What does one do with more TASER Kills, TASER Death Headline Fails? Perhaps these errors could serve as a classic case study in bias & speculation. It might provide insight on how perceptions become reality.
To begin, the tragic death of a Brazilian named Roberto Laudisio Curti in Australia story continues its challenge with incorrect headlines. For example, read the original headline: “21-Year-Old Brazilian Tasered To Death By Australian Police.” That’s incorrect, yes? Nope. The autopsy results & cause of death have not been concluded. Headlines are meant to entice readers, so clearly this article won’t make the same mistake? Nope. The article states in an opening lead, “That’s right: Laudisio Curti was tasered to death.” The story made no bones about it and firmly convinced readers that a cause of death is known. Yet, this is not true & thus the news organization had to make correct these libelous statements on April 12.
The damage was done and if you had read the original article, you might have concluded that the TASER ECD was the cause of death. You would most likely then form an opinion about this issue. Your perceptions – not based on fact or science – then become your reality.
Now imagine an opinion poll at the end of that original story that asks, “Should the New South Wales Police be held accountable for this death?” When you read the uncorrected version, do you think that those incorrect words had any influence on the poll? It did.
Even in today’s Daily Telegraph, the media incorrectly states, “Officers positioned a mannequin of Mr Curti’s body… where the fatal stun gun shot was fired.” The fatal stun gun shot? So much for the cause of death not determined yet. That came, “Police in Taser death re-enactment after Brazilian man Roberto Laudisio Curti died in Sydney’s CBD.” Note the “TASER death” use in the headline & other hyperlinked stories on that samepage. Interestingly, there’s also no mention of the pepper spray use.
Pepper Spray? Do a Google search with these key words & you get a lot of results in 26 days since Mr. Curti’s March 18 death:
• Curti + TASER + Killed: 416,000 results
In 386 days since the death of Dominic Chiodo on March 18, 2012, there have been very few stories relative to Mr. Curti. Last week, this story, Coroners Court probes death of a man after he was sprayed with capsicum by police, provoked some research on comparing TASER vs pepper spray bias. Note the results:
• Dominic Chiodo + Capsicum + Killed: 515 results (using “pepper spray” vs. “capsicum” nets even less results: 246 results)
Why compare this to Dominic Chiodo?
There are many similarities but what’s interesting is the bias when a death occurs involving a TASER ECD. There is very little outcry when someone dies in custody when other products are used. In fact, how many of you knew that police said they used pepper spray to try to subdue Mr. Curti? Why aren’t the headlines “Pepper Spray Killed?”
The interesting aspect to this comparison of these two similar situations is in the numbers:
“Curti” + “pepper spray” + “killed” gets 3,360 results vs 416,000 replacing “pepper spray” with “TASER.”
So how did a story involving both pepper spray & TASER ECDs fail to mention the pepper spray in 99.9 percent of the stories? How does the media continue to state TASER Kills when causes of death aren’t known?
This is certainly a case that makes you go, “Hmmmm.”
While it is understadable that Australian media repnsod ion the same fashion as American media did a decade ago, it will take time and proof to refute the notion that TASER technology kills’ anyone. I am a Security Manager for an American University Medical Center Security Department (non-sworn) and we’ve enjoyed great success in our TASER program since 2004. We’ve had 34 actual deployments since then and many many more compliant subjects with display or presence only. (3 to 1) We’ve never had an injury to a subject that was tased, absolutely no deaths, no law suits. Officer injuries went to basically zero after employing TASER in 2004. People who die in Police custody usually do so after allot of physical exertion running, with heart disease (hidden), overdose of illegal substances cocaine, methamphetamine, and a long sustained physical fight with law enforcement. TASER merely stopped all the activity that would have attributed to a death had he continued violent aggression. There is a limit to what the human body can take physically before it shuts down. I would implore all the Australian citizenry to go to TASER’s website (taser.com) and read for yourself all the studies conducted, transparent articles written, coroner rulings, and the technical aspect of the electricity used by jamming the messages from the brain to the muscle group affected that allows control of a subject. The key to keeping YOUR Law Enforcement safe to keep YOU safe is to have an open mind, research for yourself what TASER is and is not, then make an informed opinion rather than jump in with the herd for a group think’ that TASER is causing all these deaths. I wish all Australian law enforcement the best of luck with their decision to keepsafe their Officers, and especially Commissioner Clarke who demonstrates the courage Australian’s are known for in stepping forward with a cooler head reminding everyone not to put the cart before the horse, wait for the results, .. then voicing an informed opinion.
