Tasers on every street spark concern

Newtown police are at the centre of a new anti-corruption probe, ensuring that police officers are professional and honest, with misbehaving officers suspended or fired.  Local communities will have a direct say as to whether the police use sniffer dogs, with the use of Tasers being abolished.
Not.
The NSW police are up to their old tricks with a 10-month Freedom of Information battle culminating in the Sydney Morning Herald publishing documents showing the trial of Tasers to be anything but perfect.
The trial, which the state government claimed was a resounding success, justified the introduction of Tasers to every street cop, with 8000 officers now trained in its use. This announcement was made two weeks before the release of an Ombudsman’s report recommending that the roll-out be delayed until the safety of Tasers was further clarified.
What the Police Association wants, the Police Association gets, and so each officer on the street now has an additional semi-lethal weapon, capable of a 50,000 volt shock.
Examples of Taser-use include it being used on a handcuffed child at a juvenile detention centre. Or notorious Oxford Street video showing a well behaved man Tasered in the back during a night out.
So many examples: two graffiti artists who had a Taser pulled on them, just in case one of them used their paintbrush to attack the arresting officer. Detainees at Villawood refugee centre Tasered for being refugees (presumably).
Like the sniffer dog, Tasers were initially used by a few officers under careful guidelines, but now the weapons have been sprinkled like confetti among hungry cops ready to play with their new toys.
You (or someone you know) may not have been Tasered,  but their continuing abuse means it’s only a matter of time.

By Dale Mills