It seems that New South Wales have made a decision to arm this state police force with Taser weapons. $ 10 million will be spent buying 1962 guns for use by officers on the beat.
It was probably inevitable, but it is clear that the fifty weapons presently in police hands during a two year trial run have not been used in accord with the strict guidelines ordered.
An intoxicated man in Oxford street was shot twice with a Taser for no apparent reason. He was ordered to stop walking on the road and started to comply - and now this will become a damages case in the courts. The event was recorded on CCTV.
When Tasers were proposed it was argued that their use would in all cases involve the same in depth enquiry that would result from a discharge of a police firearm.
There is no question that police would not have considered using a firearm in the Oxford street incident.
Civil Liberties people worried that police would use Tasers to avoid a physical confrontation with members of the public - and they would be regarded in a similar manner to use of police batons. This seems to be exactly what has now become normal procedure !
There is merit on both sides of the Taser argument. Tasers are safer than a police bullet in subduing a violent person, but Tasers are also a deadly weapon and in some cases their use will result in death.
It seems that the worst fears of the Civil Liberties people are being realised. The decision has been made to go ahead with a general release of Tasers, and no regimen is in place for a full investigation of each and every incident of their use.
Expect to get hit with a 50,000 volt of electricity in any scenario where you are drunk and argumentative - and the copper doesn't feel inclined to go to the trouble of physically manhandling you into a paddy wagon.
This will now be a prominent feature of arrest in the twenty-first century !
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