Problems with using alternatives to guns

Stun guns do have some real advantages over guns, but they also have disadvantages.  One big disadvantage is that because of clothing they usually don't work.  Another disadvantage is that sometime they kill the people that they are used against.  From Fox News:

Miami Beach police say an 18-year-old died after being shocked with a stun gun as he resisted arrest for spraying graffiti.Chief Ray Martinez told the Miami Herald that officers spotted Israel Hernandez-Llach painting graffiti on an abandoned fast-food restaurant early Tuesday. Martinez said the teen ran, but was eventually cornered. He said Hernandez-Llach then ran at the officers and one shot him with a Taser in the chest. The teen went into medical duress and died at a hospital. . . .

A case from July 25th:

A 29-year-old man at a special needs facility on Long Island died after police shot him with a stun gun when he fought them as they tried to take him to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, authorities said.  

Staff at the Maryhaven Center of Hope in Middle Island called police Wednesday night to report Dainell Simmons, a resident at the facility, had become violent and uncontrollable, officials said. . . .

A case from July 22nd:

Wilmington police are investigating the death of a 28-year-old city man Sunday night after he was hit with a stun gun multiple times following a police pursuit.
Police began pursuing a vehicle at 8:09 p.m. at 25th and Madison streets when officers attempted to stop it, department spokesman Cpl. Mark Ivey said. He said a high-speed chase ensued but was called off because of “public safety concern.” . . .

There have been warnings from the manufacturer not to target people's chest near their heart.

Through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the Guardian newspaper was able to obtain statistics on the use of the electroshock weapon dating back to 2009, from 18 of UK’s 45 police authorities.
The data revealed that out of 906 total charges unleashed, 518 were aimed at the chest. This constitutes 57 per cent of total uses.
It also directly contradicts advice given by the electroshock weapon’s manufacturer.
"When possible, avoid targeting the frontal chest area near the heart to reduce the risk of potential serious injury or death,” says the Taser International training manual.
"Serious complications could also arise in those with impaired heart function or in those with an implanted cardiac pacemaker or defibrillator." . . . 

Another recent case from the UK.

On July 10, Jordan Begley, a 23-year-old factory worker, died after being hit with a Taser gun fired by police at his home in Gorton, a district of Manchester, England.Reports said that he died shortly after a 50,000 volt charge Taser gun was fired at him inside his home at 8 p.m. . . . 

Taser goes to court to keep it from being listed as a cause of death in autopsies

The Arizona Republic reports:

Judge rules for Taser in cause-of-death decisions
by Robert Anglen - May. 2, 2008 07:28 PM
The Arizona Republic
Taser International has fired a warning shot at medical examiners across the country.

The Scottsdale-based stun gun manufacturer increasingly is targeting state and county medical examiners with lawsuits and lobbying efforts to reverse and prevent medical rulings that Tasers contributed to someone's death.

That effort on Friday helped lead an Ohio judge's order to remove Taser's name from three Summit County Medical Examiner autopsies that had ruled the stun gun contributed to three men's deaths.

"We will hold people accountable and responsible for untrue statements," Taser spokesman Steve Tuttle said earlier this week. "If that includes medical examiners, it includes medical examiners."Many medical examiners, who are charged with determining the official causes of death, view the Scottsdale-based company's efforts as disturbing, the spokesman for the National Association of Medical Examiners says.

"It is dangerously close to intimidation," says Jeff Jentzen, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners. "At this point, we adamantly reject the fact that people can be sued for medical opinions that they make." . . .