Amnesty International Calling for Taser Study

Law enforcement officers and security personnel around the world sing the praises of Tasers. Using the non lethal weapon, they are able to bring standoffs with violent individuals to a rapid close while reducing the incidence of injury to all involved.

According to figures compiled by Amnesty International and released in October 2007, more than 290 people in the United States have died following being shot by police Tasers since June 2001. Of those 290, only 25 were armed and none of them were carrying firearms. The group is calling for a moratorium on Taser usage pending additional research.

Dori Dinsmore, Amnesty International’s Midwest director, said, “We believe that they should be used as an alternative to lethal force, not as a tool to ensure routine compliance.”

According to a 2004 study by the group, many of those who died received repeated or prolonged shocks. Others were later found to have “underlying health problems such as heart conditions or mental illness or were under the influence of drugs.”

Taser International spokesman Steve Tuttle said of those deaths that “in the vast majority of these tragic cases medical examiners have ruled that the Taser was not the cause of death.” It was, however, listed as a contributing factor in six cases since 1998.