[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS : Police and the province argue Tasers will save lives. Critics say they’re no cure for poor police skills when dealing with people in crisis. Toronto’s deputy police chief, Michael Federico, said that 12 coroner’s inquests involving police shootings have recommended wider use of Tasers (???).The Taser was used more than 270 […]
[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS : The cops who repeatedly shocked Boaz Albert, , a father-of-six who was not resisting arrest, were unprofessional, says former Jerusalem police chief. “Tasers are an excellent tool meant to replace lethal weapons – but are being placed in irresponsible, untrained hands.” He said. Police across Israel have been ordered to stop […]
[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS :]] (This is an edited google-translation; the original Dutch text is below, in italics.) Dutch police officers will receive tasers next year. The police are trialing stun guns. Internationally, there is a lot of criticism, but Minister Ivo Opstelten of Security and Justice says these arguments “not valid enough a reason” not […]
[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: ]]A new trial in a scandalous 2008 incident. In 2008, TASER International’s French branch, SMP-Technogies, spied on Olivier Besacenot, then leader of the New Anit-Capitalist Party (NPA), and members of his family, including his child in day-care school – probably to apply pressure to halt Mr Besancenot’s criticisms of tasers. SMP CEO, […]
[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: Brief article in a Canadian Civil Liberties Union newsletter: Since March 2010, New Zealand police have used tasers 890 times, despite criticisms including the New Zealand Civil Liberties Council depiction of its use as “inhumane” . The taser seems to be becoming police-officers’ weapon of choice.]] Canadian Civil Liberties Union, by Laura […]
[[SUMMARY /COMMENTS : In June 2011 Monreal municipal police shot and killed Mario Hamel, a psychiatricly-disturbed man slashing garbage bags and refusing to “drop your knife!”. An innocent bystander, Patrick Limoges died from a police bullet. So the Montreal police oversight committee announced the police taser arsenal would increase from 42 to 57 – although this […]
[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: 10 people have been interrogated in the scandal involving the spying on French Trotskyite politician (Parti anti-capitaliste) Olivier Besancenot. Antoine Di Zazzo, head of SMP Technologies (= TASER France), is accused of ordering this spying in 2007-2008. The prosector has transfered the file to the court for trial, notably of di Zazzo […]
[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: “Former state Labor MP Peter Pyke has accused police of trying to cover up a Taser incident involving a slight 17-year-old teenage girl on southern Queensland. ‘Now that is a mentally distressed person who needs compassion and help, not to be tasered.’”]] ABC, By Francis Tapim Former state Labor MP Peter Pyke […]
[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: Poland has until now seemingly been “taser-free” – the Government is proposing its adoption by Parliament Security Services. A Polish opposition MP says: “I think that instead of electro-shockers a little goodwill is entirely sufficient,” adding that there have been cases of misuse of Tasers which have ended in death. – Polish […]
[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: Following the death of a Malian in the Paris suburb of Colombes on November 2011, the controversy over the lethality of the taser resurfaces. Amnesty International calls for an impartial investigation of the weapon. The Committee Against Torture reported to the Council of Europe on the dangers of the taser being uised […]
[[GlobalShock: The Scottish police operate independently of English policing policy. The supply of taser to police-officers is widely debated (as in Northern Ireland). Liberal-Democrat leaders – before joining the Conservative-led coalition government – clearly “taser-friendly” – adopt a strong liberal-tradition: not arming the police with guns or quasi-guns]] Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman, Robert Brown […]
[[Opening paragraphs of an article published by the New York based Committee to Protect Journalists : “… Police in the Senegalese capital of Dakar assaulted a reporter who was covering a violent anti-government protest on Sunday, according to local journalists and news reports. They later raided the reporter’s station and confiscated footage.” The rest is […]