Bikewer
Penultimate Amazing
This morning, it's reported that a UN committee has declared that the Taser device "might" constitute a form of torture.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/25/national/main3537803.shtml
We've had a number of threads on the use of this law enforcement tool, often with lurid headlines like "Man Tased To Death" or "Taser-Crazy Cops".
As a law enforcement officer, I'd like to give my perspective.
The police are faced with the problem of confronting individuals who are out of control for various reasons. They may be mentally ill, intoxicated, on various kinds of drugs, or simply enraged. Such individuals must be controlled, as they frequently constitute a danger not only to themselves, but others as well. In many cases, these individuals are not "criminals" in the ordinary sense. They may well be violent, paranoid, or irrational, but they are in states of altered consciousness. It is normally the desire of police to control these people without harming them unduly, or by using deadly force.
Traditionally, "force" of one sort or another has been the tool used. This ranges from simple unarmed combat up through various sorts of law-enforcement weapons (baton, tear-gas, pepper-spray, etc) and finally to the last resort, deadly force.
Back when I began my police career, in 1968, it was normal simply to beat individuals into submission. Nightstick to the head; repeat as necessary. If you had enough people, everyone would pile on to the individual, essentially smothering his resistance until he could be handcuffed or otherwise restrained.
The big problem with this is that people died, or were brain-damaged.
Our department began issuing tear gas in the early 70s. This was marketed under the name "Chemical Mace". It proved remarkably ineffective. A jolt of tear gas will incapacitate a normal-state-of-mind person pretty well. Unfortunately, this was not the case with the out-of-control people described above. They ignored it. Police frequently suffered more from the effects of tear gas than did the suspect.
Tear gas has been replaced in recent years with "pepper spray", using the same ingredient (oleoreisin capsicum) found in red peppers and used as arthritis relief. Much better (and safer as well) than tear gas, it's still possible for deranged individuals to "fight through" it, and in some cases has little effect at all. It's primary effect is pain to the eyes and nasal passages, causing involuntary eye-closing. Unfortunately, many of the out-of-control people described, especially those on drugs such as PCP or Crack, are essentially immune to pain.
The "baton" or nightstick remains an alternative. Currently, officers are almost universally trained in techniques based on the "PPCT" (pressure point control technology) system, which relies on strikes to muscle-mass nerve plexus areas. These strikes incapacitate by causing a situation similar to a charley-horse. Strikes to the head, joints, bones, and so forth are prohibited, unless the situation escalates to the level where deadly force is indicated.
Again, PCP or crack-fueled individuals especially seem immune to such techniques.
It is sometimes possible to deal with insane individiuals using known mental-health crisis intervention techniques. Most departments around the country are sending their officers to "CIT" (crisis intervention team) training, to give them the essentials of mental-health issues, and techniques for interacting with such people. At times this can be quite successful. With others, especially those in full-blown psychotic episodes, not so much.
In the case where the individual is armed and threatening suicide (or "suicide-by-cop"), he or she must be incapacitated completely and swiftly.
Enter the Taser. Like all such devices, it has gone through an evolution. The first iterations were boxy devices of very limited range, difficult to carry and unreliable in use. The current model, the X26, is quite refined.
Many people are under entirely false assumptions as to the nature of this weapon and how it functions. They think it is the same sort of device as a "stun gun", for instance. They think it produces intolerable pain, or knocks the individual unconscious.
Actually, the device fires two dart-like projectiles attached by thin wires to the body of the device. Upon striking the body, a 5-second pulse of electricity flows between the two darts. This is a high-voltage but low-amperage charge which is tuned to the same frequency as the nervous-system signals to the skeletal muscles. The result is involuntary seizure of these skeletal muscles. The amount of musculature involved depends on the placement of the darts, and the distance between them. Ideally, the darts should strike muscle-mass with a considerable seperation.
The physiological effect on the recipient is instant and quite unique. The individual may utter a short, involuntary cry and go into what might be described as a seizure posture. Normally, they fall to the ground.
At the cessation of the pulse, there may be some residual disorientation. Most describe the sensation of being "Tased" as rather but not exceptionally painful. The main effect is the inability to move. In training, we are shown a film of a large bull being Tased. He falls over like a child's toy. However, when the 5-second pulse ends, he jumps to his feet and attacks the fence!
It should be noted at this point that literally thousands of police officers are annually Tased in training. Many police agencies require anyone carrying the weapon to undergo the shock; primarily to be able to testify in court as to it's effects.
