As you are aware, a hot topic right now is police shootings. Are they always justified? Are they cover-ups? The root of the problem starts with what information does an officer use to determine if she should use a gun or use his taser, assuming he has both on him. A new article explores this. In a story out of Atlanta, an unarmed black man was shot and killed. He was a veteran who suffered from mental illness. He was found naked walking around his apartment complex. When the officer responded to the situation, he told the man to stop and back up, but then shot him. In this situation, the officer had a gun AND had a taser. If an unarmed, naked man is in front of you and you don't see a gun, there is no where to reach for a gun since he is naked, why not pick up the taser as your first choice?
Some claim that maybe the officer didn't have time to get the taser out and ready. But does that mean there was more time to get the gun out and ready? Experts state that it comes down to what the officer felt at that time in the situation. An officer will rely on his intuition to influence these split second decisions. Sometimes even more than protocol. If an officer is in fear for his or her life, he or she can use deadly force to thwart the threat.
Of course this still leads back to the same question. Can't you taser the person, which makes them incapacitated, especially if they are on the smaller side, and then cuff them? One issue is that police are not required to carry a taser. And, even if the officer has one, it is not always effective and it can cause heart attacks in the person being tasered.
Read article here
Some claim that maybe the officer didn't have time to get the taser out and ready. But does that mean there was more time to get the gun out and ready? Experts state that it comes down to what the officer felt at that time in the situation. An officer will rely on his intuition to influence these split second decisions. Sometimes even more than protocol. If an officer is in fear for his or her life, he or she can use deadly force to thwart the threat.
Of course this still leads back to the same question. Can't you taser the person, which makes them incapacitated, especially if they are on the smaller side, and then cuff them? One issue is that police are not required to carry a taser. And, even if the officer has one, it is not always effective and it can cause heart attacks in the person being tasered.
Read article here
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