rigorousintuition.ca

A local activist friend setup a site to battle the rise of this "Non-Lethal" Policing Technology at www.StopTasers.org but I don't think its very active yet.

Last night while reporting on the latest suggestion (to start using tasers in schools) I came across a familiar name ... Cyril H. Wecht:

Plan to put Tasers in Uniontown schools gets mixed reviews

...

Still, the report noted that more data might be needed to determine the effects of CED exposure on small children, those with diseased hearts, the elderly and pregnant women.

Forensic pathologist Cyril H. Wecht, a former Allegheny County coroner, said he's not aware of any argument that children would be more susceptible to death from a Taser strike than adults.

He said that a Taser has advantages to authorities as an alternative means of restraint in intense situations.

"Once you have the Taser and it's been accepted and legitimized ... I see nothing wrong with officers being able to use it on teenagers," Wecht said.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleyi ... 81794.html

Plan to put Tasers in Uniontown schools gets mixed reviews
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleyi ... 81794.html

School To Put Students In ‘Prison’ Jumpsuits As Punishment
http://www.local6.com/education/17035594/detail.html

Video shows police punching teen 13 times in face, then tasering him
http://www.infowars.com/?p=3865

Hospital tasers 66-year-old minister over joke
http://www.prisonplanet.com/hospital-ta ... -joke.html

Cops Tase Barely Conscious Boy With Broken Back 19 Times For Non-Compliance
http://www.infowars.com/?p=3621

Students Protesting Pesticide Use Tasered
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/02/9362/

DHS / LAPD LED incapacitator
http://mackwhite.blogspot.com/2008/02/f ... taser.html

Austin Taser Events

From officer’s order to Taser: 45 seconds
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/n ... video.html

Acevedo praises officers’ response to Taser video
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/n ... video.html

APD takes lesson from tasing
http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/t ... fb54a.html

The Austin Chronicle
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase ... %20Council

AusChron - Naked City
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase ... oid:259405

February 2005: “… Also on the agenda is consideration of a contract to buy another 90 Tasers for the Austin Police Department – in light of recent Taser controversies (here and elsewhere), this item may get more scrutiny than anticipated (see p.22). And several El Concilio members are signed up to raise sand against the pending Transit-Oriented Development Ordinance – Joe Quintero’s registration reads, “The legacy and history of Council Member Raul Alvarez on the Austin City Council will be that of assisting Anglo Liberal Council [to] accelerate the gentrification and displacement of poor Mexican-American Homeowners from their homes in East Austin.” And a very good day to you, too….”
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/n ... egrab.html

In an image from an Austin Police Department video camera, Cpl. Thomas O’Connor is shown using a Taser stun gun on motorist Eugene Snelling during a traffic stop on MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) last Thanksgiving. and shown here is of the subject being tased by austin police officer Cpl. Thomas O’Connor on MoPac near Barton Creek Mall. Eugene Snelling is the subject and he is falling to the ground here as he is shocked.
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/n ... lling.html

‘I kept on saying, ‘I don’t understand why you’re treating me like this. Are you having a bad day? This is Thanksgiving. I’m sorry if you’re not with your family,’ … And the next minute, I’m being Tased.’ — Eugene snelling, was Tasered by Austin police officer

MORE ON THIS STORY:

Interview with Eugene Snelling http://www.statesman.com/news/mplayer/m/32406

Police Chief Art Acevedo on the incident http://www.statesman.com/news/mplayer/m/32387

Dashboard police camera showing incident http://www.statesman.com/news/mplayer/m/32386

Cpl. O’Connor’s statement to investigators http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/statesman/pdf ... idavit.pdf

A memo from O’Connor protesting his suspension http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/statesman/pdf ... o_memo.pdf

BRUSSELS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Special Dutch police teams will use electroshock weapons by the brand name "Taser" for a trial period of one year, Dutch papers reported Tuesday.

The Taser gun disables its targets by giving them a 50,000-volt electric shock. Six police squads and a military police team will take part in the trial which starts around New Year's Eve.

