Archive for the 'Taser trivialization' Category

USA – Allegheny County, Pensylvania: Number of hits DA’s focus in Millvale Taser case (2013-01-19)

Posted on January 19 2013 by admin

 [[Summary / Comments : Allegheny County prosecutors are trying to determine how many times a Millvale police officer stunned a handcuffed man, Thomas J. Smith, 27, – who has a host of mental health issues as his family has indicated – last fall in an incident that was captured on video. “Tasers are weapons. They’re […]

USA – Pennsylvania: Snyder County Prison guard fired for Taser prank [against a prison nurse] (2013-01-07)

Posted on January 7 2013 by admin

[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: Shoukld we worry about guards using tasers inside prisons? In this bizarre case, a guard tasers a prison nurse after she pulled a prank on him (involving the officer’s lunch box). He was fired, but his union (the Teamsters’ local branch) us saying “He should be disciplined, but discharging him is too […]

USA – North Carolina: Former Salisbury officer cries foul following firing [after refusing to submit to voluntary’ taser shocks] (2013-01-05)

Posted on January 5 2013 by admin

[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: Kenny Lane, a 22-year police veteran refused to be voluntarily tasered during a mandatory training meeting last August. He had been told taser-users had the option of being shocked by the department-issued Taser. But when he arrived, he was told he had to receive a shock. He was later fired for insubordination, […]

USA – Richland, Washington police employee takes zap from Taser for United Way (2102-12-11)

Posted on December 11 2012 by admin

 [[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: Woman police-officer offers to get tasered for donatiuons to the United Way charity campaign! At least it was only a 3-second burst. She squealed but said it was a small price to pay for something so important to the community. ]] The Coluimbian / Associated Press RICHLAND — Contributions to the United […]

USA – Richland, Washington police employee takes zap from Taser for United Way (2102-12-11)

Posted on December 11 2012 by admin

[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: Woman police-officer offers to get tasered for donatiuons to the United Way charity campaign! At least it was only a 3-second burst. She squealed but said it was a small price to pay for something so important to the community. ]] By Associated Press The Columbian / Associated Press RICHLAND — Contributions […]

USA – Bill Murray Tasered In Appearance On ‘Late Night With David Letterman’ (2012-12-07)

Posted on December 7 2012 by admin

[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: The taser is good for a comedy TV sketch (see the URL for the footage)! Tasering in stun mode – 3 one-second discharges,  from a non-police issue taser, quite likely not manufactured by TASER International  – is played for laughs in this very popular TV talk-show. Comedian Bill Murray is hooded and […]

USA – Coweta County, Georgia: Was a Taser necessary for high school streaker? (2012-11-15)

Posted on November 15 2012 by admin

[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: A blogger makes the simply point: why taser a young streaker ? AS harmless prank. Sixteen-year-old Gunner Cook was dared to strip to his boxers and sprint across the field during half-time? He did this and was about to be tasered, except the officer tripped. No “excessive force”, the police say. He […]

UK – Campaigners raise concerns over increased police Taser use (2012-10-21)

Posted on October 22 2012 by admin

[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: Taser use in England rose by 45% in 2011 and the numbers are expected to continue to increase. Mistaken deployment of Taser on a Lancashire blind man – mistaking his blind-stick for a taser – and other incidents spark calls for more police control and restraint. A few weeks earlier, James McCarthy, […]

USA – A New Mexico officer demonstrated “what cops do to people who don’t follow orders” on a school career day (2012-10-31)

Posted on October 21 2012 by admin

[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: According to a well-argued complaint, New Mexico police-officer Chris Webb shot his Taser – two barbs into R.D.’s chest – at a 10-yr-old child (referred to only as “R.D.”) after he said he did not want to join fellow classmates in cleaning the officer’s patrol car. Officer Webb, who claims he accidentally […]

UK – Falmouth, Cornwall: Taser officer suspended from using stun gun (2012-03-15)

Posted on March 15 2012 by admin

[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: A policeman who tasered a « fairly intoxicated » 19 year-old man at a street party in Cornwall was subsequently suspended from operating the weapon, police have confirmed – not much of punishment for what would appear abusive use of this weapon, and a tendency to trivialize its use in the UK. […]

USA – East Spencer, North Carolina, firefighters, police officer charged with assault [tasering youth 9 times at Xmas party] (2011-12-30)

Posted on December 30 2011 by admin

[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS : This is a clear case of out-of-control public officials: Fire Chief Shane Cranfield and former fire chief Allen Carlyle borrowed a Taser from on-duty police officer James Lambeth. at the fire department’s Christmas party. The two firefighters discharged the stun gun several times, scaring 18-year-old John Resino. The junior firefighter ran […]

USA – Parkersburg, West Virginia: Police use Taser in burglary arrest (2011-12-24)

Posted on December 24 2011 by admin

[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS : One of hundreds of reports of taser creep/”lazy cop syndrome”/taser as weapon of choice – with no threat of violence by the suspect. Various break-ins are described here, in one (marked in bold) police officers observed a man matching the description of the suspect. As the officer exited his cruiser, the […]

USA – Hollywood: TASERED in Cosmopolis sex scene! (2011-12-11)

Posted on December 11 2011 by admin

[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS : Are tasers a fun-toy for sex-scenes? The trivialiazation of tasers breaks new grounds on this web-site on tacky Hollywod gossip for teenages. A new sex scene in “Cosmopolis” will feature a taser: “yeah a frickin’ taser. Bet you wish you’d had one of them dontcha Edward Cullen?” … Starlet Patricia MacKenzie […]

TASER Inc. – ‘TASER Electronic Control Device in Pop Culture’ (2011-10-07)

Posted on October 7 2011 by admin

[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS: TASER International’s communications director is more than satisfied that tasers are – the words are in a TASER text! – ubquitous now on TV shows, movies, game show trivia, crosswords & let’s not forget on the reality shows like Police POV & of course the long-running Cops. The damage-control is secondary to […]