The Tazer Debate

Keith Ng has what I consider the best contribution around to the Tazer debate.

Keith has provided links to videos showing inappropriate Police use of tazers (including one simply horrible clip showing multiple taserings which kill the victim) but also clips of Police using them to protect the community etc.

Keith comes down on the side of the tazers being available for use, as do I. But this is not carte blanche for the Police to use them at any provocation. I was shocked by the TV3 footage of a police officer using pepper spray on a handcuffed man on the ground, and if incidents like that are allowed to continue, then support for weapons like tazers will dry up.

So the ball is in the Police court. They have them to use them, but how they use them will be the crucial factor in public acceptability.