Officers Defend Use of TASER Weapons Against Hostile Suspects

Police in Seattle are increasing their stock on TASER devices, a weapon that has received plenty of press over the years, in order to utilize them on one particular type of hostile suspect.

Seattle initially purchased the self defense devices after officers had shot and subsequently killed a mentally ill man ten years previously. The man in question was found skipping down a street holding a knife.

Nowadays, police in Seattle are being confronted with individuals who have taken drugs and are mentally ill. The name for this condition is called excited delirium. The common characteristics of this condition are bizarre, aggressive behavior, paranoia, extreme agitation, overheating, in addition to the ability to resist pain.

Because of their resistance to pain, the more traditional forms, such as employing pepper spray, physical force, or baton strikes aren’t seeing the effective results needed. In most cases, these individuals often display super human strength.

This is why TASER weapons are now being utilized, as they function by affecting a person’s muscle control, even those who have the excited delirium condition. While they may not feel the pain the stunning device delivers, it will still work by causing the muscles to contract, thus providing officers the opportunity to apprehend them.

However, many critics say that the term excited delirium is just made up that Seattle police have contrived to justify their employment of the stunning device. And yet, many officers will refute that claim, by explaining that the suspects they have confronted who are suffering from the condition have felt hot temperatures emanating from their bodies.

Furthermore, they claim that a person with excited delirium is capable to doing a push up with four grown men on his back with no problems.

According to Seattle Police, three-fourths of suspects who are targeted with a TASER device are often impaired by a mental disease, drugs, or even a combination of them both.

And while Seattle Police are purchasing additional stunning tools, the actual employment of them has seen a 50 percent reduction this year compared to the past nine years, ultimately showing how effective the self defense device actually is.