On AlterNet: tasers

Stories, blog posts, and videos tagged as "tasers"

Tasing a Pregnant Woman in Front of Her Kid? The Outrageous -- And Dangerous -- Abuse of Tasers by Police

Joshua Holland, AlterNet. May 17, 2012.

Police often misuse tasers -- with terrible results.

Madness: Even School Children Are Being Pepper-Sprayed and Shocked with Tasers

Rania Khalek, AlterNet. December 21, 2011.

An alarming series of incidents offers some insight into how casual police have become about deploying "less lethal" weapons.

The 6 Most Shocking Cases of Police Stun-Gun Abuse

Lauren Kelley, AlterNet. December 7, 2010.

Some of the most egregious examples of taser abuse by police around the country, illustrating why the willy-nilly increase of taser use is terrible for citizens.

The Taserification of America

Will Bunch, AlterNet. May 5, 2010.

The whole justification for police to get tasers in the first place was to subdue potentially violent suspects -- but it's gone way, way, past that.

Ruling OK's Tasering Pregnant Woman Three Times

Liliana Segura, AlterNet. April 2, 2010.

Seven-months-pregnant Malaika Brooks suffered repeated 50,000 volt shocks for refusing to sign a speeding ticket, and a federal court of appeals ruled it justified.

5 Ways Techno-Gadgetry Is Bringing Out the Worst in Humanity

Scott Thill, AlterNet. February 2, 2010.

Everything from handy gadgets like cell phones and iPods to user-friendly weaponry like Tasers have changed the way we work, play and police.

"Don't Tase Me, (Big) Bro!" Taser International Develops Eerie Surveillance Technology

Byard Duncan, AlterNet. January 8, 2010.

The company has begun piloting AXON, an officer-mounted camera, to make sure cops are tasing safely. Thank goodness.

Ninth Circuit Court Delivers Landmark Taser Ruling

Digby, Hullabaloo. December 30, 2009.

The next stop could be the Supreme Court.

(VIDEO) More Torture by Taser: Cops Zap Man Offering No Resistance

Digby, Hullabaloo. November 7, 2009.

This is part of such a clear pattern.

Did CA Police Use a Taser on an Unarmed, Legless Man In a Wheelchair?

Staff, AlterNet. September 21, 2009.

Sure looks like it.

A Recipe for Disaster: School Cops Are Being Armed with 50,000-Volt Tasers

Liliana Segura, AlterNet. September 16, 2009.

Tasers aren't 'nonlethal'; they've killed hundreds. With younger people being especially vulnerable to the Taser's shock, the risks could be very deadly.

Why Are Cops Tasering Grandmothers, Pregnant Women and Kids?

Scott Thill, AlterNet. August 17, 2009.

Police officers are brutalizing innocent civilians with accelerating lunacy. How did this happen? How can we make it stop?

"Don't Do This In Front of My Kids" ...Cop Tasers Mom During Speeding Stop

Digby, Hullabaloo. August 14, 2009.

5 miles an hour over the limit and talking on a cellphone.

Obama's Terror Policies Get Mixed Reviews From Amnesty International

Agence France PresseMay 28, 2009.

Amnesty lamented Obama's "limited action" on inhumane detention policies, as well as his inaction on seeking accountability for past abuses.

Tasers Are the New Killers: Watch Their Popularity Surge!

Liliana Segura, AlterNet. April 2, 2009.

Watch out: 50,000-volt Tasers are deployed in London this week; meanwhile, a new model can 'instantly incapacitate' multiple people at a time.

Oakland Residents Rise Up to Protest Brutal Murder By Police

Adrienne Maree Brown Brown, ColorLines. January 8, 2009.

"As I write this, rumors are flying and media is fanning the riot flames."

Cop Shoots Helpless Man ... Did He Mistake His Gun for His Taser?

Digby, Hullabaloo. January 6, 2009.

See, the problem isn't the form of gun cops use, a stun gun or one with bullets. It's that they use any gun on people who are already down.

Tasers Are Sold as 'Non-Lethal' -- But They've Killed 400 So Far

Liliana Segura, AlterNet. December 13, 2008.

Taser's marketing coup has convinced consumers that there is such a thing as a gun that won't kill. Taser deaths prove otherwise.

New Study: Tasers Much Stronger than Manufacturers Let On

Digby, Hullabaloo. December 9, 2008.

So much for "zero risk."

Cops Get Their Kicks, Tasering

Digby, Hullabaloo. December 1, 2008.

The police have no right to shoot people with electricity for having a "bad attitude."

Tasers and Holding Cells: Denver Prepares for the DNC

Steven D., Booman Tribune. August 15, 2008.

Sounds more like Gitmo than the Mile High City.

New Orleans Public Housing Defenders Face Terror Charges

Bill Weinberg, AlterNet. July 30, 2008.

As activists continue to fight for people's rights to keep their homes in New Orleans, repression by local authorities is brutal.

Teen With Broken Back Tasered 19 Times for Not Standing Up When Ordered

Steven D., Booman Tribune. July 29, 2008.

More Taser news from the heartland.

Human Rights Report Blasts "Hollowness of U.S. Administration's Call for Democracy Abroad"

Sanjay Suri, IPS News. May 29, 2008.

From police tasers to Gitmo, a recent report by Amnesty International takes the United States to task on human rights.

Why the Police Wouldn't Tase Me When I Asked Them to

Danielle Egan, The Tyee. May 13, 2008.

Police explain to a journalist who wants to know what being tasered feels like, "we really don't fully understand and know the risks."