tomhudson's Journal: Quebec recalls all Tasers from police - 10% defect rate.

10% of a test batch of tasers in actual use by police turned out to be defective and have been ordered to be destroyed. Further to that, all tasers have been ordered out of circulation until they are tested and certified or crushed. The RCMP and other police forces are following Quebec's lead.

This follows a report by CBC that showed that many tasers don't meet the manufacturers' specs, and deliver a higher current than they were supposed to. Politicians are calling for a perma-ban.

This comes on the heals of another report that shows police use tasers inappropriately

If you recall your biology, it's not the voltage that kills, it's the amperage. Too many amps == lights out permanently.

Blood-alcohol meters have to be calibrated before and after each test. Radar guns have to be calibrated regularly. Looks like tasers "slipped through the cracks."

Lawyers have more amperage

[unlametheweak]

Based on precedent, I can suspect the taser companies are going to be suing a lot of people, starting with the news media.

Re:

[tomhudson]

Hopefully they'll be forced to own up to the fact that their devices are not safe, even when used as directed. A taser isn't a replacement for properly handling a situation - we saw that here [edmontonjournal.com].

Re:

[unlametheweak]

Yeah they sure made a lot of mistakes in testimony as opposed to what the video tape evidence that they tried to suppress shows. The social factors of memory seem to have trumped their logic.

Hopefully they'll be forced to own up to the fact that their devices are not safe, even when used as directed.

Unless anything has drastically changed, this isn't the union stance. There appear to be social factors at work here. Something about a Social Science phenomena called Group Think and the Irrationality of Crowds.

I would hope that Kay-bec

[iminplaya]

might investigate the defect rate of the guy pulling the trigger. Betcha it's more than 10%.

Re:

[tomhudson]

We keep hearing the line "The taser is the last resort before a service pistol." The real question to ask is, before the availability of tasers, would a cop in the same situation have shot someone? Usually the answer is no. But nowadays, rather than try to use less aggressive techniques to handle the situation, it's "Shock [edmontonjournal.com] first [canada.com], lie about it later." Shooting someone means a lot of paperwork and an inquiry. Taser them, and nobody says shit.

Want to change this? Just make every use of the taser involve as

Crushed?

[Eternauta3k]

10% of a test batch of tasers in actual use by police turned out to be defective and have been ordered to be destroyed

What happened to repairing broken equipment?

Re:

[tomhudson]

It's defective - destroy it and send the bill for the testing of all units, and the cost of replacements, to the manufacturer. What are they going to do - refuse? That could get VERY costly, especially since some politicians are already calling for a complete ban on tasers.

As an intermediate solution, make the paperwork and other measures following use of a taser just as onerous as the paperwork from using a service revolver, and watch the taser go obsolete real quick.