Dutch Interior Minister Guusje Ter Horst will decide whether the electroshock guns will become part of the regular equipment of the special squads after the trial period.

The Taser is to be used as an alternative to firearms. It fires two hooks connected to the Taser gun by leads which temporarily paralyze a victim within eight meters of the shooting, making it much easier to arrest aggressive suspects. The Taser gun has been in use in the United States for years, but has received a lot of criticism. Amnesty International has reported that 200 individuals worldwide were killed after one or several electro-shocks had been administered.

The manufacturer of the electroshock gun denied that the shocks are lethal. Jelle Egas, a spokesperson for the Dutch Council of Police Chiefs, said that a dog bite or a bean bag shot causes more injuries.

The Dutch police chiefs have been urging for the procurement of electroshock guns since 2006. "A lot of research has been conducted in America, England and Canada. We have studied these reports and now want to test the guns," said a spokesperson of the Interior Ministry.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008- ... 236520.htm

MSNBC VIDEO: Moussaoui wore 'stun belt' for new testimony
http://www.total911.info/2006/03/msnbc- ... -belt.html

If you're looking for a reason why Zacarias Moussaoui suddenly testified today to a version of the 9/11 plotline that sounds more like the Official story than even the official Whitewash Commission report, this video may have the answer.

In it, NBC news reporter Pete Williams lets slip that Moussaoui is wearing a "Stun belt" underneath his clothing controlled by US Marshals. MSNBC host Dan Abrams gets some more details on the stun belt.

A taste of the exchange:

WILLIAMS: The old outbursts were gone... He was very docile today... We believe that he's wearing one of those stun belts, and it may be that he was very worried about doing anything that would cause those Marshals to press the button....

ABRAMS: A stun belt? They literally have sOmething around his waist? That they can push a button and?

WILLIAMS: [Pause] Well...

Only in 21st-century Amerika!

See also

Demented Moussaoui changes story in open court


The 'stun belt' story also appeared in a Washington Post article. It appears that the judge ordered that Moussaoui be fitted with the belt. So much for the rights of the accused...despite the shocking nature of the revelation I have not found any discussion of it in the MSM. See

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 864_2.html

http://www.total911.info/2006/03/msnbc- ... -belt.html

Taser Factsheet
http://www.stoptasers.org/learn

http://www.stoptasers.org/sites/stoptas ... sheet2.doc

TASERS KILL

Despite manufacturer's label of "less-lethal," tasers have been involved in close to 250 deaths.

TASERS INCREASE DANGER TO PUBLIC, NOT DECREASE IT
Despite police claims that tasers reduce injuries and save lives by providing officers with an alternative to using their firearms or batons, independent studies conclude that tasers are mostly used in situations where police use of lethal force – or even batons, sprays, or hand controls – would never be justified. This means that tasers actually increase the amount of danger to the public, not decrease it. Electro-shock weapons are particularly open to abuse as they can inflict severe pain at the push of a button without leaving substantial marks. Police often subject targets to multiple taser shocks, even while in restraints and often use them against people posing no physical threat, such as against non-violent protesters or simply anyone they perceive to not be heeding a verbal command. Other studies have shown that suspect deaths by gun, or suspect and police injuries have not decreased.

EVEN POLICE ARE SUING TASER

Taser International is being sued by police officers across the nation claiming they were seriously injured after being shocked with the electronic stun gun during training classes. Injuries listed included "painful, permanent and progressive" hearing and vision loss and neurological damage, multiple spinal fractures, burns, a shoulder dislocation and soft-tissue injuries. Many lawsuits, including a few class action suits, have been filed from victims and victim's families for wrongful tasering or death, although Taser, Int. has managed to get many thrown out via legal loopholes.

ORGS CALL FOR BAN

Civil-rights organizations including Amnesty International and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and civil liberty groups including the ACLU of Texas call for moratoriums on their use until independent hard evidence is shown that they are safe, and liken the weapon to a tool of torture. Other community groups and organizations such as various ACLU affiliates promote policy restrictions through local or state legislation. Some cities/localities are curbing or restricting use on their own such as Chicago (they have 300 on the streets compared to Houston's 3,700) or Pflugerville, TX (not using them until the costly "TaserCams" were purchased for better accountability), and some have refused to purchase them altogether for fear of liability and worsening already-negative community relations.

