US Taser death prompts call for UK rethink

The Taser: Concerns have been hightened by recent events
The Taser: Concerns have been hightened by recent events

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By Ian Dunt

The death of a young boy in America after being shot by a Taser has prompted calls for a rethink of government plans to introduce the weapon in the UK.

According to police reports, the 15-year-old was killed when he "attempted to fight" Bay City officers responding to reports of an argument between two males in an apartment. He is reported to have been unarmed.

He is the second minor to die after being shocked by a Taser this year.

Now Amnesty International is calling on the home secretary to rethink plans to roll out the weapon across frontline forces in the UK, amid concerns over the safety of the electro-shock weapon.

Amnesty International UK's arms programme director Oliver Sprague said: "The tragic death of this teenager is a grave reminder that extreme caution has to be applied when Tasers are being used.

"Tasers should only be used in life-threatening situations and this doesn't appear to be such an instance. Surely another form of restraint could have been applied in this case."

In January, an unarmed 17-year-old boy in Virginia died after police, responding to a minor street incident, shocked him in his apartment.

Since June 2001, the total number of deaths after the use of Taser guns in the US has risen to 351.

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  • "What does the statement "Since June 2001, the total number of deaths after the use of Taser guns in the US has risen to 351" actually mean? Does this mean that 351 people have died immediately, and have done so as a direct consequence of being struck by a Taser Gun? Or does this mean that 351 people have died, but have done so in some indeterminate period of time after being struck by a Taser Gun? Further, is Oliver Sprague saying that the roll out of Taser Guns to UK Police forces should be suspended until they understand that "extreme caution has to be applied" in relation to their use (which I'm sure they do), or is he saying that US Cops, in this particular case, were just bad Cops? This story seems so muddled and confusing it's difficult to know who is saying anything about whatever, who's complaining about it in the first place and what the solution could possibly be if we actually knew what problem was in the first place."

    j palance (london) Posted: 25/03/2009 02:08:39

  • "THIS GADGET SEEM NOT TO BE A NECESSITY ANYMORE... Indefinite defined public 'Torture' According to the "United Nations Convention Against Torture" Is any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a male or female person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him/her or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in, or incidental to, unlawful sanctions. Dimensional awareness and perspective use of fatal, lethal electroshock devices that is not necessary to subdue a human in order to apprehend them. Associations undermining the public ability to question law enforcement that has led to many conflicts of interests such as: Excessive force, Medical examiners wrongfully rulings of deaths of Taser incidents to homicides, 'Excite delirium', excuse of drug intoxication contributions and very little (Medical and Scientific) information about the nervous system and foreign body implants or fragile body organs that may affect surviving humans in a long run. http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewwork.asp?AuthorID=44545 http://firstchoicebookstore.com/product.php?id_product=916 http://apps.facebook.com/petitions/view?pid=402573563 http://www.archive.org/details/BanTaserGuns"

    Hendrix Daniel M. (Canada) Posted: 21/01/2010 22:24:03

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