CASH STARVED FOREST SERVICE SPENDS $600,000 TO BUY TASERS

[november3rd]

Source: PEER Press Release

CASH STARVED FOREST SERVICE SPENDS $600,000 TO BUY TASERS — Devices Remain in Boxes Because Rangers Lack Training


Washington, DC — The U.S. Forest Service has bought $600,000 worth of “Electronic Control Devices” without any training program, rules for use or even a written explanation as to why the devices are needed, according to agency records posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The devices, known as Tasers, are sitting in storage and cannot be issued because the agency has yet to develop a training course.

Due to an intense fire season, the Forest Service is now staggering under a more than a quarter-billion dollar deficit, causing it to begin jettisoning core programs. For example, the agency lacks enough funds to draw up new timber sales. At the same time, the Forest Service law enforcement program is hobbled by more than 200 vacant positions, leaving only one officer to cover each 300,000 acres of National Forest and 750,000 annual million visitors.



Read more: http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=952

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Looks like the Forest Service under DoI, too, has anted-up to the Homeland Security/Weapons Syndicate that has taken over the profit-driven, "free market" state.

[StClone]

1. Follow the Money

Makers of Tasers are probably Bush Rangers. Cronyism.

[fenriswolf]

18. yup check out this link

its guilianni

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2402870

[superconnected]

23. Excellent info! Thank you for posting it.

Figures tasers would be a rw corportist move.

[saigon68]

2. Maybe they can "Repell" Smokey the Bear

If he gets too "Frisky"

[here_is_to_hope]

24. Well, every time Smokey's wife gets hot...

..he hits her with a bucket of water...
:)

[saigon68]

26. LOL K & R

[AX10]

3. It's the government. There's never enough money...

for needed services, but always a handout for a campaign contributor.

[laststeamtrain]

4. Isn't it because of rioting ATV people?

Kind of like letting mail carriers have mace in case of vicious dogs?

I found some links here:
http://www.wildlandscpr.org/news-forests-visitors-abused-rogues-road-vehicles

[Blaze Diem]

5. Here's the Money Trail: The Giuliani Connection to the TASER Abuse Explosion

OpEdNews link: http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_zak_maym_071129_giuliani_s_driver_br.htm
--------------------------------------------
Bernard Kerik, former Giuliani's driver , is behind the sudden advancement of tasers. The phenominal rise of tasers is mainly due to the efforts of Rudy Giuliani. In 2001, Taser International developed its "Advanced Taser Electro-Muscular Disruption" system and became a publicly traded company ("Taser"). In 2000, Giuliani installed Kerik as the New York City police commissioner. In 2002, Kerik, a senior vice president at Giuliani Partners and CEO of Giuliani-Kerik LLC, became Taser's director.

With Kerik at the steering wheel, Taser's profits grew ten times in two years, to $68 million in 2004, up from just under $7 million in 2001. By the way, sales have been helped along by police officers who have received payments and/or stock options from Taser to serve as instructors and trainers.
---------------------------------------------

GOP = Grand Old Profiteers

[sandnsea]

11. Thank you

I always say the reason the rich should pay more in taxes is because most of them have gotten their wealth through government connections.

[kimmylavin]

6. WTF?

What in the world does the Forest Service need tasers for???

[enough]

36. Customer service.

from the article:

The reason for this purchase is unknown since the Forest Service was unable to produce any document justifying the need for these weapons. John Twiss, the Director of Law Enforcement and Investigations and the official who made the decision to buy the Tasers, wrote PEER in a letter dated November 7, 2007:

“In the interest of customer service, we can tell you that the Forest Service is currently developing the required training and law enforcement officers will be required to attend prior to the issuance of, or authorization to carry or use, an Electronic Control Device.”

[Blaze Diem]

7. K & R

Call for (another)investigation.

[KamaAina]

8. Why does the Forest Service need Tasers?

Are we back to Raygun's vision of "killer trees"?! :eyes:

[Demeter]

9. Yeah, That Was My Thought! Polluting Trees Need To Be Subdued With Force

as if wildfires due to forestry service cutbacks and screwups weren't sufficient.

[Thothmes]

40. Forest Service

The way I recall it is that they are also law enforcement officers when it comesto their jurisdiction in the National Forests. I know they use to be able to detain a person for violation of Forest fire and closure laws.

[Gonnuts]

10. Okay ...?

Why do Forrest Rangers have tasers and just how much training does it take to know how to use one?

