If anyone can honestly answer “Why have so many people died after being tasered?” then there may be a possibility of shedding some light on this situation. 

Presently any taser research has been funded by taser companies.  As many of us are aware in the academic and research community, not all results are allowed to come to light as this depends on who is funding the research as they dictate what is allowed or not allowed to be released for publication.  Then we have the dilemma of some academics that receive funding for the areas they work in, such as hospitals, and others who have shares in taser companies.  Papers written by these people can never be viewed as transparent, accountable and ethically just.  Controlled testing needs to be done by independent people.

The taser testing that occurs in controlled environments is very different to how the taser is used on the streets.  An expert was asked in a court hearing why subjects are not tasered multiple times in a controlled environment.  His response was “that it would not be ethically just.”  My question to you then is this:  “What is so ethically just then when the taser hits the streets, and the operator is allowed to use it multiple times? People die as a result.  Where is the ethics in that?”  Is it ethically just that laboratory testing results are not allowed to be published accurately? 

Then there is a huge push for ‘excited delirium’ by taser companies.  It is questionable whether this push is to safeguard their huge operations – which are worth billions – and possible lawsuits.  Evidence suggests that people with mental illness, and drug-induced psychosis are being targeted more than other people.  Amnesty International in their Less Than Lethal document on tasers, reported a doctor who was having an epileptic fit, during which he was tasered and subsequently died.  So obviously this was not excited delirium.  My next question is this:  “would the people who have died after being tasered, have died at the precise time without the use of a taser?”  If the answer is NO, then tasers do kill people.  It is really that simple, but day in and day out we hear anecdotal information released via the media about taser safety, police justifiable use of tasers, court judges stating that tasers do not cause death and the list goes on.  Or are these people being intimidated behind the scenes by those who have monetary interests? Perhaps there needs to be a register set up to document who has taser shares in the companies, and whether they be law enforcement, judges, doctors, pathologists, lawyers, so that when a court hearing is heard about the death of a human being, these people are not allowed to give evidence in court because of their bias status. 

In my opinion tasers do kill people and until more strenous testing is done by independent people, this opinion remains the same.  There have been some directors of taser companies who have said that a person can be tasered all day and survive.  Well we already know that this is not true.  In this case, perhaps they could volunteer themselves and their families to be tasered all day, so that new research can be undertaken, published and released to the rest of the world about them.  And if they do not survive, then we will know for sure that tasers kill people. 

At the moment too much blame is being laid at the victim’s door.  Lots of excuses have been heard such as the drugs killed them, mental issues killed them, heart conditions killed them, not all the shots hit the victim, the victim is impervious to any pain (but then experts are surprised that a victim is heard screaming out in pain) and the list goes on.

Tasers will continue to raise great debate as more people die as a result of their use.  The video-recording of real life situations with tasers may shed some light on what really happens in the field.  We are all humans after all, and if we put our finger in an electric socket we would get a jolt.  Electricity is electricty whichever way one wants to look at it.  And because of the very fact that we are all humans, the whole world community should learn how to show compassion and treat each other with respect.  We should not take things personally or use our power and control to end someone’s life or to help cover up the bad deeds once they are done. 

■ Charles Tama