Don't Tase Us, Po-Po

Today the Herald wrote about Taser use in Massachusetts, citing some scary statistics. According to the Herald, taser use in Massachusetts quadrupled from 2006 to 2007, when the weapons were used 200 times. Amnesty International reports that 320 people have died after being hit with Tasers since 2001, and also says the weapons are now being used to "get compliance" rather than avoid lethal force. Our Ist friends have covered traumatic Taser incidents in the past: Gothamist reported on a man who fell to his death after being Tasered (as well as the subsequent suicide of the cop who ordered the Taser use), LAist addressed the Tasering of a UCLA student who committed the vile crime of being in a library, Seattlest caught a cop accidentally using his gun instead of his Taser, and Chicaogist shared the CPD's use of force model after a man died following a Tasering. We hope the use of Tasers in Massachusetts and elsewhere can be reevaluated based on these disturbing findings, and that Taser training will be improved.