MEDICALLY AND SCIENTIFICALLY UNSOUND

There continues to be a lack of rigorous, independent testing of their medical effects. Amnesty International is calling on US state, federal and local authorities to suspend all transfers and use of tasers and other electro-shock weapons pending a rigorous, independent inquiry into their use and effects. Such an inquiry must be carried out by acknowledged medical, scientific, legal and law enforcement experts who are independent of commercial and political interests in promoting such equipment. Some 'independent' studies that exonerate the weapon have been shown to have ties to Taser, Int.. The US Department of Justice is in the midst of a 2-year comprehensive study that will likely shed some light. At the crux of this debate is that the weapon delivers electroshock directly to the central nervous system via the darts/needle delivery method vs. on the skin/across the grounded body and there is very little information available about the effects of electricity on the brain/nervous system.

CORRUPTION

Taser, Int. stays afloat despite the dead bodies and broad criticism primarily due to taking advantage of many layers of systematic corruption in play long before Tasers. Overly strong local law enforcement associations undermining the community's ability to "police the police" have led to many conflicts of interest such as with county medical examiners who wrongfully rule deaths of persons in police custody to avoid implicating police. Coroners rule many deaths as solely attributed to secondary factors such as drugs, and even going so far to specifically exclude the taser as a possible contributing factor (a brave few HAVE implicated the taser, however, ruling the death as a "homocide"). The new non-medically-recognized catch term, "excited delirium," is being logged as cause of death in many cases (taser and otherwise), suggesting a breach of professionalism as never before. In the judicial system which rarely holds law enforcement accountable, Taser, Int. is breaking ground in filing lawsuits against entities that have published critical medical reviews or conducted critical studies, resulting in a recent chilling effect on the medical and scientific community. Meanwhile, they have embarked on a campaign to meet with and intimidate activists and critical lawmakers as well.

http://www.stoptasers.org/learn

http://www.stoptasers.org/sites/stoptas ... sheet2.doc

Taser Watch. yikes. We need this.

Police Taser drunk fan who heckled Tiger Woods at golf tournament
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 12:37 PM on 10th May 2010

A drunken American who heckled Tiger Woods at a major golf tournament was Tasered by police when he refused to stop.

Travis Parmelee yelled abuse at the shamed golfer at the second round of the Players Championship, close to the 11th hole in Sawgrass, Florida.

The 36-year-old resisted attempts to calm down and became increasingly belligerent – which led to officers zapping him with a 50,000 volt stun gun.



Travis Parmelee is handcuffed and arrested after being Tasered by police for heckling Tiger Woods at the Players Championship in Sawgrass, Florida



Parmelee was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest at the event, which marks one of Woods' first public forays back into golf

Parmelee was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest without violence.

Captain Dave Messenger says Parmelee had been drinking.

The arrest comes four days after a Philadelphia police officer used a stun gun on a teenager dashing through the outfield during a Phillies baseball game at Citizens Bank Park.



The use of a Taser on Parmalee comes just four days after a fan received the same treatment from police for running through the pitch during a Philadelphia baseball game


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldne ... z0nYSJjnhu

The New Generation of "Non-Lethal" Weapons
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=21841

Naked Wizard Tased By Reality
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23670

Court Oks Repeated Tazering Of Pregnant Woman
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=27726

"The great normalization of torture" (Digby)
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=27459

Britain: Police UAVs Might be Armed with Non Lethal Weapons
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=27084

5 Ways Techno-Gadgetry Is Bringing Out the Worst in Humanity
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=26940

Father Tasered-to-Death for uncooperative behavior
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=15756

Wild Child, 10, Tasered Over Bath Time Rage
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=25926

Want some torture with your peanuts?
http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/ ... r-peanuts/

