ACLU Blamed for First ‘Real’ TASER Death

Posted on February 18, 2006

/U.S. Newswire/ — The Law Enforcement Alliance of America is calling the recent fatal shooting of a knife wielding man in Antioch, Calif. the nation’s “first real TASER death” and that the ACLU of Northern California is to blame.

News reports indicate that Antioch, Calif. police officers were called to the home of 27-year-old Scott Dittman. When Dittman, armed with a butcher knife, allegedly lunged at the officers, he was shot and killed. Facing an armed and dangerous subject, police officers are entirely justified in using lethal force.

The death of Scott Dittman is exceptionally tragic because of the absence of alternatives available to the police officers on the scene. The Antioch police department has TASER less than lethal devices, but news reports quoting police officials suggest the department had suspended the use of TASERs due to the legal and political issues. A controversy LEAA believes was stirred up by the ACLU of Northern California when it issued a misleading and dangerous “study” on law enforcement use of TASERs late last year.

Sadly, the death of Scott Dittman was a predictable consequence of the dangers of letting the ACLU and politicians meddle with police safety and training. In December, LEAA produced a report on the dangers of the ACLU “study” and the ACLU recommendations for police training and policy, stating, “Such baseless regulation will handcuff police officers on the street by giving them fewer options for survival in potentially deadly confrontations — a dangerous result for police officers, the public they serve and the suspects they encounter.”

LEAA’s predictions about the dangers of the ACLU “study” have come true in Northern California in only a matter of months. While the use of deadly force may be justified in the line of duty, law enforcement officers prefer to have as many choices as possible to prevent having to take a human life. Public safety and officer safety is best served when law enforcement tactics are left to the experts and not politicians or special interest groups like the ACLU. The death of Scott Dittman is a tragic testament to this reality.

This is what I mean when I criticise the ACLU for absolutist, and stubborn posititions without regard to consequences. Lets be clear, that this man’s death is not directly because of the ACLU, the idiot lunging at the cop’s with a butcher knife is, and he payed the price for his stupidity. However, the ACLU’s relentless war against TASER is ridiculous, and one can not dismiss that consequences result from giving in to their ridiculous demands. In this case it was the death of a man, who’s life might have been spared if TASERs would have been used. The ACLU did not kill this man, but their legal threats, did play a major role in it.

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Comments

3 Responses to “ACLU Blamed for First ‘Real’ TASER Death”

apostle on February 18th, 2006 1:59 pm

As I posted on my own site, a lot of these quacks think the U.S. Military should be disbanded and that the police force could protect us from invasion. How are they supposed to do that when they can’t even protect themselves?
LomaAlta on February 18th, 2006 7:47 pm

Seems Dittman’s family could sue the ACLU for wrongful death because they eliminated the TASER option from the police response options.

Let’s hope they do sue the ACLU. it would be nice to see “ACLU Partly Responsible for Man’s Death” headlines in the MSM.
kerwin_brown on February 20th, 2006 5:51 am

Reminds me of the deaths caused by Planned Parenthood subscribing the off label use of RU-486 to patients. Why didn’t any of loved ones of their adult victims sue planned parenthood. Compared to the Merck &#38; Co. Inc. in the Vioxx, Planned Parenthood was literally caught with blood all over their hands.