A new report by the N.C. Taser Safety Project, formed by groups including the NAACP, the ACLU and the Mental Health Association, asserts that law-enforcement agencies around the state need to adopt stricter policies on the use of taser stun guns.
“Touted by the company as a device that saves lives, taser use has resulted in numerous injuries and has been proximate to several deaths in North Carolina and hundreds across the country,” the report states, before going on to deal with more specific concerns about taser usage. Many counties, it notes, don’t restrict taser usage around flammable materials or on pregnant women, children, the elderly, passive resisters or handcuffed suspects.
Buncombe County prohibits taser usage on pregnant women, near flammable materials or on subjects in high places. It restricts usage on handcuffed suspects, but not on the elderly, the young, the disabled or passive resisters.
Asheville Police Chief Bill Hogan and Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan have asserted that tasers are safe and save lives.
Click here to read the report.
— David Forbes, staff writer
Tasers are NOT safe, and that Hogan & Van Duncan act like they are non-lethal weapons disgusts me.
They are “LESS-LETHAL” weapons.
Also interesting to note – in that old article, the photos held up by Larry West were very revealing. They clearly showed series of dual-burn marks all over a kid, consistent with the damage a taser would do IF the safety cap was removed.
Larry explained all of this to Hogan, who merely looked at the photos and denied that a taser could cause that type of damage. But has Hogan EVER seen the damage a taser does with the safety off? I’m not an expert, but after researching this, it seemed really freaking obvious that it could.
The spacing of the marks is accurate.
The burn type is consistent with a prolonged exposure to that type of electricity.
That’s the story here that I think needs to be fully investigated – Hogan shows up saying that he’s willing to hear from the community, and the one guy with actual evidence gets dismissed right away as impossible – when an amateur can look at the evidence and see clear connections. MX get someone qualified on this case – I know you can get ahold of Larry West via wednesday night Copwatch meetings.
It’s the thin blue line – don’t think for a second that Hogan’s first job is ANYTHING other than protecting his boys, and that includes from the law and it’s repercussions. I remember him saying something around this time (maybe that night?) that his first job is to be an advocate for the police – which is scary! His REAL first job is public safety. If his boys are a danger, he owes them nothing, and the public everything.