There have been no deaths or injuries caused by these applications to police officers.
It should also be noted that the police officers involved are usually healthy, fit individuals, who are not on crack, PCP, or suffering from heart conditions.
Is the Taser dangerous? Certainly. All such weapons have an element of danger. If you are trying to incapacitate someone, you are doing something physiologically to them that alters their ability to move, act, or think.
Properly used, the Taser is far less dangerous than the alternative methods of control. In fact, Taser International maintains that some thousands of lives have been saved by the use of the Taser, in that individuals who were about to commit suicide, or who would otherwise be shot, have successfully been taken into custody without harm.
Is the Taser misused? Certainly. This is a relatively new "toy" for law enforcement, and in many agencies training and policy have not kept up with technology. Some departments may have inadequate training or controls. Individual officers may misuse the weapon even in the presence of good policy and training.
However, it must be said that such officers would misuse any tool issued to them. You don't have to look far to find instances of police abuse, long before Tasers became available.
The UN study may well be looking at the use of the device by foreign nations as well. As we well know, the standards for law enforcement in Western nations are much higher than the rest of the world generally. We are daily witness to police response to peaceful demonstration all over the world which includes vicious beatings and deadly force. It would hardly surprise me to learn that the Taser was being used as an actual device of torture around the world. That being said, it's hardly the case that torture was unknown prior to the device.... Electricity has been used to torture since it's discovery.
Taser international keeps an extensive archive of studies and scientific papers on it's site, regarding physiological effects, statistics, and so forth. There is considerable evidence that the widespread use of the device has resulted in less injury and death than would be the case otherwise, despite the occasional tragic incident.
These tragic incidents are, by the way, generally listed as "associated" with the use of the Taser. Almost all the deaths occurring in this regard have been shown to be the result of either a coronary event, or "Cocaine Intoxication Syndrome".
This syndrome was well-described prior to the invention of the Taser, and results when individuals high on cocaine engage in violent physical activity. Athletes have died on the field from this syndrome, as have individuals who have fought with police. It might be said that most of these "Taser associated" deaths would have been inevitable at any rate.
Someday, someone will invent something like the "Phaser" which can be set to stun, reliably incapacitating individuals. I'll be first in line to buy one. Till then, I would like to keep my Taser, as I see it as a tool which allows control of violent people with a minimal chance of harming them.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/25/national/main3537803.shtml
We've had a number of threads on the use of this law enforcement tool, often with lurid headlines like "Man Tased To Death" or "Taser-Crazy Cops".
As a law enforcement officer, I'd like to give my perspective.
The police are faced with the problem of confronting individuals who are out of control for various reasons. They may be mentally ill, intoxicated, on various kinds of drugs, or simply enraged. Such individuals must be controlled, as they frequently constitute a danger not only to themselves, but others as well. In many cases, these individuals are not "criminals" in the ordinary sense. They may well be violent, paranoid, or irrational, but they are in states of altered consciousness. It is normally the desire of police to control these people without harming them unduly, or by using deadly force.
Traditionally, "force" of one sort or another has been the tool used. This ranges from simple unarmed combat up through various sorts of law-enforcement weapons (baton, tear-gas, pepper-spray, etc) and finally to the last resort, deadly force.
Back when I began my police career, in 1968, it was normal simply to beat individuals into submission. Nightstick to the head; repeat as necessary. If you had enough people, everyone would pile on to the individual, essentially smothering his resistance until he could be handcuffed or otherwise restrained.
The big problem with this is that people died, or were brain-damaged.
Our department began issuing tear gas in the early 70s. This was marketed under the name "Chemical Mace". It proved remarkably ineffective. A jolt of tear gas will incapacitate a normal-state-of-mind person pretty well. Unfortunately, this was not the case with the out-of-control people described above. They ignored it. Police frequently suffered more from the effects of tear gas than did the suspect.
Tear gas has been replaced in recent years with "pepper spray", using the same ingredient (oleoreisin capsicum) found in red peppers and used as arthritis relief. Much better (and safer as well) than tear gas, it's still possible for deranged individuals to "fight through" it, and in some cases has little effect at all. It's primary effect is pain to the eyes and nasal passages, causing involuntary eye-closing. Unfortunately, many of the out-of-control people described, especially those on drugs such as PCP or Crack, are essentially immune to pain.
The "baton" or nightstick remains an alternative. Currently, officers are almost universally trained in techniques based on the "PPCT" (pressure point control technology) system, which relies on strikes to muscle-mass nerve plexus areas. These strikes incapacitate by causing a situation similar to a charley-horse. Strikes to the head, joints, bones, and so forth are prohibited, unless the situation escalates to the level where deadly force is indicated.
