Indiana Man, 35, Dies after Police Tasering

Too many variables to call a conclusive decision, but still.

Police seem to just be pussying around now. If they would have acted quickly, they probably could have done it old-style and subdued the man by reasonable force, rather than electrocuting him to death.

Humans are lazy at heart. If we're given the method to be lazy, we'll use that method.

Tazers are that method.

"So, for us to use this on our own people as a part of training, we're pretty confident that it's a safe weapon. This is just a very unusual circumstance."

typical police cya

I have Google Alerts set up for Taser stories and on this one story, it came back with 13 different articles about the same story, every one of them were just a little different also. All were lacking alot of details and left many questions.

Here is my version

Well not really "my version"....you know...the newspaper..:-)

The question is ceasing to be whether the weapon was used appropriately and is starting to be "should police be allowed to use a lethal weapon." Seriously. Anyone have statistics on deaths from other "non-lethal" forms of reducing a citizen to compliance? There have always been deaths . . . men who smothered against car seats because they move their faces away, accidental concussions from beating, etc. Per use, is the Taser more fatal?

As far as a Taser, it is a less than lethal devise. An ink pen can be called non-lethal and yet I can stab someone with it and it becomes a lethal instrument. Also, a Taser X-26 (what IMPD carries) gives a jolt of 0.07 joules. A defib machine delivers 150 joules to shock a persons heart into a rhythm. This is not even 1 tenth of 1 joule. I have personally be shot twice with the Taser X-26 and have received numerous drive-stuns with out the cartridge on the end of the device, I am still alive and kicking. After almost 300,000 people that have been shot with a taser, the ones that die you need to read the autopsy report very carefully. Just for further information, at the last Master Taser conference, an instructor was shot with a Taser X-26 and received a shock for 44 seconds and live to tell the story. Please know the difference between a "stun" gun and a Taser X-26 electronic control device. If it was a "lethal" weapon, I should be dead.

As far as the Officers having to use this device, in the State of Indiana, it is a misdemeanor to resist an Officer with force. If he feels that the arrest is not lawful, then go through the system and sue. That is why we have the court system. No one should be beat old school. That is why Police train as much as possible. We are in a post Rodney King era and everyone has a video camera and all Police Departments will fire an Officer if he tries this. I feel that no one should have an electronic control device or chemical agents used against them but sometimes there are no choices.

If this was a perfect world I would be out of a job. 11 year Officer.

There are people here saying a taser is a non lethal weapon and I guess it can be if you live through being tasered but if after being tasered, you end up dead, I don't think you can call the weapon non lethal, not to mention that the young man was reportedly shot with tear gas as well as being tasered and wrestled. I've seen those police officer test where they stand there 15 minutes getting ready and then somebody touches them for about a second with a taser, thats bullcrap. Let me and two of my partners test you "taser instructor". We'll hit you in the face with about a half can of CS gas, give you about 40 or 50 seconds of juice from the taser while delivering blows to your head and weight to your chest. I'll bet a weeks pay you won't make it. I'll give you a weeks pay just for the pleasure of testing you.