Well, there goes Rep. Lon Burnam [D-Fort Worth] again -- making far too much sense to be a Texas legislator. Burnam has filed House Bill 418, which would limit the use of Tasers by law enforcement officers here in Texas.
Tasers are being used far too often these days. In 2002, Austin police used a Taser only 3 times, but in 2004, they used a Taser 265 times. Houston police have used a Taser 892 times in the last two years. Tasers are not only being used too often, but they are being used in situations in which they are not warranted.
Rep. Burnam's bill would limit Taser use to those situations in which "deadly force" is justified, as defined by the Penal Code. Rep. Burnam says:
"The number of incidents in which officers use Tasers on unarmed people is truly alarming. There are currently 16 documented deaths due to Taser use by police in Texas. There is a perception out there that Tasers are safe and generally harmless. That perception is dead wrong. Tasers have proven to be lethal and that's why they should only be used in situations in which deadly force is justified.
All my bill says is that if you're going to shoot someone with 50,000 volts, it should only be done when the officer is in grave danger. If a suspect is unarmed or does not present a deadly threat to the officer, they should not be tased.
Tasers are being used on minorities with impunity. It needs to stop."
Rep. Burnam, in submitting this stupid law, may be signing the death warrant for hundreds of suspects who might have lived if Tasered instead of shot, because taking away the Taser option in the early stages of a struggle can allow the situation to escalate out of control.
ReplyDeleteWhy would a cop even use a Taser in situations where the use of his gun is also justified? The short range of the Taser requires an officer to get in the danger zone of a possibly armed suspect, is much less reliable than a gun in stopping a suspect, and only has one shot (whereas a 9mm Glock 17 features eighteen shots).
Only in an extremely small number of cases has the Taser ever been associated with a suspects death (the suspect was almost always overdosed on drugs, and probably would have died anyway). Cops even get shocked with Tasers as a routine part of their training with no adverse affects.
Possibly the most bizarre law in the history of the Texas Legislature - Rep. Burnam should be recalled before he can do any more damage.