Police groups argue that tasers are a great way to use non-lethal force to subdue dangerous assailants. How an 82 year old schizophrenic is a danger to society and the Chicago Police is not even up for debate. Yet police used 50,000 volts on her anyway. This is a closed case example of police brutality, but it isn't an isolated incident. Cops love to use these things on whoever they want, and we aren't just talking about Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro's shocking scene.
From The New York Times:
Officers arrived and in an attempt to subdue Fletcher one of them used their Taser, Bond said. The department is trying to determine if the officer violated department policy regarding the use of stun guns.
On Tuesday, Fletcher said officers had pushed their way into her home. ''They shocked me,'' she said.
Fletcher at times sounded confused during the telephone interview. Her granddaughter Traci Taylor told the Chicago Sun-Times that her grandmother suffers from schizophrenia and dementia.
''My grandmother is easily confused,'' Taylor told the newspaper, adding that the elderly woman can be belligerent but is about 5 feet 1 and no more than 160 pounds.
''I just don't think they should be Tasing 82-year-old women. That's ridiculous,'' Taylor said.
Yes Traci, that is ridiculous.
Yet it is only one example of a growing problem around the country. Those "non-lethal" devices aren't so harmless and have been attributed to over 150 deaths. Perhaps some cops get a kick out of seeing people simultaneously convulsing and glowing with their stun guns, but to human rights groups, it is a tragedy. If you know of anyone being abused by cops in this way, check out this site here. This abuse must stop!
|