Poll: Are tasers tools or weapons?

[Thaluikhain]

I response to this thread http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.351325-Cop-Tasers-Fleeing-Handcuffed-Girl-Head-injuries-put-her-in-vegetative-state

It's gone on quite awhile, and got lots of debate. To me, it seems like a lot of it is due to a difference of opinion as to the correct use of a taser.

In my view, a taser is a weapon, to be used only as a last resort. There's more wiggle room with a taser than a firearm, but it should not be used unless the suspect poses some kind of threat.

On the other hand, many people seem to view tasers as tools of compliance. If the police don't like what you are doing, they can use a taser to stop you doing it.

By extension, I guess, other less than lethal weapons, though they'd tend to vary.

I was wondering what the forum goers thought about this, whether it's a last resort or helpful tool. [small]Yes, you can argue a weapon is a form of tool, but you know what I mean.[/small]

Cap: very abiolic

EDIT: Looks like that was poorly worded, I'll rephrase.

Is a taser something that should be used solely when suspects are threatening someone, or is it something that can be used when suspects are merely unco-operative?

 

[madwarper]

I fail to see the difference between "weapon" and "tool of compliance". So, I'd say that the distinction is just pointless semantics.

What I feel is more relevant is that the taser designed to be less-than-lethal, as opposed to a bullet which is designed to to be lethal.

Lethal forces are for when the suspect is posing an immediate threat to others.
Less-than-lethal forces are for when the suspect isn't an immediate threat.

 

[evilneko]

It's both.

A gun is also both.

The real issue is how each is used. Debating classifications is useless.

 

[Nouw]

Same thing really. Anything can be a weapon in the right hands. "There is no such thing as a dangerous weapon, only dangerous men."-Zim from Starship Troopers.

 

[Eri]

Weapons are tools. Just like tools can be weapons. As someone involved with law enforcement, tasers are not "last resort". They aren't your first resort either. Your last resort is always your sidearm, the taser is intermediary. I'm not even gonna try to describe when you should use it because there's 999999 million different circumstances when you could or couldn't.

 

[farscythe]

imo a taser is a weapon as it has no other uses at all (unless you can use it to heat your drinks.. then i guess it'd be a tool...can you?)

 

[deadpoolhulk]

imo a taser is a weapon as it has no other uses at all (unless you can use it to heat your drinks.. then i guess it'd be a tool...can you?)

i don't know..... but that would be awesome! unless it shorts out in liquid. then it wouldn't be awesome.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

The taser is a weapon, but it is supposed to be able to incapacitate someone without killing or causing permanent or severe damage. That is how it is used by the police force, as opposed to a gun, which is classified as a deadly weapon and only ever used when the only option left is deadly force.

The problem comes from the unreliability of knowing how people will react to tasers, some will not even feel it, some may be able to walk it off:


It will stop most people, but then sometimes situations like the one in the news article arise, were the mitigating circumstances that the taser was used in lead to bigger problems (the brain damage was not caused by the taser shot, but the impact when the girl's head hit the tarmac.)

It is a less than lethal weapon, but it still needs to be used very carefully and there are certain circumstances where it's use is just not safe.

 

[Crenelate]

It's a weapon. It's use to harm or incapacitate someone.
Unless its being used as a makeshift hammer, in which case it's a tool.
And you're using the hammer to harm someone, then it's a weapon - ARGH!

 

[farscythe]

imo a taser is a weapon as it has no other uses at all (unless you can use it to heat your drinks.. then i guess it'd be a tool...can you?)

i don't know..... but that would be awesome! unless it shorts out in liquid. then it wouldn't be awesome.

right... clearly this calls for science.. now..where would i find a taser in england...(i should be able to find a cold coffee round here)(or i could settle for some already warm beer...but this might interfere with possible results)(on the other hand...in the event of catastrophic failure ill atleast have a warm beer to soothe my electrocuted nerves...hmmm..}

 

[Hero in a half shell]

It's a weapon. It's use to harm or incapacitate someone.
Unless its being used as a makeshift hammer, in which case it's a tool.
And you're using the hammer to harm someone, then it's a weapon - ARGH!

But if you use MC Hammer to harm someone, is he still a tool?

 

[deadpoolhulk]

MC Hammer will always be a tool.

 

[Bradeck]

Also, you could make the case that different levels of tasers have different effects. For instance, police use a very high output taser for maximum stoppage, especially against drugged up people.

Self defense tasers, as sold to civilians, will incapacitate, and often to damage, but are often less powerful than police versions.

I feel tasers are a waste of taxpayer money. On average, the zappers(tm) that the NYPD use require reload capsules, which are $250 dollars per set, and come in sets of 4. A box of .40S&W hollowpoint is about $50, and come 50 to a box. I would prefer a dead criminal to one who goes to jail, and, at least where I live, has access to Widescreen communal TVs, PS3s, a workout facility, a cafeteria, and a basketball court. All paid for by me.

 

[Lightning Delight]

Both, really. Weapons can be tools, and tools can be weapons. A taser is most definitely a weapon, as it is used to harm someone so they stop whatever they are doing. The thing is, it is meant to be a non-lethal weapon, so it isn't as bad as a gun. The gun is the last resort because it kills people and ends the problem permanently.

 

[Bradeck]

Having said that myself, it's now hilarious when used against me.

I am in fact a 30 conservative living in upper Maine, who happens to have been a jail guard for two years. I'm not saying I'm the side of right, far from it. I honestly have no qualms about death, because people can sit on their high horse, and bemoan the tragedy of the woman who fell and got brain damage due to tasers, and start umpteen threads about the horrible fascistic cops, and their brutal ways, but I have yet to see, and will likely never see, one single thread about the people who are dismembered every day in any one of the 6 tribal wars currently ongoing in Africa, or how the Kurds are still hunted and murdered by the Iraqi Army, or the atrocities of the Balkans, or anything else.

You claim I'm the out of touch one? Who's the one on the internet forums for video games decrying first world problems because a drugged up ***** ran from the cops and got messed up? Keep on crying about the injustice of this world, and how brutal the police are. The 4 year old in Sudan with no arms or legs would love to change places with you.

 

[Yopaz]

Having said that myself, it's now hilarious when used against me.

I am in fact a 30 conservative living in upper Maine, who happens to have been a jail guard for two years. I'm not saying I'm the side of right, far from it. I honestly have no qualms about death, because people can sit on their high horse, and bemoan the tragedy of the woman who fell and got brain damage due to tasers, and start umpteen threads about the horrible fascistic cops, and their brutal ways, but I have yet to see, and will likely never see, one single thread about the people who are dismembered every day in any one of the 6 tribal wars currently ongoing in Africa, or how the Kurds are still hunted and murdered by the Iraqi Army, or the atrocities of the Balkans, or anything else.

You claim I'm the out of touch one? Who's the one on the internet forums for video games decrying first world problems because a drugged up ***** ran from the cops and got messed up? Keep on crying about the injustice of this world, and how brutal the police are. The 4 year old in Sudan with no arms or legs would love to change places with you.

You are the one saying that it's better to kill someone than send someone to prison. Just because you know there are wars in the world doesn't make that statement any better. A drunk person gets angry and punches someone. Clearly the solution is to shoot him on the spot rather than use a taser to immobilize him. You are out of touch with reality if you prefer lethal over non lethal. You can give me a list containing all the names of all the people killed in January and you're still out of touch.

 

[PunkyMcGee]

glass bottle: container of liquid or bar brawl menace?

OK joking aside of course it's a weapon, but I'd rather be tasered than shot with a gun or beaten with billy clubs.