Torquemada

fatherpierre

Response teams are rank and file - whatever that means.

Most response teams are also very junior in terms of experience too.

Without understanding what different officers do in the many different elements of the job, you can't really say who should and should not have it.

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

I personally think it's nuts. Yet another power grab by the police and the government.

StickyMicky

agreed,

anybody who still believes the police do everything by the book deserve to be tasered in the bollocks IMO

Leslie

There is no doubt that a taser can be a dangerous weapon if used on someone with a heart problem, there have been quite a few deaths due to their use.

It depends also on the man who is holding the weapon and his mental attitude towards using it. I still wonder to myself why they had to shoot Menezes 7 times in the head. Surely once was enough! Did those coppers have a killing wish when he had been fatally shot already? There has been a video shown of an American copper repeatedly shooting a drunk woman lying on the ground.

There is no way that a man with a heart defect would be known about and the use of that weapon could easily kill him. I think the risks involved are too great and that the police should think again.

Les

Mal K

The protocol of using Taser is to firstly protect the public and secondly officers against a potential lethal threat. How can anone say thay are a bad thing and will be misused?
I agree that only Officers in specialist roles should be trained in their use and I'm sure that will be the case rather than issue them to all Officers.
It's just another tool in the box!

Leslie

I find it quite easy to say that!

Les

Jamescsti

I think people should be aware that in the Home Office approved use of force scale Tazer is classed as a lower use of Force than CS Gas which is classed as a lower use of force than a Baton Strike.

It's based on the long term effect it has on the person it is used on.

Tazer- very short term effect, a short shock, but after a minute or so the person at the recieving end is ok to get up, walk about as normal

CS Gas, generally last's 10-15 minutes then wears off, no lasting effect.

Baton/asp etc, bruising, possibility of broken bones or similar.

So in the great scheme of things it is actually a low level use of force, particuarly as it has a "red dot" laser target, I understand that when people see the red dot on them they soon calm down anyway.

I think in a couple of years it will just be seen as a standard piece of equipment much the same as a baton

I'm sure people will come up with examples to prove me wrong, but there will always be exeptional circumstances

billythekid

I think the only problem may be that officers might get drawn into a situation where they might otherwise back off.

This happened when the PR24X came in, IMHO. Quite a few cops wandering around thinking they are now indestructible. They learned.

I dont know of any police force that carry Taser without a sidearm as a back up for this very reason.

austinwrx

well you only have to watch interceptors, street wars, road wars etc etc to realise the pond life out there in society.

I personally tend to be shouting and the telly and be frustrated that the police can't kick the living daylights out of these theiving *******.

tasers don't even go far enough- can see why if yr a criminal, running/fighting etc the police can't just beat the living daylights out of you with whatever they fancy. big club with nails sticking out of it, an axe etc etc.

the punishments and consequences for leading a criminal life are just laughable- hence the problems we have. I bet burglary for example would soon decrease the moment we started chopping hands off.

Geezer

It would seem that repeated shooting in the head is standard fare for neutralising terrorists as it ensures you destroy the part of the brain responsible for motor functions. Although one shot to the brain will likely result in a fatality, it doesn't neccessarily mean they will die straight away and can activate a bomb or whatever.

The same thing happened on Gibraltar when all the fuss was raised in the 80s. People couldn't understand why they kept shooting them in the in head.

However, the Menezes case clearly shows that you do not need to be doing anything particularly suspicious at all for the police to target you!

Geezer

MJW

I think if the police just used tasers against the CPS, I'd be all for it !

tanyatriangles

iTrader: (2)

Like the French CRS, heavily armed riot cops.

Timwinner

iTrader: (3)

Ha, you should run for PM!!!! After the second burglary conviction I think the would be "compelled" to stop!

Leslie

Don't you think that a fatal heart attack is a pretty long term consequence?

Les

Leslie

Interesting, I thought that a shot to the head would knock you out as well as kill you anyway.

Les