Dr_Ken's Journal: Courts Starting To Reign In Taser Abuse...

...and it sure is about time too. In 2005 a California LEO tasered a man on the street who wasn't resisting, attacking or trying to flee. Without a word of warning, the LEO tasered the man in the arm with two metal darts, delivering a 1,200-volt jolt. What happened next?

"Temporarily paralyzed and in intense pain, Bryan fell face-first on the pavement. The fall shattered four of his front teeth and left him with facial abrasions and swelling. Later, a doctor had to use a scalpel to remove one of the darts."

The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals has now concluded that cops can no more tase people without good cause than they could punch, club or hit them. The irony here is that these weapons were supposed to reduce the level of violence in LEO/citizen contacts. I don't wish the cops and security forces any ill will but this needed to happen.