9.23.2013

How A Litigious Society Will Kill The Taser



I love tasers (especially when they are used on our County Attorney.)  Video.

But now it looks like they will be used as often as guns -- rarely and judiciously. Many departments are banning their use for the simplest of reasons. This year, the company tweaked its safety warnings to include language that using its products "could result in death or serious injury."

Why? The manufacturer was getting sued when a taser's use resulted in a death. So the company now simply warns officers that the taser can cause death. Problem solved for the manufacturer.

But that puts the officer on the street in a bit of a predicament. If he now uses the taser in a non-deadly force situation, he's been warned he could kill the target. So now he's faced with the question, "You were warned the taser could kill him and you used it even though the situation didn't require deadly force?"

Call in the lawyers.

Kill me.