Tasers, pepper spray, and cops oh my!
author: The Notorious John Doe (Infoshop)
It was only a little over a year ago when it happened; I was walking through Miami with friends, and we came along a crowd yelling, crying, and screaming in horror. A person in the center of the group was on the ground shaking violently. It wasn't an epileptic episode that caused the mild mannered girl to become incapacitated, it was 50,000 volts. The girl was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and a Miami officer had decided she met the criteria for him to test his new toy. Her friends had to remove the two metal prongs in her chest, as neither the police nor the paramedics would touch her. She still bears the scars and trauma of the event today.
This was not an isolated incident. As Tasers become more common throughout the United States, these incidents are growing in number. Almost a year to the day, another Miami-Dade officer Tasered a 6 year old boy, and within a week a 12 year old girl had also been shocked into compliance - she was almost run over by a car as a result.
The scary thing is with the increased use of this weapon, police are also getting more lax with following regulations with its use. The same thing has happened with pepper spray, and as a result we have seen products like CapStun applied directly to the eyes of non-violent protesters. The misuse of CapStun and similar products has become so rampant that DuPont had to issue a memo warning of the dangers of direct application. The company went so far as to say that "The compound is untested for skin and eye irritancy, and is untested for animal sensitization," and continued in bold: "Avoid breathing vapors and liquid contact with skin or eyes."
more:
http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org/en/2005/01/858.shtml 
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