Thursday, April 14, 2005
Bizarre and controversial news reports of stun gun use are typical
As the controversy surrounding stun guns continues to smolder, the focus on law enforcement’s misuse of stun guns is intensifying in the form of bizarre or controversial news reports. This is typical. Stun gun use is a hot issue. The technology in its current form is alarming to many people even though stun guns save lives. Adverse reactions from the public will grow with the spread of this technology until law enforcement’s governing agencies develop responsible guidelines and publicize these.
News reports surrounding law enforcement’s alleged misuse of stun guns have run the gamut. Many stories have been bizarre, controversial, or both:
-As reported by Henry Pierson Curtis of the Sun-Sentinel on April 6, a woman wrote a letter to the Orlando Sentinel editor last month calling Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary “fat.” Beary had willingly and publicly subjected himself to a stun gun shot to prove the weapon’s safety. The woman’s letter was in response to his actions.
-NewsTarget.com reported on April 8 that a man in Florida arrested for alleged drug use and soon thereafter hospitalized refused to give a urine sample. According to the report, a police officer used a stun gun to shoot the man, who was handcuffed and secured with leather straps to a bed at the time.
-Angela Rozas of the Chicago Tribune reported on March 15 that an altercation in Berwyn, Ill., between a 17-year-old student and a police officer, both on a high school’s grounds, led the police officer to shoot the boy with a stun gun. According to the article, the boy first shoved the police officer. Police charged the boy with aggravated assault. An ABC 7 Chicago report quotes the boy’s family’s attorney questioning why police are using stun guns at schools.
-In a lengthy April 3 article about stun gun safety, Newsday's John Riley reported on a March 4 high school stun gun incident that took place in Roseville, Minn. A police officer used a stun gun to shoot a 15-year-old girl who the article reports had become “unruly.”
-ABC News and others reported an early March incident at a Chuck E. Cheese in Aurora, Colo. Police employed a stun gun to subdue a man who, accused of not paying for use of the salad bar, allegedly shoved an officer.
Something obviously went awry in many of these incidents. And it is understandable for people to raise their eyebrows. Yet, when journalists craft eye-grabbing headlines such as "Man Hit with Stun Gun at Salad Bar" or "Man Shot With Stun Gun for Refusing Urine Sample," we have a problem with exaggeration.
Placement of blame on the instrument, the stun gun, and on law enforcement, in general, is a mistake. Those who berate police for using stun guns might do well to tone down their rhetoric. Decision-makers have trouble even entertaining legitimate solutions when useful ideas rarely even rise above the din of hyperbole emanating from stun guns’ foes.
As the controversy surrounding stun guns continues to smolder, the focus on law enforcement’s misuse of stun guns is intensifying in the form of bizarre or controversial news reports. This is typical. Stun gun use is a hot issue. The technology in its current form is alarming to many people even though stun guns save lives. Adverse reactions from the public will grow with the spread of this technology until law enforcement’s governing agencies develop responsible guidelines and publicize these.
News reports surrounding law enforcement’s alleged misuse of stun guns have run the gamut. Many stories have been bizarre, controversial, or both:
-As reported by Henry Pierson Curtis of the Sun-Sentinel on April 6, a woman wrote a letter to the Orlando Sentinel editor last month calling Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary “fat.” Beary had willingly and publicly subjected himself to a stun gun shot to prove the weapon’s safety. The woman’s letter was in response to his actions.
-NewsTarget.com reported on April 8 that a man in Florida arrested for alleged drug use and soon thereafter hospitalized refused to give a urine sample. According to the report, a police officer used a stun gun to shoot the man, who was handcuffed and secured with leather straps to a bed at the time.
-Angela Rozas of the Chicago Tribune reported on March 15 that an altercation in Berwyn, Ill., between a 17-year-old student and a police officer, both on a high school’s grounds, led the police officer to shoot the boy with a stun gun. According to the article, the boy first shoved the police officer. Police charged the boy with aggravated assault. An ABC 7 Chicago report quotes the boy’s family’s attorney questioning why police are using stun guns at schools.
-In a lengthy April 3 article about stun gun safety, Newsday's John Riley reported on a March 4 high school stun gun incident that took place in Roseville, Minn. A police officer used a stun gun to shoot a 15-year-old girl who the article reports had become “unruly.”
-ABC News and others reported an early March incident at a Chuck E. Cheese in Aurora, Colo. Police employed a stun gun to subdue a man who, accused of not paying for use of the salad bar, allegedly shoved an officer.
Something obviously went awry in many of these incidents. And it is understandable for people to raise their eyebrows. Yet, when journalists craft eye-grabbing headlines such as "Man Hit with Stun Gun at Salad Bar" or "Man Shot With Stun Gun for Refusing Urine Sample," we have a problem with exaggeration.
Placement of blame on the instrument, the stun gun, and on law enforcement, in general, is a mistake. Those who berate police for using stun guns might do well to tone down their rhetoric. Decision-makers have trouble even entertaining legitimate solutions when useful ideas rarely even rise above the din of hyperbole emanating from stun guns’ foes.
# posted by IDTheftSecurity.com @ 2:29 PM 
