Tasers, and the arguments for why it couldn't have been an accident.

[LAS14]

Last edited Sun Apr 18, 2021, 04:43 PM - Edit history (1)

I don't still have the link, but there were on the order of twelve deaths from mistaking guns for tasers in the last xxxxx (don't remember.. probably a year.) Then there are guidelines for putting the taser on your dominant side and not holstering the gun so it can be easily cross drawn. All of this is to say that officialdom recognizes the danger of confusing the gun with the taser. I think to declare it impossible is not a good position to take.

las

[greymattermom]

1. My grandson is learning to drive.

He mixed up the accelerator and brake and hit a tree. Have any of you done that recently?

[Kaleva]

3. an uncle, flustered when pulled over by PO, backed into the cop car after being told he could leave

Another uncle, returning to Detroit with my aunt, stopped at a gas station off the interstate to gas up. There, my aunt went to the restroom. My uncle took off after paying for the gas and it was some miles before he realized he was alone in the car.

[Disaffected]

8. No but,

ever hear of the "unintended acceleration" lawsuits? Folks did the same thing and blamed it on the vehicle.

[csziggy]

14. No, but I had a very tragic situation that taught me to never do it

When I was still in elementary school the wife of the newspaper editor was driving near the high school just as students were going to school one morning. She meant to stop at a red light, somehow stomped on the accelerator, and in trying to avoid other cars, ran into a group of students. Killed one, and severely injured several others. One boy had severe permanent damage to a leg.

In our small town that made a huge impact. It was discussed in school - the 1960s version of grief counseling - and in Driver's Ed almost ten years later the teacher emphasized that problem and taught us to be very careful making sure which pedal we were pressing down.

The effect of that accident affected people in that town lasted at least ten years by my experience. For all I know, it could still be part of the curriculum.

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Would Like To See Guideline You Referenced

In our town, ALL cops wear the taser on the opposite side from the gun.
So, the guidelines you reference are far from universal.
Also, around here the tasers are a plastic housing (better insulation for the user). The mass is very heavily centered in the handle where the batteries & capacitors are.
Again, around here, I in fact, find it impossible that one could confuse a handgun for a taser.

[LAS14]

6. Sorry, it was too long ago for me to remember, but one thing I do remember is...

... that not all police follow the guidelines by a long shot.

[Turbineguy]

4. Putting somebody in a life and death situation

who is so distracted or fearful is wrong.

Why pull somebody over for a minor infraction if you are afraid that you will get shot? You can check the plates and send a letter to the registered owner.

[Jilly_in_VA]

5. Another solution I have seen

is to make the taser more cylindrical in shape, similar to a flashlight, with a thumb action. That way it could never be fired like a gun or mistaken for one. Of course it might be mistaken for a flashlight....

[LAS14]

7. Excellent idea. nt

[USALiberal]

9. So, after 20 years, her grand plan was to....

Yell “taser” so she could kill someone who was not a threat at all?

[ecstatic]

11. The same thing could be asked about Derek Chauvin

After 19 years, his grand plan was to destroy his career by killing someone, live on camera for 9 minutes and 29 seconds?

And, of course, the answer is YES. That's exactly what he did. Why? Who knows.

It doesn't have to be a "grand plan." It could just be a spontaneous decision made when hatred meets opportunity. Hatred and blind rage aren't logical.

[ecstatic]

10. Just look at the current conduct of the Brooklyn Center Police

Assaulting journalists and citizens alike, zero respect for the law or the recent Court ruling. You're free to your own opinions, but these are not the type of people who I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt to. Why should I, at this point?

Let her dumbass go to trial just like anyone else would in this circumstance. I'm pretty sure she'll get off, just like the other cops who she's helped to get off for similar murders of unarmed black people. But what message would it send if there were zero accountability just because she yelled taser three times while killing Daunte? Let her face the judge and the jury.

[uponit7771]

12. THIS !!!! ☝🏾☝🏾☝🏾 I've been thinking this all along that the Brooklyn police are not helping the

... LEO who shot the kid at all.

It looks like the leadership in that PD are a bunch of assholes who need to be fired quick fast yesterday.

IINM she was part of that leadership but I'm not sure

If members of that PD formed a blocking formation around a church that was helping people in the protest then they all can go fuck themselves.

The mayor of the city needs to get busy firing and hiring new leadership in that PD or things will get worse in that city.

[Piasladic]

13. Perhaps these are dumb questions...

I never get near guns, so I'll just ask:

Doesn't a gun have a safety? Does a Taser? If a Taser has one, is it the same sort? Wouldn't she have to be somewhat conscious of what she was doing to take the safety off, or do cops run around with loaded guns and no safeties?