Time to Face Facts - Tasers Kill

Defenders of Tasers have some good arguments to justify their use by police authorities. A Taser is certainly a less lethal weapon than a bullet from a gun. One of the weakest and most absurd arguments though is that Tasers don't kill. When people die while, or immediately after, being Tasered it is clear on any reality based assessment that the Taser was, at the very least, the culminating factor that contributed to a death. In Canada 18 people, including Polish visitor Robert Dziekanski, have died while being Tasered or shortly thereafter since 2003. Today comes word from Maryland that 20 year old Jarrel Gray died after being Tasered by police and falling to the ground unconscious. Mr. Gray was apparently involved in a fight which police were attempting to break up when he was Tasered. Whatever prompted the Taser use, whether it was justified or not, will be examined, but one thing is clear - a 20 year old man was Tasered and fell to the ground and died.

It is time to face facts - Tasers kill.