Using Tasers on children
Police officers must make split-second judgments in volatile situations. But shooting children with Taser stun guns -- except perhaps in the most dire cases -- is unacceptable. In the past two weeks, however, police in Miami-Dade County used stun guns to subdue two children. ... Tasers have their place in law enforcement as an alternative to deadly force, but must not become the option of first resort when less-risky intervention tactics exist. Considered a non-lethal tool, Tasers deliver a highly painful 50,000 volt charge. Their use has possibly contributed to a number of deaths, and their safety has never been adequately established by independent studies. Most important, we know virtually nothing about how they might adversely affect children, who are quite different physically from adults. The Miami-Dade Police Department should issue a moratorium on using Tasers on children until the two cases are investigated and officers are retrained to react with more prudence. ...