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Friday, February 19, 2010

San Francisco Chief stunned by Taser gridlock

"Gary Delagnes, head of the Police Officers Association, said Thursday that he is worried that anti-Taser groups will gather their forces and pack the seven-member commission's meeting March 3. Wednesday night, he said, may have been the chief's best chance to get the panel to agree to Tasers."

February 19, 2010
Lance Iversen, San Francisco Chronicle

The San Francisco Police Commission heard hours of testimony Wednesday night about the many benefits -- with a little about the drawbacks -- of Tasers. In the end, the panel decided to wait at least two weeks before deciding whether to start the process of arming officers with the stun guns.

Chief George Gascón called the delay "unconscionable," given what he called the clear benefits both to officers and suspects of giving police an alternative to firearms.

Commissioner Yvonne Lee said she simply wanted more time for the chief to ask the community about the wisdom of adopting Tasers. Two other commissioners, Petra DeJesus and Vincent Pan, said they needed time to look at studies about the risks involved. Besides, Pan said, he felt "blindsided" that the item had been added to the commission's agenda over a holiday weekend.

Gascón wanted to know what specifically he should ask the community and what could be gleaned from reviewing the studies in two weeks.

Commissioner James Hammer, who appeared to be inclined to equip officers with Tasers, nonetheless voted to delay the issue. He said that if Lee needed two weeks, that was fine by him. Besides, he said, everyone could use the time to consider all the issues.

Gary Delagnes, head of the Police Officers Association, said Thursday that he is worried that anti-Taser groups will gather their forces and pack the seven-member commission's meeting March 3. Wednesday night, he said, may have been the chief's best chance to get the panel to agree to Tasers.

Gascón's puzzlement showed. "I think we're quite frankly doing a disservice to ourselves by continuing to play that process-driven game," he told the commission.

2 comments:

Critical Mass said...

The Daily KOS, originated by Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, an influential Blog in the US and often quoted on mainstream news programs stateside, had a rather long article on how Taser International with its Lap Dog Police Chiefs, loads news reports with misleading and false information:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/11/21/801642/-TASERS:-How-PoliceTASER,-Inc.-Bamboozle-The-Press

It's worth a read.


CM

Critical Mass said...

More chilling, perhaps, is the mention of a "taser" in the recent Israeli-linked electro-torture and killing of an Hamas leader:

"When the Hamas commander gets off on the second floor, so do the tennis players, and one follows, easily able to figure out in which room their target is staying, room 230.” A day later, al Mabhouh’s body was found in room 230 and the cause was said to be suffocation. Police say his murderers used an electric shock taser, tortured him with a lit cigarette and smothered him with a pillow – all in ten minutes."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2010/02/clems-chronicles-nuclear-powertaliban-ceo-capturedhamas-official-assassinated.html

It has been rumored and documented for years, that stun guns have been sold to governments abroad known to use electro-torture. Stun guns were used in US run Iraqi jails and detention centers, as well as CIA "rendition" sites.

CM