Last week the Police Commission debated whether or not to implement tasers into the SFPDs weapon arsenal. The meeting was full with strong evidence in support of taser adoption. Throughout the six hour meeting there were a plethora of factual evidence and statistics shown about the issue.
However, at one point in the testimonies there were stories of people who had died or were seriously injured from tasers. Commissioner R. James Slaughter said, "As a commission we need to understand the facts and not the anecdotes."
Percentages, ratios and numbers seem to be outweighing the human factor of this issue. Tasers when used as they are intended can kill some people. They especially have adverse effects of the elderly, the mentally and physically ill. How will police be able to tell if someone is physically ill? How will they be able to tell that they are diabetic or have heart problems?
The fact is that most of the times they can't.
If someone who is mentally ill did not comply with police would the taser be used? This is especially troubling in places like the Tenderloin where the ill have few resources to get better in the first place. If you really want to talk about number maybe we should keep in mind the cost of tasers. At the meeting there was talk that a taser and a defibrillator together can cost about $2000. There are roughly 2000 officers currently sworn in under the SFPD. If even a third of officers get to carry a taser and a defibrillator that would be over $1,200,000 in spending for non-lethal weapons. This is a program San Franciscans cannot afford.
This money could be better spent in programs for those in most need of help.
What will the homeless and mentally ill do when they cannot comply with the sit/lay law? Will they be tased?
The folks of the Tenderloin need compassion not tasers.
By Nelson Estrada
Where am I?
The view from here
Doorway
Where is it? Is it in your neighborhood?
Gino
Corner of Haight and Octavia
What about the police officers who nearly lost their lives because they refrained from using lethal force to preserve human life? Are these men and women who risk their lives every day not deserving if an option to better protect and serve? I dont know about you, but if much rather be tased than shot...
ReplyDeleteI apologize for the typos. Predictive text can be a blessing and a curse at times.
ReplyDeleteIn Rutland, police tasered a man in his holding cell because he wouldn't be quiet. The guy had a seizure and died. I don't know, Nick, it seems to me that if police are considering buying defibrillators at the same time as the tasers that sounds rather ominous. Pepper spray?
ReplyDeleteThis might be a silly question but would Pepper spray be a better alternative to tasers?
ReplyDeletePolice already carry weapons and devices designed to incapacitate people..but their also almost always lethal. I dont know...I think if rather take my chances of death from a possible health issue related complication, than a bullet in the chest. As long as tasers come with similar training to guns...I think police would be better of with them. And pepper spray won't take someone down instantly. And it can be trained against. For example, prison guards in our correctional system..we have to consider the lives of those assigned to protect us as more valuable than criminals trying to injure them. Dont get me wrong...I think we should do away with guns altogether. I think police should only carry tasers.
ReplyDeleteThe author must interject. Let's keep in mind that police have been doing their job just fine without tasers for about 100 years now. And a
ReplyDeletepeer reviewed study presented at this meeting showed that average sudden death was higher after tasers were introduced into police departments throughout the U.S. than before the introduction of tasers. So this begs the question... How safe are these weapons?
We can't really compare them to guns. They're apples and oranges. Guns are designed to kill. Tasers are not. But why are people dying from tasers?
Also if a officer is presented with a situation where someone has to be "downed" why can't they use de-escalation and actual non lethal tactics like pepper spray. And if the situation is beyond de-escalation wouldn't this situation possibly call for a gun anyways?
Plus the authority of the governor comes from the governed. Many San Franciscans do not support taser use.