Death by Taser -- Vancouver Airport

Mischief007

Mischief007

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This is another example of overusing the taser. Yes it is great technology but like it has been stated, it should be used just before lethal force. Unless he had a gun or did some soft of gesture to force the RCMP to use the taser, we will never know.

Again, tasers are great but I think we are seeing a lot more cops on a taser high.

Discuss...

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/276565
 
What. The. Fuck.

I'd love to know their basis for shooting him with the taser. It seemed as though he had calmed down quite a bit and was just talking to them. The Europeans use their hands alot and perhaps he was just talking in Polish and being a bit agitated, trying to explain himself...
 
So I guess all this talk about how tasers are 100% safe and that there isn't the slightest chance that they could kill anyone, ever, is BS?
 
Is 50,000 volts the standard for a taser? That sounds pretty high.
 
chaos386 said:
So I guess all this talk about how tasers are 100% safe and that there isn't the slightest chance that they could kill anyone, ever, is BS?
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I don't think anyone said that. There is a substantially less chance of dying from a taser than a bullet though. Same goes for the baton and the fist. However, unlike the baton and the fist the taser usually causes much less physical damage.

I think it usually goes like this:

1st: Baton/Fist
2nd: Pepper Spray
3rd: Taser
4th: Bullet

1-3 can be switched around depending on the department and situation.
 
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I looked to me that they were doing everything by the book.

Who knows? Maybe he had a heart condition, and judging by the way he was sweating and breathing, was under a lot anxiety to begin with. I have been zapped by 50,000 volts from a car's ignition system, and while it certainly knocks you on your butt, I felt fine after a few minutes.
 
Nowhere in that video did I see the man posing any threat to anybody. I could maybe see zapping him if there was only one officer dealing with the situation, but the man was very much outnumbered. Was it out of the question for the officers to just handcuff the man? I suppose that would have been too hard for them. It sickens me when police use their weapons for sheer convenience.
 
epp_b said:
Old news, but still just as infuriating.
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It is just now making headlines on almost every news outlet out there due to the video being released.
 
Tasers can be helpful in some situations, not in this one though. I think there are by far not enough restrictions on when to use them, it should be similar to firearms, because anyone can have a heart condition, and apart from that I don't see a point in inflicting horrible pain in someone when its not necessary.
I am pretty happy that police round here don't use them.
 
Please. How are they doing things by the books? I'm pretty sure cops are trained to use the least amount of force necessary to subdue a target.

I've been to YVR at least 50 times and I know exactly where this takes place... that room is completely empty in the video of this incident. Couldn't they have used pepper spray on him? A completely defenseless guy throwing chairs against 4 armed cops in a totally controllable area does not warrant the use of a Taser no matter how you look at it.

Maybe you guys haven't seen the video... watch it. The cops walk right in and Taser the guy within 30 seconds. Also there's reports that medics weren't called for a while after this all happened... RCMP probably knew they'd messed up.

jayhawk said:
I looked to me that they were doing everything by the book.
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KaJuN said:
Nowhere in that video did I see the man posing any threat to anybody. ... It sickens me when police use their weapons for sheer convenience.
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I couldn't agree more. I saw a little bit of this on CNN the other day, and they were interviewing a few people who had tried to calm the guy down. None of them felt threatened by him, they could all tell he was having anxiety problems and just needed some time to calm down. As for the taser use, I don't know why several cops couldn't subdue the guy. I know I'd rather get tackled or punched in the head than hit with a taser.
 
Shawn said:
Please. How are they doing things by the books? I'm pretty sure cops are trained to use the least amount of force necessary to subdue a target.

I've been to YVR at least 50 times and I know exactly where this takes place... that room is completely empty in the video of this incident. Couldn't they have used pepper spray on him? A completely defenseless guy throwing chairs against 4 armed cops in a totally controllable area does not warrant the use of a Taser no matter how you look at it.

Maybe you guys haven't seen the video... watch it. The cops walk right in and Taser the guy within 30 seconds. Also there's reports that medics weren't called for a while after this all happened... RCMP probably knew they'd messed up.
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Precisely Shawn. 24 seconds in and they started to use the taser. The whole video tells exactly how it is and it contradicts the RCMPs statements of that day.
 
Here's the video for anyone who hasn't seen it:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPCgwCS3viQ[/youtube]

So, I've finally watched it now, let's take a look at the situation...

Stranded in a foreign airport with no one who speaks his language for ten hours and not given any help whatsoever in regards to a translator? Check.

Coming from a country where the acceptable behaviour might be completely different and where the police force might have a different attitude, reputation and perception? Check.

Completely alone in the room where they confront him where he couldn't have actually hurt anyone? Check.

Four strong, capable police offers that could have easily restrained one man by hand without deadly, or even violent, force, but instead chose an extremely painful and deadly weapon for convenience? Check.


These officers committed murder by laziness, plain and simple, and should be thrown in the slammer.
 
Shawn said:
Please. How are they doing things by the books? I'm pretty sure cops are trained to use the least amount of force necessary to subdue a target.

I've been to YVR at least 50 times and I know exactly where this takes place... that room is completely empty in the video of this incident. Couldn't they have used pepper spray on him? A completely defenseless guy throwing chairs against 4 armed cops in a totally controllable area does not warrant the use of a Taser no matter how you look at it.
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Nobody is defenseless, given the circumstances, a tiny male like me can become a raging lunatic that is capable of throwing off multiple people.
 
Nobody is defenseless, given the circumstances, a tiny male like me can become a raging lunatic that is capable of throwing off multiple people.
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Four highly-trained, capable police offers? Sure, if he was high on PCP.
 
You never know! Also, if a person had nothing to live for, but everything to gain in hurting as many people as they could, what would it take to stop them from potentially hurting anyone?

Pretend you are one of the RCMP; you are called to that scene. What would YOU do? You know nothing of this person, how strong they are, if they are on drugs, have a mental illness, even a weapon.

How about a weapon, while we are on this subject? How far could you make into an airport with a gun? Was this person in an area that did not have metal dectors? What if he was in an area normally used for visitors, the RMCP came up, did exactly as you see in that video, which is taking command of the situation, and the man suddenly turned around and sprayed everyone with bullets?

What if? What if? What if?
 
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