Taser Test Shocks Police Chief, NAACP President - WA

[AmyStrange]

Taser Test Shocks Police Chief, NAACP President - WA
Both Men Buckle Under 50,000-Volt Jolt

POSTED: 8:48 am PDT September 17, 2004
UPDATED: 12:11 pm PDT September 17, 2004

FROM: http://www.kirotv.com/news/3739307/detail.html
SEATTLE -- Fifty-thousand-volt jolts from Taser guns nearly knocked Seattle's police chief and local NAACP head off their feet in a demonstration to reporters Friday.

Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske and local NAACP President Carl Mack winced, buckled and appeared to be stunned when Tasers were simultaneous switched on for two seconds by training officers.

The demonstration was designed to "reaffirm confidence in the safety and efficiency of the Seattle Police Department's Taser program," police said.

Before the demonstration, Kerlikowske said he wants to show his confidence in the non-lethal weapon. Mack says he wants to understand what victims go through.

<SNIP>

[Radius]

1. Beats a .40 cal slug..(NT)

[hatrack]

2. Or a Q-Tip dipped in pepper spray . . .

.

[Maple]

3. What we need

are phasers set on stun.

This kind of overdoes it.

[Character Assassin]

4. We all carry Tasers at my department and we all got (or get) shocked

with them, on video, before we're issued one.

It's for testimony in court, and to understand what someone may be thinking after they've been tased.

Personally, I'd choose getting tased over OC any time and every time.

[TX-RAT]

7. One of our deputy's received 3 compression fractures in his back.

From a demo just like that.

[AmyStrange]

5. A couple related Seattle-PI articles...

Police chief, NAACP's Mack face Taser zap
Volunteers hope shocking test brings better understanding
By HECTOR CASTRO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Friday, September 17, 2004

FROM: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/191249_tasershots17.html
It started with civil rights activist Carl Mack challenging Seattle police on their growing use of Tasers, and police officials defending the electric stun device.

It has come to this: Mack, president of the Seattle chapter of the NAACP, and police Chief Gil Kerlikowske each will be shot with 50,000 volts of electricity at 10 a.m. today at police headquarters.

"There are people on my board who looked at me like, 'You're crazy,' " said Mack. "But this is part of serving (as president). I need to know."

Kerlikowske said volunteering seemed a natural reaction when Mack asked recently to experience a Taser shot.

"I said, 'Well, I've never actually experienced it, but if you're willing to experience it, then maybe I should do this also,' " he said. "Of course, immediately thinking that (Deputy) Chief Harry Bailey or (Assistant) Chief Nick Metz would jump in and say, 'Oh no, chief, we'll do it.' Instead, neither one of them did."

<SNIP>



MORE:

Police chief, NAACP leader get zapped
KOMO-TV STAFF
Friday, September 17, 2004

FROM: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/191306_taser17ww.html
Seattle's police chief and NAACP leader were both zapped this morning by Taser stun guns.

Chief Gil Kerlikowske said he set up the event at police headquarters to address concerns from NAACP President Carl Mack.

Both received a two-second jolt from training officers. They were held up to keep from falling to the floor as they jerked in pain of 50,000 volts.

Kerlikowske said he quickly recovered, and the demonstration shows his confidence in the non-lethal weapon that is used to subdue dangerous suspects.

<SNIP>

[DakotaDemocrat]

6. All personnel using the taser in the field...

...must be tasered themselves with it first.

A local police officer went to our civic group a year back, showing off these things and showed a video of the officers getting nailed with it.

Singular fires - zapp!
Three or four people locking arms - one gets zapped with it - they all fall - zapp!

They have them kneel on the ground so their fall (and they immediately do) isn't as bad. Lots a swearing on that video too!

[oneighty]

8. Shockingly sadistic.

Another toy for bad asses.

180

[napi21]

13. I've never been shot with a taser, and hope I never am, but it sounds

a whole lot better than using the Glock on their hip!

[Character Assassin]

15. Beats going hands on with a 250 lbs tweaker on a five day binge

Where both the officer(s) and he stand a very good chance of severe injuries.

It's rather important to actually know what you're talking about before opening your mouth.

[oneighty]

19. I do know what I am talking about

Several of the dumb ass RAMBO cops in this village will if given the opportunity have great fun with this device in situations that do not call for it.

I have never been a policeman but I have pulled many an hour on US Navy Shore Patrol, and I do know sadists and bullies when I see them.

And soon, if not already the bad guys (RAMBO bounty hunters) and others gonna be using them too.

180

[Character Assassin]

20. Police must fill out a 'Use of Force' document each time they do so

Either with a gun, with hands, pepper spray, a baton, etc....

It's basically a miniaturized police report regarding only to what happened in terms of force. It's a legal document. Tasers are also equipped with a chip that records each time and for how long they are used.

If a cop misues one, there's a civil suit possible. If he misues one and lies about it, there's a civil and criminal case possible for filing a false police report.

It is a serious felony in CA to use a taser in the commission of a crime.

