Do Police Abuse Their Tasers? | Teen Ink

Do Police Abuse Their Tasers?

February 16, 2015
By AWESOMEGS BRONZE, Pewauke, Wisconsin
AWESOMEGS BRONZE, Pewauke, Wisconsin
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

In America there's a problem, and it has to do with the people we call when we are in danger, the police. People everywhere are worried if the police abuse their tasers, some think every cop abuses their tasers and that tasers should be banned, while others think that every time a police officer uses their taser it’s one hundred percent justified. When looking at the facts it’s clear that some police officers use their tasers wrong, but they should have their tasers with them at all times. This is true, because it intimidates robbers so there is a lower crime rate, safety of citizens, is less than lethal so victims will not have permanent injuries.

 

While there's still robberies, tasers still intimidate robbers. According to http://www.nij.gov/ “Researchers have estimated that between 15 and 20 percent of arrests involve use of force... Injury rates to civilians ranged from 17 to 64 percent… injury rates to officers ranged from 10 to 20 percent… In Austin, injury rates were 30 percent lower after full scale Taser deployment.” This means that out of every two hundred arrests thirty to forty arrests involve use of force. Of that thirty to forty, five to twenty six  arrests have injuries to civilians. Plus of that thirty to forty, three to eight cases involve officer injuries. But after tasers were deployed forceful arrests dropped to twenty one to twenty eight, civilians injuries dropped to three to eighteen. Plus officer injuries dropped to two to six.

 

While there is safer ways to save citizens, tasers are a effective method. One of the news stories on www.abc.news.go.com, a popular news station around the world, proved this stating “The use was definitely justified the deputy had two seconds before the suspect (Autistic Male) had started screaming and running… He had to be tased or he’d die in traffic.” If you were a cop and couldn’t get to someone in time before they could potentially die, wouldn’t you save them with one simple use of a taser?

 

Tasers are painful but not lethal, so instead of chasing criminals you could tased them like in the case of Joseph Williams. Online news site www.benswann.com auther Kristin Tate is a multi-media reportersaid “14 year-old Joseph Williams was caught shoplifting with 19 year-old cousin Jordan. After being caught, Joseph ran, the cops trying to keep him there tased him.” By tasing this 14 year-old boy not only was he stunned, but he could not escape. Joseph did take cuts from falling to the ground slicing his face on the concrete, but left Joseph far more healthy than being shot.

 

As we think of our abundance of evidence we find that tasers are necessary for a peaceful society. Tasers leave less noticeable injuries then gun wounds. Plus people who were tased find it easier to maintain a normal lifestyle after being tased, opposed to being shot. In conclusion, some police officers do use tasers incorrectly, but in the mainstream they should have their tasers with them at all times. So next time you see a cop thank them and remind them to use their taser.


The author's comments:

I Learnd a lot researching this peice. My point of veiw had changed many times while writing also.


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