Tasers aren't innocent

One more post-Taser death, and a press release from the manufacturer denying all product liability.

I am not surprised by the fact that the company that manufactures these devices (and reaps big profits) denies all responsibility and draws attention to the fact it never lost a product liability lawsuit. They're just doing their job, but their manipulation of reality is pretty self-evident.
The fact that Robert Dziekanski kept on convulsing after the jolts is not PROOF that the Taser wasn't the cause of the death. There must be other factors, sure, but they don't cleanse the Taser of all guilt. Guilt-sharing is not absolution. If a person has a weak heart and the Taser jolts make it give up the device is clearly the cause of the death, just as an example.

This kind of equipment is to be used on healthy and strong individuals in cases when immediate incapacitation is the only way to safeguard the incolumity of the officers and the public. Its use should be subject to reasonable regulation and accountability. What the RCMP did at Vancouver airport was nothing short of cruel, and I am disappointed that the image of a Canadian icon be tarnished in this way. But it should serve as a lesson for every police force employing the Taser: it is not a toy, and interfering with control of muscles and nerves is not something to be done lightly.

Using the Taser can have consequences. Sometimes dire. It should be used only in extreme cases and if there's no other solution, in one short jolt. Police forces have their thinking to do, while TASER Inc should behave more responsibly and emphasize the duty to use their device (which is a powerful law-enforcement tool, no doubt) with caution and common sense. Right now their site is a piece of marketing. In the meantime, people die for some reason. This is not the time to play games.