Are Taser Guns Torture?

I think that tasers are good alternate weapons for police officers because they reload faster, and in some places the officers are required to shock themselves before using them in the field. I think the U.N. has good reason to take the precautions of not using them in the field. I mean who wants to use massive amounts of electricity on a person. It has been shown that if a person is shocked for a little while the heart begins to speed up. If the person is shocked for to long, the heart explodes, and the person dies in the next few bloody, agonizing minutes.

-What the U.N. seems to fail recognize is that a Tazer is a less than lethal WEAPON. Any tool used in the apprehension of a criminal has the potential to be lethal even when used in its intended way(pepperspray, night sticks, etc.) I am no fan of Tazer's; I beleive they have been misused by police here in the U.S. However I believe they can be an important tool for apprehending criminals.

Seldom have I been so disappointed in the UN.
First off, for the Committee to simply declare the use of Tasers a form of torture gives a seriously misguided sense of legitimacy to a potentially disastrous argument against the use of this life-saving tool. (Life-saving for the officers using it AND for the "victims" of its use.) And it delivers a massive punch to the gut of every police force and police officer that is currently implementing them in a reasonable manner around the world.
If Tasering is torture, is not the use of pepper spray or batons or BULLETS? Especially given that batons or firearms cause lasting pain and injuries, whereas Tasers practically always leave the victim unscathed but for a pair of pinpricks where the electricity-conducting darts penetrate the skin. (Those who have been hit with the Taser in media demos report that almost immediately upon the trigger being released, the pain subsides, the weapon's disabling effects vanish, and they feel none the worse for wear.)
Though certainly unfortunate, misuse of the Taser is not only far less dangerous than the misuse of other weapons at police disposal, but also less common. And yet, paradoxically, it recieves far more attention from the press.
For those who haven't seen the footage of the recent incident at Vancouver Int'l Airport, of the Polish immigrant who died after being subdued by taser-wielding police: First of all, he was tasered twice, completely unprovoked each time, and the officer responsible should most definitely face disciplinary action and criminal charges. My second point though, is that the most disturbing part of the video is not the tasering, but what happens afterwards-- i.e., the officers pinning him helplessly with his chest and stomach to the floor, his head turned to the side, then (and I believe it's the same officer who tasered him) one of the officers placing his knee on the man's head and pressing down with his full weight onto the man's skull, as if to keep the man from attacking with this one last available appendage. AND EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT THE TASER THAT SUBDUED HIM!

I agree with Matt. The use of a taser gun is no less torture then a baton or bullets. FYI The majority of deaths from Taser guns are in cases where the person being tasered is usually on Meth. Already their hearts are speeding up due to the meth in their systems, this making them not only harder to control, but harder to stop if they choose to come after the officer. A shot with a taser gun in the chest (the only place that will stop someone on meth, the legs and arms wont cut it) will sufficently "explode" the heart.
Even though most of the deaths are due to the taser + drugs, they still happen to people not hyped up, but is it torture? I think if an officer is trying to subdue some criminal that poses a threat to himself, the officer, and the public in the vacinity, then let them use the taser gun.

I would have thought they would specify a certain voltage and above as torture. If I have a Taser that's 5-volts, is that still torture? Wheres the line?

Wouldn't it also make better sense to force development of the technology to make it more of a less-than-lethal weapon or by having more requirements before it's use is authorized, rather than labeling the entire technology as torture?

Say "Yes Sir, Sorry Sir, I understand Sir, Thanks for the ticket Sir" and you won't end up on the ground squirming like a worm. Pretty simple huh.

Heil Hitler! Do as you are commanded and you won't be tased, is that what you are suggesting?
Read some of the stories of TASER abuse and don't be so ignorant. Not just criminals get TASED.

Our police state is becoming scarier by the day.

It IS torture and its very dangerous!
Tasers are potentially dangerous because a jolt of electricity, at just the right moment in the heartbeat cycle, can trigger ventricular fibrillation. There are vulnerable periods in the cardiac cycle, when shocks can cause dangerous arrhythmias. If you are shocking someone repeatedly, it becomes a bit like Russian roulette. At some point, you may hit that vulnerable period

Alternative TASER technology exists? Whether can electric shock weapon be more safe? Probably, it is time to pay attention to new technologies? For example, PULL DOWN GUN.

You know what, the personal opinions passed off as facts is starting to annoy me. Everyone on Popsci seems to think their opinion is correct and everyone else is wrong. Ego checks any one? For the level headed people who have some decency, kudo's to you.

Currently, everything here is opinion. None of it is true fact, unless someone can back up that claim with SCIENTIFIC FACT. People aren't just going to take your word for it. Professional Articles, or it didn't happen.

P.S. Adding scientific words to your comment doesn't make it any more valid, I doubt half of people on Popsci even know what their really talking about, again, to people who do, props to you.

And seriously? The immature, lonely, child who posted the deeply offensive "Heil Hitler" needs to learn not satisfy his insecurity by trolling for attention on "educated forums." I'm glad no ones feeding the troll.

Come on people, Give us some proof as to why Taser's are either harmful or helpful other than the obvious of the technology being a non-lethal tool or can cause problems with the heart.

People who disobey a lawful order to go home and stop your unlawful actions deserve what ever pain the taser or pepper spray causes them.

the problem is we are creating the ability to control dissent. All this law and order TV just makes regular folks think its useless to stand up to authority. Just because its authority, doesnt mean its justified or right. If the vietnam era protestors were to stand up today to the taser instead of dogs and fire hoses, if they were to stand up to police with sophisticated crowd control techniques, we would still have segregation today because it would be all too easy to divide and conquer, and eliminate movements.

Taser guns may be torturous though it is not lethal as firearms. OK Taser's are used, hopefully within an agreed ethical and set of user standards as set by the law enforcement ethical committee. Law enforcers, as with other means of control do not, one hopes, use this without just cause.

regards
Charles Bernardi
www.airsoftking.com