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Interesting take, Steve. Thanks for the perspective!

I believe that police use of Tasers has saved many people from the butt-whuppin' they probably deserved. Given my druthers between gunshot wounds, blunt force from a PR-24 or Maglite, or a ride on the Taser lightning, I'd take the Taser.

Tasers are supposed to be an alternative to "laying on of hands", with the hope that the end result is safer for both officers and subjects. That said, I do believe the "hands off" approach results in cases of police using Tasers when they wouldn't have otherwise used any force. We've all seen the videos: Tasers deployed to force compliance in an uncooperative, but otherwise unthreatening, subject. A lack of patience doesn't justify going up a step on the force continuum.

That said, I take with a grain of salt most of the claims that "they didn't have to!" Tase someone, just the same as I look at claims that "they didn't have to shoot!" the guy who was charging officers with a knife.

Kevin