Will Homeland Security the Militarized Police State Shock You Into Submission?
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/a ... 20154.html
http://www.lamperdlesslethal.com

New Taser Bracelet for Airline Travelers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urg8by4oFoY

Tasered mom: ‘I posed no threat’
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=24828

shock three naked wizards at once!
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=24672

72-year-old Great-Grandma Tasered
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=24089

Fla. prisons shock kids
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23912

Laws / United States / Deadly Electronic Weapons
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=23755

Torture Suit Against CACI Goes Forward
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23395

And on and on and on ...

elfismiles wrote:A local activist friend setup a site to battle the rise of this "Non-Lethal" Policing Technology at http://www.StopTasers.org but I don't think its very active yet.

That activist friend of mine put me in contact with the cocreators of that site ... however, after I bugged them for over a year trying to get them to put the site back online, offering to help in any way I could, I finally gave up on them and launched my own:

Stop Taser Abuse Network
www.StopTasers.net

"Don't Taze my granny!"
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=28675

Taser Teams With Evidence.com for Streaming Secure Police Video



TASER International teams with EVIDENCE.com to create the AXON a secure police recording system that is fully portable and strapped on the head. Now there is multiple things going on here why this is noteworthy. For one it sends (streams?) the data directly to the servers of evidence.com in an encrypted secure way. That means nobody (also not the cops themself) can temper the footage. That means it could be an effective tool to watch the watchers and make them accountable for “mistakes” that might happen when an arrest or house search or such is being made. That of course would mean that evidence.com makes the videos available to the public at large but I think this might be even a business model for them so I actually do seem to think this is likely. Now there needs to be a law that prohibits the nice policemen from turning these things off in the heat – make it a felony punishable with a prison sentence or immediate suspension from the job to avoid the “oh I forgot to turn it back on” kind of moments that these fellow friends would likely have at times.

via engadget
http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/23/tase ... onize-cop/

Life as an Artificial Lifeform: Watch the Watchers Do Their Dirty Work.
http://prototypen.com/blog/falk/archive ... tch-1.html

www.evidence.com/evidence_video_tour

http://www.stoptasers.net/2010/05/taser ... ice-video/

July 10, 2010

Federal suit alleges ex-deputy assaulted disabled man
By Brian Smith
Register News Writer

RICHMOND — The Madison County Sheriff’s Office has been named as a defendant in a federal lawsuit alleging a former sheriff’s deputy used a Taser against a disabled man.

The suit, filed June 21 in U.S. District Court in Lexington, names former Sgt. Scotty Anderson, Sheriff Nelson O’Donnell and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office as defendants. Anderson and O’Donnell are being sued both in their official and individual capacities.

In the eight-page complaint, Richmond resident Sammy Harris alleges that on July 31, 2009, Anderson used a Taser device against Harris, who is disabled.

The alleged incident took place at Harris’ home after his daughter called the sheriff’s office to report the theft of money and a cellular phone by a cab driver, according to the complaint.

When Anderson arrived at the home, Harris went out onto his porch on a motorized scooter to accompany his daughter as she met with Anderson, the suit states.

Harris has a degenerative spinal condition and was recovering from multiple heart surgeries to place stents at the time of the incident, the lawsuit states, and did not have the strength to get off the scooter or to push a wheelchair.

According to the suit, Anderson asked Harris’ daughter if she had been drinking. When the woman admitted she had been drinking the previous evening, Anderson placed her under arrest and threw her to the ground, the suit states.WTF is that about?

During the incident, Anderson pushed on the scooter with his foot, throwing Harris out of the seat, the suit alleges. Anderson then tackled Harris, the complaint claims, causing a cut to Harris’ head from colliding with a concrete ramp.

The suit then claims that Anderson drew his Taser and discharged the weapon despite Harris’ daughter telling him her father was recovering from heart surgery.

“Sgt. Anderson tased Mr. Harris while he was on the ground,” the suit states. “Mr. Harris did not pose an immediate threat to the safety of Sgt. Anderson or anyone else.”