. Either way, it doesn’t matter, says Dawn Edwards of the Ella Baker Center, a polcie watchdog group in Oakland, Calif.” Yea, damn the actual evidence, we’re just going to draw the conclusions that fit our narrative. “Medical Condition or Legal Cover?” Because medical examiners are always willing to do the cops a solid and grease the reports. Let’s set aside for a moment the hundreds (thousands? Who knows) of people that are alive today because polcie had the option of using a TASER instead of a firearm. (In the county I worked in TASERS were removed due to a death in a neighboring jurisdiction. Officer-involved fatal shootings when up 200% the next year.) Many of the deaths related to TASER use result in training and employment mistakes. No, you shouldn’t be shocking the old man 6 times if there isn’t active resistance. Human failings and training mistakes should not be the only measure of a weapon’s utility. People were dying from ED long before TASERs came along.As for ED, the only people that have doubts about its existence are people that have never worked the street. Mr. Balaban of the ACLU says the AMA and APA don’t recognize it. How many years did it take the AMA to recognize HIV? The APA listed homosexuality as a mental illness until the ’80s. The AMA and APA are good benchmarks but they aren’t omniscient. And not everyone with ED dies, so those that present and survive don’t make headlines or medical examiner reports. Got a hypothetical for the folks out there, and I’m not fishing for a particular answer: Would you rather cops use a TASER (appropriately) on someone presenting ED or use batons/OC spray/hard hand strikes? Bear in mind We don’t have a third option available.
PCM,I strongly recmomend you that you wikipedia the Robert Dziekanski Taser Incident. There is also Youtube footage that you should see. I realize that it received no coverage the States, but here in Canada this is big news. A man was tasered 5 times by the RCMP, and died as a result. There are allegations of a cover-up because home video footage directly contradicted officers’ accounts of what happened.The officers were also very quick to resort to use of the taser. There was a government inquiry. Keep in mind that the RCMP holds a special place in the minds of Canadians. It is a symbol of national identity. Any scandals will have greater significance than with other law enforcement agencies. This scandal along with a number of others seriously damaged the reputation of the RCMP in the eyes of the public.On another note, I seem to recall that when Tasers were pitched to the Canadian public just a few years ago they were sold as an alternative to deadly force. For instance a deranged man with a knife could be Tasered instead of shot. But it seems to me that what they are actually used for is to achieve simple compliance. The Dziekanski case is example. The “Don’t Tase me, Bro” incident in Florida where John Kerry was speaking is an example, as well as that incident with the naked guy who refused to put his clothes on at that outdoor music festival which was all over Youtube. This is not how the Taser was advertised to the Canadian public.Thanks again,-From Canada
Maybe I’m old fashioned or just plain crazy, but I’d pfreer the latter (hands, batons, pepper spray).Tasers should be avoided in non-lethal situations. Four officers can take on one man. Why? Because they can kill. That they only kill rarely is not good enough. And I’m not even talking about “excited delirium.” Sometimes people just have a weak ticker (like the guy in the Vancouver airport). That’s not a crime.Taser are not “less than lethal.” They’re “less lethal.” And police should be trained with that in mind.If police can save a life with a taser instead of a gun, great. But if police have to shoot in a lethal-force situation, I don’t have a problem with that (but I guess that’s the old cop in me). If you put yourself into a lethal-force situation, it’s on you. But if you’re just non-compliant, that’s no reason to be killed. Ever.In other words, I’d pfreer three guys with knives they wouldn’t put down to be shot and killed than for one unarmed person flipping out or refusing follow orders to be accidentally killed with a taser.
Oh my frickin god!! how ignonart can you be?!?! cops are REQUIRED to carry guns for their own protection!! in case you didnt know this, criminals can be violent sadists, dangerous pedophiles, and even sick, possessive, sadistic rapists!!! and i can frickin guarantee you those people have weapons that they would use on anyone who got in their way!!! and their weapons are not concealed, they carry them in plain sight on their belts in a holster. and people can have guns but they need a register and license and some laws prohibit them from carrying them around because they can use them on anyone. now Arizona allows you to carry them as long as they arent concealed. now before you start whining and accusing every cop of bein a crooked officer, do your frickin research.