Letter: Police need alternatives to stun guns

Graphic by Lori Deaton

I was watching the news one Sunday morning on which they showed a Black man (a relative of the founder of Black Lives Matter) being tasered by policemen. He died from cardiac arrest at the hospital.

I think those Tasers should be discontinued as items that police officers carry. That same TV news report said that a high number of people per year in the U.S. die as a result of being shocked with those instruments of torture.

I propose a less violent method of capturing out-of-control people who may be suffering a mental psychotic break, drug- or alcohol-induced episode.

Police departments should be furnished with human-sized nets (like giant butterfly nets) made out of strong nylon cords or hemp rope fibers. All the police officers would have to do is put the nets over the person’s body and rush in and pull the tie cord at the bottom to prevent him/her from getting out. Then the police officers would put the person into a straitjacket like those used to control violent people who live in mental institutions.

The idea would save the lives of people who are going through a bad episode and would return to normal once they were given medication to help them.

There simply is no sense in killing a person when there are many police officers standing around who could successfully use a capture net and straitjacket.

That Black man had kids who will never see him again, not to mention the fact of the loss of a good teacher.

I am not a “defund the police” person. We need good police officers who care about people. I support those and think all Asheville police officers should have bought-for-them bulletproof vests.

Well, that’s my opinion.

— Tom L. Nanney
Asheville

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6 thoughts on “Letter: Police need alternatives to stun guns

  1. sinkhole

    Look into the history of TASER and the fabricated condition of “excited delirium” to justify deaths they cause. It might make you a “defund the police” person.

  2. Voirdire

    yes, tasers are lethal weapons…. period. As for de-funding the police…. bad idea. But, as for more oversight in regard to our police departments and their specific budget line expenditures… yeah, for sure. (…and as for the human butterfly nets… what a fantastical idea!!! ….lol ;)

    • indy499

      Shouldn’t all budegt line items be reviewed? How about the effort that goes into developing the silly proclamations each month.

  3. Zodwa

    Before we consider your butterfly net method, I suggest you spend a day in a ride around with an officer. Your method would become the next tic tok challenge. Have you tested your method, after you do this, I would like to hear how easy it is.

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