Posted on 09/02/2007 8:59:19 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Police can shoot children with stun guns
By STEPHEN WRIGHT
Last updated at 23:55pm on 2nd September 2007
Police will be allowed to shoot children with Taser stun guns despite concerns they could trigger heart attacks.
Officers in ten forces will be able to use the 50,000-volt weapons - which paralyse targets for a short time - against all potentially violent offenders.
However campaigners have called for police to be banned from using Tasers on children.
The Defence Scientific Advisory Council medical committee told the Home Office that not enough was known about the risks of using Tasers against youngsters.
The committee said research suggests there was a risk children could suffer a "serious cardiac event".
It recommended that officers should be "particularly vigilant" for any health problems suffered as a direct result of someone being shot with a Taser.
And it added that guidelines should be updated to highlight the risks to children and "adults of small stature".
Amnesty International claims Tasers have been responsible for 220 deaths in America since 2001.
Many cities in the U.S. have banned their use against minors. In Britain, fears have been raised that the one-year trial could compromise public safety if it is not carefully handled.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said the pilot projects had to be conducted with "great caution and rigour".
The Association of Chief Police Officers said Tasers would be made available at incidents of "violence and threats of violence of such severity that they will need force".
The Tasers fire barbed darts into their victims and deliver powerful electric shocks via a copper wire. They are intended to be a 'less lethal' alternative to regular police weapons.
They were first introduced in the UK in 2003 and have been deployed several dozen times.
Police Minister Tony McNulty failed to mention that Government advisors had warned of a potential risk to children.
But he confirmed that medical assessments had confirmed the risk of death or serious injury from Tasers was 'low'. The Home Office stressed that nonfirearms officers will not be routinely armed with Tasers.
Instead the weapons will be "readily available" for specific incidents of violence where force may be needed by police.
Officers taking part in the 12-month pilot scheme will undergo a rigorous selection procedure and will have to undergo a training programme approved by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
‘What make and model and where can you use them and on what?’
Two double-barrelled 12 bore shotguns (1 side by side Gunmark Kestrel and an up and under Lanber Game) and my faithful old SMLE .303 rifle with a ten round magazine.
I use them for hunting, mainly grouse, pheasant and the occasional deer, mainly on private land, occasionally on common land. When I carry them in my land rover they must be in a locked box attached to the vehicle.
O.K. — the above was facetious (although true).
No weapon, including the Taser, should be over-used, or used carelessly.
Seriously now, consider the alternatives to the Taser:
1. Shoot the suspect with a gun — almost certainly lethal.
2. Pepper spray — sometimes (rarely) lethal — not as effective at stopping a determined violent criminal — could be fatal to the LEO, or to bystanders.
3. Fisticuffs, wrestling, or other bare-hand martial arts — places the LEO (and bystanders) in immediate danger — could be fatal to LEO or suspect — often not effective at subduing or capturing the suspect.
4. Billy club, bat, or similar weapon — could be fatal — high chance of brain injury — places LEO and bystanders in danger.
5. Ignore the situation — life and property of innocent people put at great risk. People want LEO to protect them & apprehend suspects with appropriate means. We also want to reduce risk to LEO. They (LEO) need a variety of tools to do their job safely and effectively. On balance, it seems to me that the Taser has a place in the LEO toolbox.
Thank you for the reply.
I thought their police didn’t use them is really what I mean.
Static electricity is 20,000 volts????
I didn’t know that.
Thanks for the tidbit.
Envision the “child” as 3 years old.
I dunno. For years I’ve been advocating issuing cattle prods to schoolteachers but nobody listens to me...
I’m seeing red herrings.
In this case “child” most likely refers to yobs 15 to 18 yrs. old. Some of them are pretty large — and they tend to travel in packs.
The article didn’t say so.
Children shouldn’t be playing with stun guns in the first place, but shooting them is probably an excessive reaction.
You really can't rule out their getting the idea to shoot babies ~ e.g. in their mother's arms to stop mom form picking pockets.
I’ll agree that babies shouldn’t be Tasered. Do you agree that the cops should be allowed to Taser violent yobs?
Depends on what they mean by a “minor”. They do stuff pretty early in UK ~ old tradition from way down Souf’ ~
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1890684/posts ~ what a surprise. Here’s a woman whose newborn might be taken from her by the UK authorities. Should the cops be allowed to taser her while she holds the baby should she resist?
In general, cops shouldn't taser women holding babies.
In fact, it would be unwise to mislead the cops into thinking it was OK to taser the babies (minors) and not the mothers.
Oh sure, it’s all about risk management. If you do something enough eventually someone will get hurt no matter what they’re doing. Never a mention of the thousanda and thousands of of people who have been on the receiving end of the probes and lived to tell about it. How many times have you toasted your english muffin in the shower and gotten away with it?....8>)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.