The Hendersonville Times-News has a local angle on a new Taser policy for law enforcement officers. It was enacted because a low-mental person died after being Tased to release his grip on a stop sign. Tasers now may only be used when it is too late. This is but the latest in a series of new rules to unarm the law-abiding and the law-enforcing, and allow weapon use only by those reckless enough not to follow common sense or existing law.
[Henderson County] Sheriff Charles McDonald is concerned that the new policy has created a false narrative about Tasers being used as an instrument that can result in serious injury.
“A Taser in fact is to be used to keep an officer from having to resort to baton strikes or to other (uses of force that) could be harming or temporarily crippling injuries, like a broken knee or elbow,” he said. “The whole purpose of a Taser is to avoid hard hands onto a suspect.”
McDonald is worried that the policy change could mean more instances in which an officer would have “to go hands-on with suspects” in order to get them to comply.
