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Taser stun guns in NZ
Amnety report, “USA: Less than lethal”, questions safety of Taser stun guns
Amnesty International regards police officers as important human rights defenders, who often face danger when protecting the right to security of others in the community.
As a human rights organisation, we acknowledge the importance of developing non-lethal force options to decrease the risk of death or injury inherent in police use of firearms and other weapons.
However, we are urging the New Zealand Police to either suspend the use of Tasers pending further safety research, or limit their use to life-threatening situations.
Our report “USA: Less than lethal?” (published in December 2008) is the most detailed to date on the safety of stun guns, and documents that the number of people who have died after being struck by Tasers in the USA has reached 334 between 2001 and August 2008.
Key findings of the report
Amnesty’s study -- which included information from 98 autopsies -- found that 90 per cent of those who died after being struck with a Taser were unarmed and many did not appear to present a serious threat. Additionally:
- Many victims were subjected to multiple or prolonged shocks, often far more than the standard five-second cycle, despite long-standing warnings of the potential health risks of such use;
- In most cases, the deceased were reported to have gone into cardio-respiratory arrest at the scene, shortly after being shocked;
- In some cases there was no indication that the deceased had taken drugs or had underlying health problems, and they collapsed shortly after being shocked, raising further concern about the role of the Conducted Energy Device (CED);
- In many cases additional methods of restraint were applied, including methods known to impair breathing or restrict the flow of blood to the brain, creating a risk of death from asphyxia;
- Most departments permitted CEDs to be used at a level of threat well below that at which officers would be authorized to use lethal force.
Click here to download the full report (please note file size is 1.22MB)
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