- We won't actually use them, we just need the option.. Archived Message
Posted by Raskolnikov
on February 16, 2019, 11:40 am
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...was the cry when the dibble wanted to have Tasers as standard equipment and now ... https://www.dumptheguardian.com/world/2019/feb/16/last-option-not-first-rise-tasering ...quelle surprise... The report, based on data from 43 police forces in England and Wales, showed that from April 2017 to March 2018, there were 18,000 incidents involving a Taser (this includes police removing a Taser from the holster, as well as pointing it or actually firing it). Of these, 2,400 incidents involved people with mental disabilities – about 13%, which is a far higher proportion than the 2% of the population who have learning difficulties. (The same figures also show that black people were more likely to have force used against them by police officers; they experienced 20% of Tasering incidents in 2017-18, despite accounting for 3.3% of the population, according to the 2011 census.) The article also has a horrendous story about a veteran who clearly had PTSD after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan who died after being Tasered (admittedly also after slashing his own throat) although they actually try to put most of the weight on personal tragedies that happened after he came home. In any event, this is worth remembering when they start clamouring for police to be armed as part of standard issue kit (although in most large cities this is almost the case now with "roaming" armed patrols and firearms teams on standby). Someone posted something recently from the John Whitehead (author of "Battlefield America" and "Government of Wolves") and this report shows similarities to the development of policing in the US. |
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