02-12-2008, 02:44 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-12-2008, 02:45 PM by Rhydderch Hael.)
Quote:The Tazer really isn't the evil it's made out to be. It induces massive involuntary muscle contraction which renders the target helpless, but undamaged. There are isolated cases where the target of tazering has suffered some complications, but presumably so would targets riddled with bullets, or bludgeoned with nightsticks. ...The lingering, damaging effects of a gun or nightstick is what compels an officer to weigh the effect of force into their decision loop during a confrontation. The fact that such tools will harm or kill gives weight to whatever criteria the officer is trained or directed to follow to justify the use of force.
The taser, as you describe them, frees the officer from such consequences and may give them the inclination to secure the situation through the quickest and convenient means: to immediately escalate and then terminate the confrontation through force, without consideration of long-term consequences because "there are none".
Which really sucks in those situations where talking down the perp may have worked instead. Now, that option may not always work, but the trend towards non-lethal weaponry is giving the officer the means to conveniently forego that option entirely.
Political Correctness is the idea that you can foster tolerance in a diverse world through the intolerance of anything that strays from a clinical standard.