Limit the use to highly trained officers

Taser stun guns are not the non-lethal weapons they are often portrayed to be by the manufacturer, says a report by the international human rights group, Amnesty International.

The report also said Tasers are not as safe as their manufacturer claims, and that the stun guns “can kill and should be used only as a last resort.”

The Amnesty International report found that since June 2001, about 334 people in the United States have died after receiving shock from police Tasers. In at least 50 cases, medical examiners and coroners concluded that the deaths were directly caused or significantly contributed to by the Taser shocks.

Conducted-energy devices such as Taser stun guns — which disable suspects by delivering an electric shock of 50,000 volts — are used by police forces in many countries, including the U.S., Britain, France and Canada.

Police forces that use the conductive-energy devices and their manufacturers insist that studies prove the safety of these devices. They are intended to provide a safer alternative to handguns in controlling people who resist arrest or refuse to comply with police orders.

But Amnesty International claims such studies have been limited to Taser effects on healthy adults. There is an absence of studies on the effects of Tasers on vulnerable people, including those with sensitive health conditions or under the influence of stimulant drugs.

The report found that 90% of the 334 Taser-related deaths involved people who were unarmed at the time and/or did not pose a serious threat. Most often, the apprehending officers administered repeated or prolonged shocks — far in excess of the 5-second “standard” cycle.

The Amnesty International report cites the case of a doctor who suffered an epileptic seizure and crashed his car. Still dazed and confused by his seizure, he could not comply with a police officer’s commands. The officer repeatedly jolted him with Tasers, which led to his death.

Amnesty found that US police officers have also employed Tasers on pregnant women, schoolchildren, and even an elderly person with dementia. A man was shocked with Tasers when police mistook him for a drunk driver when the fact was he had suffered a hypoglycemia attack.

* On Friday, Canadian prosecutors decided not to press charges on police officers who used a Taser gun on a 40-year-old Polish immigrant in Vancouver airport in October 2007. The man died within minutes. He was found to have heart disease and going through symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.

* On Tuesday, city officials of San Jose, Calif., agreed to pay $70,000 as settlement for the 2005 death of a man after being shocked with Tasers by police. The officers allegedly continued jolting him with Tasers despite his pleas for them to stop. The coroner said the cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest to which the Taser shocks were contributory.

According to the report, the fundamental problem with Tasers is their inherent susceptibility to abuse since they are so handy and so easy to use. Users tend to forget the 50,000-volt devices can inflict severe pain at the push of a button.

Safety Tips:

* Limit use of these electro-shock weapons to highly trained specialist officers.

* Use Tasers only when facing serious threats of violence.