British Police Zap 89 Yr old man with 50,000 volt Taser gun

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:40 am

An 89 year old man that fled his care home was zapped by police with 50,000 volts from a 'Tasar' gun.

The police claim they used the gun as the man was threatening to harm himself with a broken piece of glass and it was for his own safety.

The man's family are shocked at the force used and claim he could have suffered a heart attack.

I'm just surprised the police haven't claimed that he 'Jumped the Barrier'. :sneaky:

This is totally over the top. The man was not threatening to harm the officers and was no danger to them. We have a wealth of experienced workers in this field here that could have talked the man round easily . His age and state of mind suggest to me that he was confused and distressed. He should have been treated by an experienced person who is used to dealing with people who threaten to harm them-selves NOT the mercy of yet another gung ho cop.

Family's fury after police fire Taser at man, 89, who had fled care home | Mail Online

mikeinie · Post by **mikeinie** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:54 am

I always like to try to see the ‘bigger issue’, OK sure it was a little over the top to zap the old guy, but he didn’t have a heart attack and he didn’t slice his throat either. So instead of focusing on ‘police force’, let’s ask another question.

Why was he ‘fleeing from his care’? Why does he not want to go back to the home so badly that he is willing to cut his throat? His family is shocked at the use of force, but are they concerned about his state of being in the home? Just because he is suffering from early stages of Alzheimer’s, his family should not dismiss the fact that there could be something fundamentally wrong.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 6:05 am

mikeinie;1108959 wrote: I always like to try to see the ‘bigger issue’, OK sure it was a little over the top to zap the old guy, but he didn’t have a heart attack and he didn’t slice his throat either. So instead of focusing on ‘police force’, let’s ask another question.

Why was he ‘fleeing from his care’? Why does he not want to go back to the home so badly that he is willing to cut his throat? His family is shocked at the use of force, but are they concerned about his state of being in the home? Just because he is suffering from early stages of Alzheimer’s, his family should not dismiss the fact that there could be something fundamentally wrong.

I have to agree with you there but i speak from first hand experience. I won't go into personal details but how ever well the person is being cared for in a home, some-one with this awful condition can not understand that. They become agitated and can not understand why they can't go home. Often with this condition, they believe they are being kept against their will or become so depressed that they do try to harm them-selves.

Hope6 · Post by **Hope6** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 7:11 am

We had a 17 year old kid near here last week who was drunk and acting up some out on the street, the police were called but he had already gone into his house, the police went in and tasered him... he died!!

they are looking into it now to see if something else could have contributed to his death.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 7:27 am

Hope6;1109016 wrote: We had a 17 year old kid near here last week who was drunk and acting up some out on the street, the police were called but he had already gone into his house, the police went in and tasered him... he died!!

they are looking into it now to see if something else could have contributed to his death.

Of course they will be looking to see if anything else contributed to his death..The police need to find cocaine or the like in his system to pass the buck and stop a law-suit from the family.

It is fact that Tasar guns kill people as reported in the article i posted.

TASER Danger?, 70 Deaths After Use Of Stun Gun Lead To Questions Over Its Safety - CBS News

I am not saying for a moment that if a rabid violent person was threatening to harm an officer, they should not use Tasar, but an 89 year old man that frankly a 5 year old could have dis-armed is a bloody disgrace once again to British Police.

wildhorses · Post by **wildhorses** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:13 pm

ELECTROCUTION.....that is what it is...and it should not be allowed at all. Police use these tazers too liberally. They think it is not lethal, so they use it at the drop of a hat. Too many tazerings have ended in tragedy.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:19 pm

wildhorses;1110976 wrote: ELECTROCUTION.....that is what it is...and it should not be allowed at all. Police use these tazers too liberally. They think it is not lethal, so they use it at the drop of a hat. Too many tazerings have ended in tragedy.

I agree and i can't understand why the British government has just endorsed putting more of these Tazers out. Our cops are too gung ho as it is. If we give all officers a tasar, then i dread to think.

A 89 year old man though....... Really... :-5:-5:-5

wildhorses · Post by **wildhorses** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:52 am

oscar;1110980 wrote: I agree and i can't understand why the British government has just endorsed putting more of these Tazers out. Our cops are too gung ho as it is. If we give all officers a tasar, then i dread to think.

A 89 year old man though....... Really... :-5:-5:-5

It is so sad for the police to do this to a man of that age. Our cops in this country are getting out of hand with tazers too. I think they dont think of it as a big deal to use a tazer on someone....since it does not kill so readily as a gun does. But many have been injured or died from this. And in some of those cases the person who died was not really a big threat. It should be stopped immediately.

Post by **spot** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:11 am

They were initially publicized, to make them more acceptable, as an alternative to shooting someone. What they've turned into is what they were always intended for, a modern-day cattle-prod to compel obedience through fear. The deployment of Tasers should be as restricted within the UK police forces as the deployment of any other weapons, they have no place on Britain's streets and especially not in the hands of the police. As a part of a reaction team, possibly. As a regular piece of equipment, never.

wildhorses · Post by **wildhorses** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:31 am

spot;1111041 wrote: They were initially publicized, to make them more acceptable, as an alternative to shooting someone. What they've turned into is what they were always intended for, a modern-day cattle-prod to compel obedience through fear. The deployment of Tasers should be as restricted within the UK police forces as the deployment of any other weapons, they have no place on Britain's streets and especially not in the hands of the police. As a part of a reaction team, possibly. As a regular piece of equipment, never.

I agree spot. Riot police could have them available....maybe. Even then, some would overuse it. But the average police should not have these.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:49 am

spot;1111041 wrote: They were initially publicized, to make them more acceptable, as an alternative to shooting someone. What they've turned into is what they were always intended for, a modern-day cattle-prod to compel obedience through fear. The deployment of Tasers should be as restricted within the UK police forces as the deployment of any other weapons, they have no place on Britain's streets and especially not in the hands of the police. As a part of a reaction team, possibly. As a regular piece of equipment, never.

Agreed. We know our British Police too well. Even guns in the wrong hands or the cop with the wrong orders cost innocent live's. As you said, there is no other reason to have them other than to induce fear into the public. We have managed for centuries without them. I'm sure if i googled British Police injuries from members of the public, they are far and few between. We are not Columbia where riots are common-place. We just don't have any excuse for our police to need them. Maybe the only exception would be football hooligans but then, the baton and the dogs have all worked well enough.

To use it on a frail confused old man???????:-5:-5

Post by **spot** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 4:27 am

We're not the only ones to disapprove.The case of an 89-year-old man, who was shot with a Taser gun by officers, has been referred to a police watchdog.

BBC NEWS | Wales | North West Wales | Complaint after OAP shot by Taser

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 5:05 am

I know some good cops. But by gum things like this make you realise that most young cops on the street are moral children. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised.

Post by **spot** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 6:12 am

I know one retired policeman, I'm sure he was occasionally effective, it's hard not to be if you spend long enough at anything. He's great fun to go around with. He prefers not to talk about police corruption because he prefers not to lie. His opinions on most societal topics would have fit in well during the late 1890s. I doubt whether the police have many they could set against him, he strikes me as being among the best they produced.