Again, PCP or crack-fueled individuals especially seem immune to such techniques.
It is sometimes possible to deal with insane individiuals using known mental-health crisis intervention techniques. Most departments around the country are sending their officers to "CIT" (crisis intervention team) training, to give them the essentials of mental-health issues, and techniques for interacting with such people. At times this can be quite successful. With others, especially those in full-blown psychotic episodes, not so much.
In the case where the individual is armed and threatening suicide (or "suicide-by-cop"), he or she must be incapacitated completely and swiftly.
Enter the Taser. Like all such devices, it has gone through an evolution. The first iterations were boxy devices of very limited range, difficult to carry and unreliable in use. The current model, the X26, is quite refined.
Many people are under entirely false assumptions as to the nature of this weapon and how it functions. They think it is the same sort of device as a "stun gun", for instance. They think it produces intolerable pain, or knocks the individual unconscious.
Actually, the device fires two dart-like projectiles attached by thin wires to the body of the device. Upon striking the body, a 5-second pulse of electricity flows between the two darts. This is a high-voltage but low-amperage charge which is tuned to the same frequency as the nervous-system signals to the skeletal muscles. The result is involuntary seizure of these skeletal muscles. The amount of musculature involved depends on the placement of the darts, and the distance between them. Ideally, the darts should strike muscle-mass with a considerable seperation.
The physiological effect on the recipient is instant and quite unique. The individual may utter a short, involuntary cry and go into what might be described as a seizure posture. Normally, they fall to the ground.
At the cessation of the pulse, there may be some residual disorientation. Most describe the sensation of being "Tased" as rather but not exceptionally painful. The main effect is the inability to move. In training, we are shown a film of a large bull being Tased. He falls over like a child's toy. However, when the 5-second pulse ends, he jumps to his feet and attacks the fence!
It should be noted at this point that literally thousands of police officers are annually Tased in training. Many police agencies require anyone carrying the weapon to undergo the shock; primarily to be able to testify in court as to it's effects.
There have been no deaths or injuries caused by these applications to police officers.
It should also be noted that the police officers involved are usually healthy, fit individuals, who are not on crack, PCP, or suffering from heart conditions.
Is the Taser dangerous? Certainly. All such weapons have an element of danger. If you are trying to incapacitate someone, you are doing something physiologically to them that alters their ability to move, act, or think.
Properly used, the Taser is far less dangerous than the alternative methods of control. In fact, Taser International maintains that some thousands of lives have been saved by the use of the Taser, in that individuals who were about to commit suicide, or who would otherwise be shot, have successfully been taken into custody without harm.
Is the Taser misused? Certainly. This is a relatively new "toy" for law enforcement, and in many agencies training and policy have not kept up with technology. Some departments may have inadequate training or controls. Individual officers may misuse the weapon even in the presence of good policy and training.
However, it must be said that such officers would misuse any tool issued to them. You don't have to look far to find instances of police abuse, long before Tasers became available.
The UN study may well be looking at the use of the device by foreign nations as well. As we well know, the standards for law enforcement in Western nations are much higher than the rest of the world generally. We are daily witness to police response to peaceful demonstration all over the world which includes vicious beatings and deadly force. It would hardly surprise me to learn that the Taser was being used as an actual device of torture around the world. That being said, it's hardly the case that torture was unknown prior to the device.... Electricity has been used to torture since it's discovery.
Taser international keeps an extensive archive of studies and scientific papers on it's site, regarding physiological effects, statistics, and so forth. There is considerable evidence that the widespread use of the device has resulted in less injury and death than would be the case otherwise, despite the occasional tragic incident.
These tragic incidents are, by the way, generally listed as "associated" with the use of the Taser. Almost all the deaths occurring in this regard have been shown to be the result of either a coronary event, or "Cocaine Intoxication Syndrome".
This syndrome was well-described prior to the invention of the Taser, and results when individuals high on cocaine engage in violent physical activity. Athletes have died on the field from this syndrome, as have individuals who have fought with police. It might be said that most of these "Taser associated" deaths would have been inevitable at any rate.
Someday, someone will invent something like the "Phaser" which can be set to stun, reliably incapacitating individuals. I'll be first in line to buy one. Till then, I would like to keep my Taser, as I see it as a tool which allows control of violent people with a minimal chance of harming them.
