Our police force in The Netherlands sometimes use pepper spray but I
actually have not heard of such a Taser gun. I guess for people with pace
makers, epilepsy these guns won't do any good.

If there is a need to, why not jus shoot a person down with a normal gun in
stead of these electrical ones?

I am happy to live in The Netherlands but I do not steal stuff and I do not
do drugs, etc.

Gaross,

The Fifth Person to die after being shocked by a Taser Gun was my
brother, Robert Bagnell, age 44.  I was just doing a Google search on
Tasers and I came upon your message.

I will admit that, until very recently, I knew little about Tasers,
also referred to as stun guns.  But that changed last Friday, July
23rd, when my family learned that Vancouver police had used a Taser
gun on my brother, who died one month earlier on June 23rd.  My
brother was the third person to die in Canada in the past year after
being shot by police officers with a Taser.  His death was the fifth
in Canada.  Police shot him twice with the gun, with each shock
delivering an electrical current of up to 50,000 volts and
overpowering his central nervous system.

Since learning of the circumstances surrounding my brother's death, we
have been trying to educate ourselves on the issue of Taser use.  We
have learned that there is an absence of scientific evidence about the
Taser's effects and that, despite claims by the gun's manufacturer,
Taser International, there appear to be no comprehensive or
independent studies that affirm the Taser's safety.  The company has
done minimal testing, mostly on healthy humans and pigs and dogs.
Taser International refers to the weapon as "Non-Lethal" and says the
gun only temporarily incapacitates a person, with no lasting effects.
A report by the British government in 2002 concluded that Tasers could
not be classified as safe and they have not been cleared for general
use by police in Britain. A Canadian study 15 years ago determined
that Tasers induced heart attacks in pigs equipped with pacemakers.

Since police in British Columbia began using Tasers in 2000, four men
including my brother have died in that province after being shocked by
the weapon.  Add to that the recent death of Jerry Knight in
Mississauga.  And, a recent article in The New York Times alleges that
in the U.S., where the weapons are unregulated, at least 50 people
have died since 2001 after being shocked by Tasers, with six deaths in
June of this year alone.

With each death, the Taser's role in law enforcement rightly comes
under increasing scrutiny.  My brother's death has reignited the
national debate over the use of this high-voltage weapon.  Human
rights group Amnesty International says too many people have been
dying, and has campaigned since 2001 to have the use of Tasers
suspended in Canada until there is an independent and rigorous
evaluation of their impact and medical effects.  On July 26th Amnesty
International again urged police in Canada to stop using Tasers until
an independent, public investigation could be done.  On July 27th the
president of the Canada Safety Council stated that a comprehensive
review is needed in order to define when these weapons should be used.
Ironically, on July 15th, the Ontario Minister of Public Safety and
Security announced that police services across Ontario can now use
what they refer to as the Taser "Less-Lethal" System.

Tasers allow police to quickly and effectively disable an armed and
dangerous person.  It would appear that, for people in states of good
health, they work as advertised, with no apparent lasting effects.
But, their increasing use has been accompanied by a sharp rise in
deaths of people shocked with the weapons.  Where an individual has
either a weakened medical condition and/or narcotics in their system,
both of which applied in the case of my brother and many of the others
who have died, troubling questions arise about their safety, and
alternatives to their use must be seriously considered.  My brother
was neither armed nor was he a danger to anyone but himself.  Although
the cause of death has not yet been officially determined, a pending
Vancouver Coroner's Inquest will determine the facts.  At this point,
the Taser has not been ruled out.

We do concede that, under perfect conditions, the Taser can be a
valuable tool and may actually prevent death for many individuals.
But we strongly believe that, until safety concerns and risk factors
have been thoroughly studied, police in Canada should impose severe
restrictions on the use of Tasers.

Patti

 In case earlier post Split the last character off (like it did on my
display) -->

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ml>  /G.