A police officer in Kankakee has a curious method of applied learning for children. While visiting the Kankakee Junior High School, he called for volunteers and tasered students in a demonstration. One of the parents rushed her son to the hospital because he has a pre-existing heart murmur.
The parents say that the officer went into a class and promptly announced “Who wants a Taser?”
Fortunately, Alta Young’s son with the heart condition turned out fine.
This is not the first officer to have fun with high voltage, here and here and here and here.
For the full story, click here.
You’re only about two or three simple mouse clicks from several documented examples that directly address your initial assertion that you’d never heard of such a thing. And with just a few more clicks (some trivial effort on your part) you could be reviewing actual court records. Assuming that you’re honest (I’m willing to make that assumption for now), you can no longer make that same claim.
Deputy Dawg wrote: “… I have never heard of any one of those officers suffering any injury from [being tasered during taser training]…”
At this point, you should acknowledge that your initial claim speaks more to your lack of research effort and resultant (excuse me, but it’s the correct word) ignorance, than to the documented facts about officers being injured, sometimes seriously, during taser training.
Also, Google your way to the Taser Volunteer Exposure Waiver. Everything listed as a risk has happened, otherwise their policy of strenuous denial would prevent them even mentioning it.
I’m not going to continue this one-on-one debate. Anyone reviewing this exchange will see that your initial implication that tasers are safe has been shredded.
If you’re too lazy to follow links when they’re provided, that’s something I can’t fix from here. It’s a reflection on you. Not me.
Excited,
I appreciate your effort, but I am not inclined to perfrom an exhaustive Google search to find what you claim to be fact.
I’m looking for injuries that took place during training, that can be directly attributable to the taser itself. I’m looking for something significant (more than a puncture wound, minor burn at the puncture wound, and minor soft tissue damage), and could not be prevented by following better safety guidelines.
Have you ever been tased? I have. Twice. The last time I did it to myself. On purpose. We had information (including pictures from a doctors report) that caused us to suspect that a father, accused of molesting a child, had used a taser on the child. We had two red marks that were suspected to have been caused by a short taser attack. I purchased an 80,000 volt taser that had prongs of approximately the same dimensions of those in our picture. I sat down on my bed and gave myself a zap. Unfortunately, my skin had displayed too many of the effects of aging. We could not tell. Doing it to yourself once, not so bad. Trying to do it to yourself a second time, no way.
Here ya go…
http://tinyurl.com/y9zce2u
I really hope that this helps.
Excited,
I’m on your side. I agree that prolonged and repeated tasering is likely to cause injury. I agree that children should not be tasered for demonstration purposes.
You’re making a claim that officers have been injured during taser training. If that is true, I will do what I can to address the issue. I need some verifiable proof. Tell me where such injury took place, the extent of the injury, and the specifics of the event. Just because somebody on the internet says something does not make it true. An injury to an officer must have been reported. Is it too much to ask you to provide a link to that report?
Deputy Dawg; ” I want to face my accuser.”
Ah, sorry to have to remind you of this. This is the Internet.
The fact is that you stated that you had never heard of any officer injuries, and yet such injuries are a well known issue with tasers. They obviously don’t occur at a high rate due to the precautions taken during training, but it would be a falsehood to claim the rate is zero.
My blog has nearly 1600 posts on the subject of tasers, all linked to sources to permit fact checking. But you have to do the fact checking yourself; *we don’t deliver*.
If you have differing opinions, then grab a blank blog and start writing rebuttals. You’ll have some serious catching up to do. But you’d better know your facts cold. If you rely on information you think you got from Taser International, then your arguments have already been shredded six ways from Sunday.
I’m not going to repeat the entire multiyear blog here. Just the last six months is a 300 page book.
Excited,
Where are the reports from an officer being injured during training? I don’t want a hearsay report of injury. I want to face my accuser.
The SEC was investigating the safety of the device? The SEC?
Excited-Delirium.com,
Accusations made by Pamela Schreiner are just that; accusations. Does she have an axe to grind?
The longer length of the dart permits better penetration on the street. On the street it must penetrate varying thicknesses of clothing. The longer dart is not necessary for training purposes, and has no bearing on the shock received.
The officer at the school has stated that the tasing of the volunteers last about a second. That is less than what takes place during training. The injuries from tasers are do to repeated tasing, and long durations. IF you want to claim that you have evidence of injury sustained by a 1-2 second tasing, I’m waiting for a link to the verifyable source.
As I stated before, I don’t think it is appropriate to taze children for the purposes of demonstration, but I also don’t think the officer deserves more than a slap upside the head, and a change in policy to prevent it from happening again.
