Zion, IL
By A.B. Dada
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UCLA’s Daily Bruin has an article about the new taser-use policy on campus. The article states, and I agree, that this may be the “best” taser use policy enacted to date:

Though The Bruin could not obtain a copy of the policy before press time, Ross said it specifically states that a Taser cannot be used on a person defined as a “passive resister” – as was the case with the Powell incident according to an independent review.

Use of the taser is acceptable for truly violent, active and aggressive resisters, which would be a safer policy than the use of firearms, which are known to present a danger to non-resisters and onlookers. Also, officers armed with a taser will be required to retrain, and take a test that requires a 100% passing grade for the officer to be allowed to arm themselves with a taser. Officers will also be required to annually pass a new training course for taser use.

Murray Mollard has an article in the Edmonton Sun covering the BCCLA (British Columbia Civil Liberties Association) calling for the banning of taser use by police until a new policy can be enacted. The fallout from the death of a man tasered at a Canadian airport recently has provoked many OpEd pieces calling for a moratorium on taser use:

Fast forward seven years to today, after a reported 19 civilian deaths in Canada related to the Taser and growing (and hundreds in the U.S.), the BCCLA is now calling for a nation-wide moratorium on Tasers and a public inquiry into the weapon.

The use of the taser in Canada was supposed to be as a replacement when a gun would normally be used. This is not the case, though, as the article states:

But judging from the infamous Dziekanski video and other anecdotal evidence, the Taser appears to have become the police’s option of first resort rather than second last.

The NY Post has a short blurb covering a lawsuit against NY police who alledgely used a taser improperly to subdue a non-violent suspect during a traffic stop. In a traffic stop that has no obvious signs of driver impairment, I can not believe that the police are allowed to withdraw a traffic law violator from their vehicle. Public safety, and driver safety, should be the primary concern when issuing a citation. Forcing a person out of their vehicle is definitely contrary to the rule of law, and in this case it would seem that the officer’s use of force, including alledgely choking the driver and using a taser against him, should be followed up with a criminal investigation against the officer.