News Commentary Today

Amnesty International has just come out with a report faulting Taser, Inc. for more deaths related to their stun guns. According to the report printed on their website, they are concerned about "the growing number of fatalities involving police tasers is growing each year. Since 2001, more than 70 people are reported to have died in the USA and Canada after being struck by M26 or X26 tasers, with the numbers rising each year." Amnesty urged police departments to suspend the use of tasers pending more studies on safety.

This report is absolute gobbledygook. Aren't there enough other human rights issues around the world to keep Amnesty International busy? Don't they have any where else to focus the millions of dollars they solicit from the citizens of this country?

Of course taser related deaths are growing! That's because there are more tasers on the streets every year saving lives. Both the lives of criminals and the lives of police officer. In 2001 only 1,000 of the nation's 18,000 police agencies used tasers. Today more than 7,000 departments are using tasers according to a government study. The United States Congress' Government Accountability Office said that police had used tasers in more than 70,000 incidents in 2005 alone.

The real question Amnesty should be asking itself is how many fewer criminals and police officers are being killed each year due to bullet wounds. Taser estimates that more than 9,000 lives have been saved due to their devices.

The vast majority of the deaths reported, if not all of them, where a taser was utilized, had other factors that may have attributed to death such as health problems, drug use, etc. Are police supposed to kindly ask a criminal if they are on drugs or have health problems before trying to protect our cities? Would it have been less lethal to use bullets on the drug induced suspect?

Amnesty International did make one valid argument. The cited a number of cases where police officer seemed to use the taser when it seemed unnecessary. Police brutality is nothing new. If there are incidents of police abusing suspects with the taser stun guns, then these cases must be properly reported and investigated.

Misuse of the stun guns has nothing to do with the product or their manufacturer. The fault lies with those who are using the product, just like any other consumer product one might purchase. Do we fault General Electric, if I guy decides to toast some bread while he is taking a bath and the GE toaster accidentally falls into the tub?

If Amnesty is truly an organization devoted to human rights they should be praising Taser Inc. for their life saving products and focus their energies towards the police agencies around the countries to better train their officers and investigate on all police brutality.