In the wake of Samuel Hair’s death in Fort Pierce, local community leaders are calling for the resignation of police chief Eugene Savage. They’re also calling for the firing of the police officer who fired the taser shot that killed Mr. Hair. In a February 27th letter to the City Manager, the leaders also asked for closer monitoring of those officers who are allowed to use the taser stun gun weapon.
I couldn’t agree more with this approach. Tasers are not being properly used because they’ve been aggressively marketed as a panacea for police officers. Taser International have made exaggerated claims concerning their utility and the police are responding to this marketing effort.