. "Nobody really knows exactly why these people are dying, we only know that people are dying after they're tasered," he said. "It's nearly 300 people who have died in the United States - they're tasered, and then they die.
"It may be because they have a heart condition. It may be because they're on drugs. It may be because of some other factor that we don't know about. The important thing is, they are dying after they are tasered. That cannot be denied, no matter how you spin the language."
Larry Cox, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA
There are a number of issues concerning the use of tasers which need to be looked at . For example :
Is the taser too dangerous ? Is the problem that some police officers use them more than they should that is when it unnecessary ? Do some police officers use them in a manner which they were not meant to be used ? Are police officers adequately trained in their use ? Is the use of tasers equivalent to torture?
In several of the videos posted here the victims are tasered a number of times or for no apparent reason.
One individual was an epileptic in need of medical care but instead was arrested - why ?
This raises the question about police procedures on the one hand & on the other about the effect the taser may have on people with various medical conditions or taking medications.In some of the videos available on the Net show people being tasered while police officers shout at them giving the victim little or no time to actually settle down or just as the person does settle down they are tasered again wouldn't that just piss someone off. In The Nova Scotia case the individual was schizophrenic - does his illness have something to do with his reaction to the tasering.
I'm not that sure how being tasered is supposed to calm down someone who is being belligerent. It's like being prodded with a pointed stick every couple of minutes and this supposedly calms one down .
As for Amnesty International raising the matter as an issue of torture will it make an impact on the public .
It seems that the public in general has been told that one should not question those in authority .According to the Harper & Bush regimes questioning authorities is tantamount to sedition & treason since we are told everyday that we are at war. Bush & his followers in the United States & here in Canada claim that the laws regarding torture are too vague & ill defined. So they are not sure what amounts to " torture " as defined by cruel & inhumane or humiliating & degrading treatment .
The other issue here in regard to Bush & torture is that he & others have sent the wrong message by quibbling over the definition of torture . This may now be trickling down as it were from the military to local police forces which they may have taken as a green light for using more force on suspects.
U.N.: Tasers Are A Form Of Torture "Stun Guns" Are Under Fire After Six Deaths This Week; Rallies Held Demanding They Be Banned
CBS NEWS NEW YORK, Nov. 25, 2007
A United Nations committee said Friday that use of Taser weapons can be a form of torture, in violation of the U.N. Convention Against Torture.
Use of the electronic stun devices by police has been marked with a sudden rise in deaths - including four men in the United States and two in Canada within the last week.
Canadian authorities are taking a second look at them, and in the United States, there is a wave of demands to BAN them.
The U.N. Committee Against Torture referred Friday to the use of TaserX26 weapons which Portuguese police has acquired. An expert had testified to the committee that use of the weapons had "proven risks of harm or death."
"The use of TaserX26 weapons, provoking extreme pain, constituted a form of torture, and that in certain cases it could also cause death, as shown by several reliable studies and by certain cases that had happened after practical use," the committee said in a statement.
"Well, it means that it's a very serious thing," Amnesty International USA Executive Director Larry Cox told CBS Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen. "These are people that have seen torture around the world, all kinds of torture. So they don't use the word lightly."
Tasers have become increasingly controversial in the United States, particularly after several notorious cases where their use by police to disable suspects was questioned as being excessive. Especially disturbing is the fact that six adults died after being tased by police in the span of a week.
and: " Black leaders held a rally Tuesday calling for the department to ban Tasers, at least until there is a clear policy on how they are used. The NAACP says it appears the sheriff's office is using Tasers routinely, rather than as a weapon of last resort.
Last Sunday, in Frederick, Md., a sheriff's deputy trying to break up a late-night brawl tased 20-year-old Jarrel Grey. He died on the spot."
N.S. orders Taser review after inmate's death Halifax police reluctant to link 45-year-old man's death to weapon
November 22, 2007 CBC.ca|
A man has died in a Dartmouth jail about 30 hours after he was jolted by a Taser, prompting Nova Scotia's justice minister to order a review of police use of the weapon.
But Halifax Regional Police said Thursday that it's too early to speculate about whether the Taser hit killed the man.
"It's premature to draw any conclusion that the Taser contributed to this man's death," Tony Burbridge, Halifax's deputy police chief, told reporters.
The 45-year-old man died Thursday morning at the Burnside correctional facility, about 30 hours after officers used a stun gun to subdue him. Police haven't released his name, but Joanna Hyde identified him as her brother, Howard Hyde.
but..." No curb on Taser use contemplated
Burbridge said the police force will continue to use Tasers despite the death.
Nova Scotia Justice Minister Cecil Clarke is not banning the weapons, though he has ordered an immediate review of how police use them "
and: " NDP( New Democratic Party ) justice critic Bill Estabrooks said an independent look at the overall use of Tasers in Nova Scotia is needed. However, neither Estabrooks nor Michel Samson, the Liberals' justice critic, is calling for a moratorium on Taser use.
Hyde is the latest person to die in Canada after being stunned by a Taser.
Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died after being shocked by a stun gun at the Vancouver airport five weeks ago, prompting the federal government to order a review of the RCMP's Taser policy.
That review will not include other police forces.
In Montreal, Quilem Registre died in mid-October after being shocked by a Taser at a police station where he had been brought for questioning. He had been stopped as a result of a traffic violation, and officers said he appeared to be intoxicated. "
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And this points to another issue which is that it is not enough for a police force to investigate itself whether its the use of tasers or questions about using unnecessary force - There is a need for independent inquiries over such incidents & not just a lot of spin .
And here a few examples of tasering caught on tape from LIVELEAK
woman tasered from liveleak
184 dead in ten years
Taser torture execution USA- How many officers does it take to subdue an individual while tasering them ?
Tasering student in library.
The crowd of students tell police to stop since the individual is trying to leave but the police keep tasering the victim while shouting at him .
woman repeatedly tasered - the officer does not pause to allow her to cooperate-
take care,
GORD.
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