Taser rival offers cops 'Trade in your Taser' zapgun deal An aggressive newcomer is muscling in on everyone's favourite cattleprod-enforcement firm, Taser International. Stinger Systems says its "advanced electro sparc-pulsed" zap weaponry is much safer for the victim miscreant, and is offering American police forces a cheap "trade in your Taser" deal. According to Stinger: Rather …
Surely the 'Band-It' counts as a torture device? If you have put someone in handcuffs, they are effectively detained. Shocking them then has little actual purpose beyond torture - and will probably prove quite tempting to interrogators, as it'll be perceived as 'safe' (unlike whacking them round the chops with a baton)... not to mention not leaving marks.
That depends on the cuffs. At the moment, cuffs are placed around both wrists behind a person's back. I guess this makes moving someone, sitting them in a car, removing clothing for searches (if appropriate) difficult.
I would think, without seeing pictures, that this "cuff" is a simple manacle with a discharge device inside it, so it only need be placed on one limb. General mobility is not impared, and the device need not be removed for any reason until the detainee is properly within a station holding cell.
Safer all-round, I think.
The problem, as with any electric stun weapon, is that they are NOT non-lethal. OK maybe 99% of the population would be fine being jolted by them, but there are still masses of people out there who are not in perfect health, who could die from an electric shock. (as an example, an electric shock direct to your muscles is very different to one that is diffused through fat, anyone overweight who's ever tried one of those electric exercise belts knows how painful they are)
With guns, at least you know you are actively trying to kill someone when you shoot them, but with stun weapons they have been marketed as a nice safe alternative! They get used in a much wider variety of situations, on a much wider variety of people. Would a student who insisted on speaking past their allotted time at a political debate be shot?
I'd hate to be in the police when the news hits that someone in an interrogation room, chained to a desk, was shocked to death, as that would but it about on par with china's law enforcement techniques.
I remember seeing a similar device on TV a while back. Instead of stun-handcuffs, it was more of a stun girdle. The concept was that it could be used to restrain someone on the walk into and out of the courthouse during high-profile trials (thus eliminating the silliness of throwing their lawyer's suit coat over the accused's wrists to hide the handcuffs). From a comfort and appearance standpoint, the idea is it's supposed to be something the wearer would prefer (well, unless they decide to run, I suppose).
The show in question also showed the certification process one particular police department used for the operators. Before their officers were allowed to operate the device, they had to strap it on and take a test run as the recipient. Cut to shots of big burly officers, each certain they can handle it better than the last guy, swaggering across a heavily padded floor. About the time you wonder about the padding, someone pushes the "crumple up into a whimpering mass" button on the remote.
Coat icon because mine is the one without the batteries and high-voltage supply sewn into the lining.
Would probably be a little bit safer for all concerned.
Or a spidee web gun, in pink.
That's the other thing, all these weapons should come in pink, just to discourage others from using the device if taken from the police. It would also discourage the police from using it unless absolutely necessary.
In fact the police could be dressed in a charming light pink perhaps to show they are not enforcers but rather upholders of the peace.
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