Police Taser Injuries and Deaths in the United States

Police brutality has recently gained attention in thearrest situation.
United States. Many of us have seen horrible videosWhat has alarmed the public in recent years about
of police brutality on television. Often, police brutalitythe use of Taser by authorities is the fact that it has
results in serious injuries and even wrongful death.been used by the authorities not just on individuals
And more often than not, Tasers play the devil's rolewho object an officer's aggression but on
in cases of police brutality.mentally-disabled, handicapped, pregnant and
First, let us take a look at what a Taser is all about.non-English speakers as well. We have seen cases
"Taser" stands for "Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle".over the years of police brutality involving the
This is not a child's toy as the name implies in theabusive use of Tasers on internet video databases
acronym which is character that appeared in children'ssuch as YouTube and LiveLeak. Often, these videos
books written in the early 20th century. This is aof police brutality incidents are quite astonishly graphic
weapon that shoots two dart, each attached to aand disturbing.
thin wire, to the victim. When these dart-likeIn a report made by the Amnesty International, the
electrodes make contact an electrical currents is sentuse of Tasers by the police authorities has claimed
through the wires and into the victim to stun him or351 lives since 2001. Slightly less than ten percent of
her into submission. The victim often feels helpless,these victims were carrying a weapon upon their
thus he is easily controlled without the use of tooarrest. In Illinois, the first state in the US to require
much force.stun gun owners to get a license, use of Tasers on
When Taser was introduced and gained popularity ofunarmed teenager, an 82-year-old woman, and three
use in the early 1990s, it was considered asadolescents have been documented. This is
'non-deadly' alternative to the use of firearms incompletely alarming because the use of Tasers in
subduing criminals. Be that as it may, serious injurythese cases is unacceptable and unlawful.
and death cases have been documented to resultVerdicts involving Taser injury and Taser wrongful
from the use of Tasers by law enforcement officers.deaths are not easy to win. In case you or a loved
Further, the use of Taser by the police has alarmedone is a victim, get a good civil rights lawyer to help
civil right groups as this is often used abusively byyou build a strong case against law enforcement
the authorities to subdue criminals even though theseofficials who used Taser illegally. Often, it is difficult to
criminals are unarmed. Civil rights activists say thatlook for witnesses to support your story against law
instead of being used only as an alternative in casesenforcement authorities. Getting a reputable civil
in which firearms would be used, Tasers are morerights lawyer is a key to winning your case against
often used to merely restrain criminals in any type ofthese abusive law enforcers.