New York City – Amnesty International: NYPD Should Reconsider Carrying Stun Guns

New York City – A new proposal to increase the number of stun guns in police hands is hitting a series of public relations hurdles, with a Brooklyn man dying this week after being shocked by a Taser and Amnesty International warning the police department to reconsider.

Since 2001, more than 300 people — including the Brooklyn man who was shocked by Suffolk County police officers Monday — have died after the guns were used on them, a statement Amnesty International sent yesterday to New York reporters said.

“Given their questionable safety record, TASERs should be used with extreme caution and not become a weapon of first resort for the NYPD,” the group’s director, Larry Cox, said.

According to Amnesty’s records, the number of fatal Taser shocks has gradually increased as more police departments seeking less lethal alternatives to firearms have bought up the stun guns. Nationwide, 69 people died last year, compared with 13 in 2002, according to the group.

Amnesty said 90% of the 300 victims were unarmed.

Police sergeants on patrol are carrying stun guns in their holsters starting yesterday. Officers in specialty units already carry Tasers with them.

Commissioner Raymond Kelly this week expressed enthusiasm about expanding the use of Tasers to police officers on patrol, but he said he would only do so through a pilot program.