should only make use of tasers when absolutely necessary.
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