http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/02/03/stungun-advocate.html Someone might wake up and realize how many potential court cases this stun gun use will spur. The move to thwart their usage has been slow, but it's in the midst of public opinion up here and the push is gathering momentum.
Yes, stun gun usage is ridiculous. It was first introduced as an alternative to using lethal force when trying to subdue a criminal, and as such, it should only be used in those exact cases, when the officer would have to pull out his real firearm, had he not possessed a stun gun, and fired upon the suspect. but sadly, our police, who are becoming increasingly agressive, seem to think that its ok to use it in any circumstance, where less than lethal force was required. just because stun guns have benn labeled less than lethal, doesnt mean they dont kill, and they are excruciatingly painful. i think that their rampant usage is atrocious.
In my area of California the news releases no longer call them tasers or stun guns, they label them electro-conductive weapons, like the readers can't translate that. They are definitely overused, by undertrained personnel.
Good. There is a trigger happy element to this. Compare the willingness of using a gun compared to a toy-like weapon that brings people down without obvious damage... Officers can get away with more because of this. Stun guns are overused because it has a higher trigger happy element compared to guns ;-) They are being abused, and are being used to put the public in fear, even if the consequence of its use isn't necessarily intentional.