USA – Doubts surface as Chicago police sharply increase Taser use: Electroshock weapons fired more frequently by city, suburban cops (2012-01-01)

[[SUMMARY / COMMENTS : Chicago police were deploying tasers at a rate of more than twice a day in 2011; taser use has jumped fivefold in the city since 2008. The author of an official National Justice Dept. report says: “"It's a wonderful tool, when used properly. But they've just got to be used judiciously, and in many departments, they aren't." One problem is reporting difference between Chicago precincts, but the trend toward more frequent use was clear. Amnesty International says there have been 490 taser-related deaths in the USA.]]

Chicago Tribune, by Dan Hinkel

The traffic stop began peacefully three hours into New Year’s Day 2010, with the woman driving the SUV telling the officer that she hadn’t been drinking and her husband merrily exclaiming he was the source of the alcohol smell.

But the situation soured when Steven Kotlinski, 55, stepped out to watch his wife’s sobriety test, provoking the Mundelein officers to order him into the SUV. He reluctantly obeyed, but one officer said Kotlinski had obstructed his efforts. He ordered him back out, then tried to pull him out.

Next came the electric crackle of a Taser, a sound heard far more often in Chicago and many suburbs than it was just a few years ago.

Read on...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This incident man was attacked by two officiers that were supposed to protect and serve:( We all should be afriad they carry guns and tasers - this man could have been killed after being tasered 5 times for NO reason - as proven in the COURT OF LAW! There needs to be guidelines throughout the United States not just Illinois - Police need to use their words NOT their weapons - Did these guys ever learn use you Voice - after reading all the articles and the appellate courts ruling when they overturned the jury - this whole situation SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED and the the LIES TO TRY TO COVER THEIR BUTTS AND PUT AN INNOCENT MAN IN JAIL - HOW BROKEN IS ARE SYSTEM! THANK G-D FOR THE APPELLATE COURT - READ THEIR FILING ONLINE AND IT TELLS IT ALL!