TASER Use in Hospitals Raises Concerns

The recent use of a TASER device on the nephew of a Supreme Court Justice is seeing questions being asked with regards to the appropriateness of the tools inside a hospital.

In this day and age the self defense tools are familiarly employed by law enforcement officials to subdue individuals who resist arrest without having to resort to traditional firearms. And yet, these same devices are now seeing an increase in use in mental health care in addition to hospital settings across the United States.

The nephew of a Supreme Court Justice found himself the target of a TASER weapon when the 25-year-old man tried to leave a hospital in Louisiana against doctor’s orders. The day of the incident the 25-year-old was admitted to the hospital after a claimed suicide attempt. When he was told to put on a gown he refused, and when he tried to leave security guards attempted to subdue him.

According to the man’s sister one of the guards punched him, pulled out some of his hair before applying his TASER device to him. The 25-year-old man, who is epileptic, suffered a seizure as a result.

According to statistics there are 151 hospitals across the United States that allow their security personnel to employ the self defense devices. However there are many experts who differ when it relates to the use of these tools in a hospital setting.

A Dr. Jeffrey Ho who wrote a paper in 2009 came to the conclusion that TASER weapons can be employed on a patient to control them when they become violent, thus defusing a dangerous situation and preventing any unnecessary injury.

On the other hand, a Robert Philibert, who is a psychiatry, genetics and neurosciences professor, said that the use of these tools in a health care setting is extremely troubling. However he did go on to say that they should only be employed in severe situations where there is an extreme threat of death or severe injury.

TASER International however is standing behind the safety of their weapons. Even though there have been a number of reports regarding the devices and their association with deaths, the manufacturer maintains that the stun released by the tools is not life threatening.

Of course when it comes to hospitals and the use of TASER devices being employed in their setting, each person will differ with regards to the issue. While the tools have been implemented for safety reasons, those that are using them should only do so in extreme situations.