Reported an extract from the Affidavit of Pamela Schreiner: “While creating the spreadsheet, I became aware that there were hundreds, if not thousands, of injuries noted on the volunteer exposure reports. When Doug Klint and Rick Smith learned of the volume of injuries they became visible concerned and upset At that time, the SEC and the Department of Justice were investigating the company concerning the safety of the device…”
Look up the entire document.
Deputy Dawg wrote: “… I have never heard of any one of those officers suffering any injury from [being tasered during taser training]…”
That statement reveals that you’re not following the subject closely enough. In fact, injuries to taser trainees has been reported. Some injuries have been career-ending. Taser International has been sued repeatedly and has settled repeatedly. Then they had the nerve to describe such settlements as “dismissals” to maintain the false and intentionally-misleading illusion of an unbroken series of legal victories. Some have compared their approach with bald faced lies.
Also, Google your way to Pamela Schreiner and read her sworn statement about what she says happened to the injury reports arising from taser training.
And I shouldn’t have to point out that the taser training hits are most often two seconds into the back and the subject supported by his friends. And the training darts are about half the length of the real darts. There’s little comparison to the real world, where real life incidents have endlessly repeated taser hits lasting for 31 seconds or 2m49s, often in the chest, and the subjects being, some will logically claim, directly killed.
Well of course it would have been all male students that volunteered to be tasered, what else can you expect out of boys? They probably thought it’d make them look tough or cool.
Maybe the students misunderstood the question when the officer asked “Who wants a taser?” By asking that way, he was implying that he was going to give out tasers. He should have asked “Who wants to be tasered?” That would have been the correct way to ask the students.
What a dumb officer!
Unless things have changed in recent years, every officer that undergoes taser training submits to being tased. I have never heard of any one of those officers suffering any injury from doing so.
I don’t think it is a good idea to shock children/tweens with a taser or stun gun. Though a one second shock is probably harmless, it’s just not worth taking that chance. It’s also not a fair question to ask of a teenager who is looking for acceptance from his peers. Of course most of them will volunteer.
It’s not the single shock from the taser that has ended poorly. It is the repeated shocks that have become deadly. The officer knows this, and probably didn’t consider this to be a risk to the children, because it has not been demonstrated to be. Give the officer a couple of days off. Establish better policy and put him back on the streets. He made a minor mistake that I hope he learns from.
What in hell did this man think he was demonstrating that would be of use to HS children? Don’t do crime, or you might be shocked? This was his idea of a public service presentation? As much as I am appalled by this story, I would also be fascinated to know this blithering idiot’s thought process. I suspect that were that known he would be forcefully encouraged to seek another line of work, one that hopefully limited his contact with the public.
This is not a one-off incident. Remember the ‘Take Your Children To Work” day at two Florida prisons? Also, it was reported that Taser International was handing out taser hits at the recent CES. They treat it like fun and games.
This incident simply makes obvious that the “tasers-R-safe” and “tasers-R-fun” deceptive marketing approach used by the manufacturer is overpowering and countermanding even the best Taser Use Policies. This situation (in general) is unacceptable and demands corrective action (aimed squarely at the root cause: the marketing approach).
“Good thing he wasn’t demonstrating his firearm.”
No. This sort of issue is essentially unique to the taser. It stems from the marketing approach. It happens repeatedly with tasers, but rarely (not ever?) with any other police weapon.
Have you read the Maryland AG’s report? One important conclusion was that Taser International has “significantly” understated the risks of taser use. And, as with most such taser reviews, makes many (60) recommendations to tighten up taser use.
By the way, two $10M lawsuits have reportedly been launched over this incident.
In the words of Hubert Farnsworth, “Wha?”
Good thing he wasn’t demonstrating his firearm.
Is “dumbass” acceptable usage in this instance?
I sure wouldn’t want to insult them either.
jonathanturley
Blouise:
You have insulted blithering idiots everywhere.
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Point taken … okay … my apologies to all ordinary, everyday, run of the mill, blithering idiots … excluding Dick Cheney, Jonathon Yoo, and the person who erased the CIA torture tapes … and any police officer who tasers a child … oh, and whomever started the fad phrase “no problem” as a substitute for “you’re welcome”.
Why is the cop anonymous in the news story?
This is an incredible story. This officer might be challenging Pat Robertson for idiot of the day! Why wouldn’t the teacher stop this?
Defund your local police.
The phrase “blithering idiot” comes to mind.
Blouise:
You have insulted blithering idiots everywhere.
And ladies and germs the Darwin Awards goes to the Kankakee Police Department.
Can we go to a drug store and get samples daddy?