According to the suit, Taser International, the company which manufactures the device, advises against using the device on the elderly or infirm.

The suit accuses Anderson of using excessive force in using the Taser against Harris, committing assault and battery against Harris, acting with negligence and intentionally inflicting emotional distress.

O’Donnell and his office are accused in the suit of failing to properly train and supervise Anderson, and alleges that O’Donnell and his officer were negligent in hiring and retaining Anderson.

According to the suit, “other employees of the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, other police officers and citizens of Madison County had informed Sheriff O’Donnell about uncontrollable outbursts of anger from Sgt. Anderson including personal confrontations with employees, over-aggressive behavior and extreme mood changes.”

Harris is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages in the suit from Anderson, O’Donnell and his office, as well as attorney’s fees, and has requested a jury trial in the case.

According to electronic court records, Anderson, O’Donnell and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office have not yet responded to the suit.

Anderson left the sheriff’s office late last year after a foot injury sustained during Army service in Iraq caused him to become physically unable to be a police officer, he said during a trial in an unrelated matter earlier this year.


http://tiny.cc/4n5nn

ICE Agents Accused of Tasing/Beating Man to Death
http://libertyconspiracy.com/ice_agents ... _man_death

Hernandez Rojas Dies After Border Patrol Agents Taser and Beat Him (Video)
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valley ... er_bor.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8AH1bNe3kg

Border Patrol agents murder man, lie about it (Video)
http://www.copblock.org/468/border-patr ... urder-man/
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/07/03-5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtdf-WRhMoU


...

more past RI threads

Enforcer Mayhem
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=29381

"The great normalization of torture" (Digby)
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=27459

Tasered mom: ‘I posed no threat’
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=24828

72-year-old Great-Grandma Tasered
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=24089

Naked Wizard Tased By Reality
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23670

caught on video: two male cops brutalize 15 year old girl
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23139

All Police In Devon & Cornwall To Be Given Tasers
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=21153

Sudden death after arrest may be new syndrome
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20098

DHS: shock bracelets for airline passengers
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19149

How Unspeakable Evil Becomes A Spectator Sport
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=18580

Electricity: The Global History of a Torture Technology
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17224

Police and Tasers: Hooked on Shock
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=16118

Father Tasered-to-Death for uncooperative behavior
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=15756

Amnesty International's concerns about Taser use
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=15556

Tasers: the next generation
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=14973

Cops murder epileptic man with taser
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=13711

US Forest Service purchases 700 Tasers
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=13430

The Tasering Will Continue Until You All Submit!
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=13383

UCLA Student Tasered (repeatedly)
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9303

New weapon for torturers arsenal
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=3466

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... z1MAvwUAl0

43-year-old man, Allen Kephart, dies after being shot with Taser during dispute over blown stop sign

See also COP WATCH threads

COPWATCH
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=30612

Anti Authority Photography Outlawed
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=32190

Meanwhile...

Taser: Austin police to test cameras worn on the head
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/aus ... 05078.html


Appeals Court Significantly Reduces Award in Heston Lawsuit ...‎
Marketwire (press release) - May 20, 2011
Evidence.com and www.Protector.com or by calling (800) 978-2737. Be a part of the TASER community by joining us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
TASR
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release ... 517225.htm


Officers try out cameras fitted to headbands, caps‎
Greensboro News & Record - Dioni L. Wise - May 2, 2011
The small cameras fit on ball caps and headbands that sit under the downtown officers' bike helmets. The Axon system from Taser, which makes devices for law ...
http://www.news-record.com/content/2011 ... bands_caps


TASER Receives Two Large Domestic Orders‎
istockAnalyst.com (press release) - May 10, 2011
More than 16200 public safety agencies in 107 countries rely on TASER® electronic control devices (ECDs) and AXON on-officer camera systems to help protect ...
http://www.istockanalyst.com/business/n ... tic-orders


... and on and on it goes ...

Police Say Man Killed At Zoo Attacked & Bit Officer (Video)
July 19, 2011 7:39 PM
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/07/19/p ... t-officer/