[Gonnuts]

12. What is this? Bears Gone Wild?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

13. Maybe they want to taze tree-huggers?

:wtf:

[Xithras]

19. Tree huggers? How about kidnappers, drug cartels, and even the occasional armed & drunk poacher.

The forests are full of not-very-nice people, and many of them are armed. That's why rangers have guns available today, and presumably why they want to add tasers to their arsenal.

I know it's not NF, but I like to point out to people that there's a reason that Yosemite has it's own dedicated federal courthouse. Most people have this idyllic view that there's no crime in the woods, which isn't even close to being true.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

20. Seems like guns would be more appropriate for those types...

You're right, of course, about the popular misconception that crime only occurs in cities.

Still, with so many instances of abuse with tazers, I wonder how carefully considered this purchase was.

[Xithras]

21. Better to shoot a poacher than to taze him?

The problem with tazers isn't the tazer itself, it's how the tazer has been presented to law enforcement. Tazers should be a last line of defense...one half step before shooting them dead. It's a less than lethal weapon to be used in those situations where a violently dangerous criminal needs to be subdued, but lives are not in immediate danger.

Sadly, police seem to be more interested in using them as coercive devices, which is very wrong.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

29. While I'm no expert, it's my understanding that poachers carry guns...

in which case a gun would seem a more effective method of subduing the criminal.

[Historic NY]

28. US Forest & National Park Service Rangers 2 different....

units. The forest service manages National Forests, the US Park Service handles law enforcement and management of National Parks, National Monuments & Historic Sites.

[Xithras]

31. I'm fully aware of that.

Hence the line, "I know it's not NF...". Those crimes don't stop at the borders of Yosemite though. If anything, crime is even more common in the surrounding national forests, simply because there are fewer rangers to deal with it and the victims tend to be more isolated. When those three women visiting Yosemite were raped and murdered a few years back, the murderer didn't kill them in Yosemite. He drove them into the more isolated neighboring Stanislaus National Forest instead.

Most drug activity happens on NF land too, for the same reason. Fewer visitors, more isolation, less chance at getting caught. There is a reason that the assault rate on forest rangers has skyrocketed in recent years.

Read this, and you'll understand why they want more defensive weapons: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/26/us/26rangers.html

[Occulus]

38. Um, I think they want to tase those things in your sig pic.

:silly:

(Yes, I know. I'm being silly.)

[radfringe]

14. them squirrels better watch out!!!! n/t

[rodeodance]

15. they gotta have the new toy!!

[Hangingon]

16. Not long ago, there were several people saying we needed ...

non lethal ways to subdue people. A case in point was an very large deranged man here in Texas threatening the police with an edged weapon. They didn't have tasers or shotgun bean bags. The man was shot and ultimately died. We need to decide and be consistent. There are situations where tasers are appropriate.

[Truthiness Inspector]

22. Good post. n/t

[SyntaxError]

27. How about just leaving the guy alone?

[Hangingon]

30. He was a threat to his neighbors and family.

It was a pretty tragic situation. The police had tried to wait out the guy. Tasers/stun guns are a hot topic now and I just heard something on the news about the ill effects of pepper spray as a restraint. The stun bag rounds for a shot gun are another restraint but I don't hear much about them. There are cases where you simply can't leave the guy alone when he is a treat. Something has to be done.

[Vinca]

39. Except tasers can kill and seem to be doing so with some frequency.

Cops should keep that in mind when firing them. Lately they've been used more as time saving devices rather than life saving devices. I imagine it will take many millions of dollars in settlements until that sinks in.

[killbotfactory]

17. Oh great, now we'll have park rangers tazing people for no reason

[devilgrrl]

25. Yeah, you need tasers to keep those Ents in line!

They can get a little wild and crazy.

[Hangingon]

32. FYI Forest Service is USDA - Natl Parks are DoI

[superconnected]

33. That's a lot of money to authorize on tazers. Sounds like someone

inside the parks dept is friends with someone inside the tazer industry.

[truthisfreedom]

34. Sounds like someone is lining Tazer's pockets with as many sources as they can conjure!

Follow the money!

[Eurobabe]

35. So they can zap Smokey the Bear n/t

[bhikkhu]

37. "staggering" "jettisoning" "hobbled" "lacking" - sounds like a set-up

or a long term plan to privatize or sell off our national forests. Manage them so poorly, the only fiscally and environmentally responsible option is to sell them - sounding like something on the * agenda that hasn't seen much attention yet. Likely interested buyers: Carlyle Group, the Sauds, UAE, etc...