Rant of the Month: Tasers, and why they should be banned

Apparently there is a large group of people in the states who believe Tasers should be banned - including usage by the Police. Originally I didn't agree with this as they're not as lethal as guns, and if the police force used under the same conditions, with all the same paperwork to complete every time they're used then they're a much better option as if you've made a mistake they're not dead (well not usually anyway).

However I'm starting to agree that they are a bad thing (though obviously not as bad as the guns) as they're not being used responsibly by a good number of American police officers. One example is quite recent and involves a very simple, non-threatening situation. Apparently passers by saw a guy walking along the edge of a bridge and people were concerned enough that he might fall that they called the Cops. When they arrived he'd already fallen and had broken his back and one of his legs. Okay picture this, you've got a broken back and a broken leg - you're not going to be moving much really are you, so can't exactly be a threat. Anyway. the officers then proceeded to Taser him 19 times! 19 Times! That's ridiculous. According to an official statement made by the department he was being offensive and they had to use the taser to subdue him. Oookay, someone's hurling verbal abuse, let's taser them - not the right attitude really, and on top of that even if they felt it was really necessary to taser him then I'm sure once or twice would have been enough, not 19!

So, does a less serious result cause people to act less responsibly? In this case it certainly seems to.