[oneighty]

21. Sure.

180

[Character Assassin]

22. Sure what?

[el_gato]

23. Cops get away with lying their asses off on a daily basis

reports or no reports, that's just standard CYA.

[oneighty]

24. Sure to whatever you say.

You have my opinion.

180

[FredScuttle]

9. Is "Jackass" back on the air?

n/t

[Radius]

14. They

didn't show the skate video where he shot himself in the chest with a .38 to test the vest. Insane..


The beanbag shotgun messed him up to.

[FredScuttle]

17. I hope they show the episode

where the police chief and the head of the NAACP dress up like knights and interrupt a golf outing to have a sword fight.

[BadGimp]

10. change of underwear required too

:o

[Bark Bark Bark]

16. Aw, Beaten To It

I hope these guys went potty before gittin' their soft tissue Kentucky Fried. Otherwise, there might be a more detailed article stating they "seemed" to blast-a-dooky through their underwear...

Locally (Bay Area), cops are using tasers so much that it's causing public concern. The "it beats a slug to the back/wooden dowel to the cheek/pepper spray swab to the cornea" argument also makes tasers easier to abuse by violent losers with badges. It doesn't leave a lot of evidence of brutality, and only the occasional corpse--and the screaming jerk-dance makes for amusing video on FOX.

[Radius]

18. Some tazers

Have a computer to record their use. They report back so overuse by a person can be monitored.

Being tazered beats being shot any day. Every cop is not a thug.

[Bark Bark Bark]

25. Didn't Say They Were

It's like Republicans. Not all cops are bad; not all cops are good. I wish the ones that aren't bad would try harder to rid themselves of the ones who aren't good.

Just to clarify: by "little evidence of brutality," I meant tazers don't leave a lot of bruises or bloody wounds for news cameras to pick up on, like the aforementioned slugs and wooden dowels...and the screams accompanying the "funny zap-zap dance" seem a lot more acceptable to the audience of "Cops" than the screams of a non-violent protester getting swabbed in the eyeball with chemical agents.

But there IS damage, and cases will accumulate. Hence the public concern over the skyrocketing increase in "incidents" of tazer use.

Getting one's legs broken or kicked in the head is better than getting shot in the stomach. Doesn't make it any more of an acceptable method of handling a "disruptive" individual. Likewise, tazer use shouldn't be so damn casual as it seems to be becoming.

[rocktivity]

11. I don't quite know why

but for SOME reason, my confidence in the "safety and efficiency" of Kerlikowske and Mack is more unaffirmed than ever.

:headbang:
rocknation

[rocktivity]

12. dupe, sorry

nt

[w4rma]

26. It sounds to me like he might be a pretty good police chief. (nt)

[struggle4progress]

27. Taser gun is linked to death in Nevada

Robert Anglen
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 16, 2004 12:00 AM

An eighth fatality has been linked to the Taser electric stun gun.

A Nevada coroner says shocks from a Taser contributed to the death of 29-year-old Jacob Lair during a struggle with authorities.

"I would call Taser part of the scenario," Washoe County Coroner Vernon McCarty said. "I don't think you can ignore it."

The Arizona Republic has identified 71 deaths following police Taser strikes in the United States and Canada since 1999. <snip>

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0916taserautopsy.html


Posted on Fri, Sep. 17, 2004
Vallejo man dies after being hit by stun gun
By Kelli Phillips
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

VALLEJO - A 21-year-old man died shortly after being shocked with a stun gun late Wednesday as officers chased him.

City resident Andrew Washington died at an area hospital around 2 a.m. Thursday after showing signs of medical distress as officers were arresting him, according to a police report.

What caused his death was unknown, Lt. Lori Lee said Thursday afternoon. She declined to speculate whether the Taser shock contributed to it. <snip>

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/crime_courts/9687355.htm


Posted on Thu, Sep. 16, 2004
Taser use on teens
CONCERNS ARISE OVER DANGERS YOUTHS FACE BEING ZAPPED BY SAN JOSE POLICE; CHIEF DEFENDS OFFICERS' PRACTICES
By Crystal Carreon
Mercury News

<snip> ``We teach our kids not to put the forks in electric sockets. Do we really think a jolt like that is good for them?'' Sparky Harlan, executive director of Bill Wilson Center, a shelter for troubled youths who interact with police, said of Tasers. ``I have serious concerns with Tasers being used on someone under 16.'' <snip>

Questions about Taser International's research and its products' safety record were raised in a July New York Times article that linked at least 50 deaths across the country to the stun guns -- claims the company has steadfastly rebutted.

Dr. John Wikswo, a Vanderbilt University physicist and biomedical engineer, told the Mercury News that the Taser's electrical jolt is enough to cause a fatal heart rhythm, especially in people whose hearts are weakened by drugs or a pre-existing medical irregularity. A Canadian electrical engineer who had tested Taser stun guns for a 1989 study believes younger people can absorb the electric shock differently than adults. <snip>

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/9676661.htm

[Swamp Rat]

28. So, the police will have tasers and criminals will have AK-47s.