ACLU Attacks Police with Bogus Taser Report
Cross Posted by the Uncooperative Blogger.
From an article in CNS News:
The Northern California affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) published a report in September, claiming that as the number of TASERs in the hands of police has increased, “the number of deaths associated with their use has also skyrocketed.
“Since 1999, there have been 148 deaths in the United States and Canada following the use of a Taser (sic), more than half of which occurred in the last year alone.” The report continues for 25 pages, using phrases such as “Given the increasing number of deaths associated with Taser (sic) use…” and “In light of those concerns and the rising death toll associated with Taser (sic) use…”
But the Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA) – a coalition of current and former law enforcement officers, crime victims and others – defended police use of the device Thursday, arguing that the “anti-cop agenda of the ACLU was clearly on display in their so-called TASER ’study.’
“The ACLU’s sensationalist anti-cop attack on the TASER would not get much attention if they admitted that they could cite only four coroner reports over five years that list police use of TASER as ‘a cause of death,’” LEAA charged. “So they settle instead for the intellectually-challenged logic that suggests if a TASER device is used and the (often) drug-deranged and/or violent suspect later dies, it must be the police officer’s use of a TASER that caused the death, as opposed to the suspect’s use of lethal amounts of illegal drugs, a preexisting medical condition or physiological stress resulting from violent resistance.”
A rebuttal report by the LEAA, released Thursday, noted that the ACLU relied on published reports from the Arizona Republic as “evidence” in 144 of the 148 cases of allegedly TASER-related deaths it claimed.
“Yet the ACLU fails to mention that the very same newspaper admits that only four coroner reports have listed the police use of TASER technology as a ’cause of death,’” the LEAA countered, “ten as a ‘contributing factor’ and four where the TASER’s role ‘could not be ruled out.’”
The TASER was not considered a factor by medical examiners in the other 130 cases studied.
TASER International claims on its website that the device has been documented by law enforcement to have saved a minimum of 900 lives. A “save” is recorded when law enforcement uses the TASER to subdue a suspect who would otherwise have been shot with a firearm, or when a hostage, crime victim or suicidal person’s life is believed to have been saved by the use of the device. The publicly-traded company believes that use of the device is under-reported by a factor of ten and, therefore, claims 9,000 saves.
What is wrong with the ACLU? What in the wide wide world of sports, would make the ACLU go after police officers’ use of a less lethal weapon, on perps? They could have just SHOT them. So, why make up a bogus study on TASER Deaths? They have really lost me on this one, but then again, they also did the same thing with pepper spray years ago. I guess cops are just supposed to talk them into cooperating.
Email This
Posted by California Conservative on December 9, 2005 2:29 pm
» Filed Under News
Trackback URL:
Comments
5 Responses to “ACLU Attacks Police with Bogus Taser Report”
-
-
-
Affiliations
The Giants
Advertise
-
-
Our Store
- Click the design to visit our store and help Stop the ACLU!
-
- More blogs about the ACLU
Syndicate Me
I think the ACLU’s point is that the police could not have “just shot” the perps in some of these cases.
The police are using electro-shock devices in cases where they really should have talked people into cooperating (as per their police training, rules, and laws, etc.). Or at the very least they should have used less force.
Because these weapons are mostly less than lethal they tend to be over used – in situations that do not call for force, or call for less force than a Taser.
What a whiner. If people would listen and follow the instructions of the law enforcer they would not have to have the crap shocked out of them, now would they?
Does Gando have a life. I recommend that the police get rid of the tasers then use the standard procedure. Shoot 2 times at the chest and then 1 to the head. Would help in court and prison costs.
Here’s the choice: shock ‘em till they drop, or beat them till they blead. It’s hard to fully understand the mind of ACLU lawyers.
The ACLU has nothing better to do then to make the job of law enforcement officers more difficult. Just wait until they are faced in a situation when they need a law enforcment officer to help them out, or save their life. I am sure if the members of the ACLU were in a situation where a criminal had a knife stuck to their throats, they wouldn’t want an officer to just try and talk and reason with the criminal, but instead the use of that Taser might just sound a little good about then.