Supplementary > November 13, 2006

Passive Resisters

Taser stun guns used on non-violent protesters.

By Silja J.A. Talvi

Things turned ugly at an Oct. 9 protest in Pittsburgh, when demonstrators converged to protest Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s attendance at a fundraiser for Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) Protesters cornered Bush, chanting, “We don’t want you here.” Though the protesters were entirely nonviolent, police responded by using Tasers on two of them.

While Taser’s materials have always focused on the need for “less-than-lethal” weapons to take down even the most violent, intoxicated and determined of assailants, the company also advocates use of their weapons on far less dangerous populations.

“Crowd Control: Passive Resisters,” a section of a CD-ROM Taser distributed to law enforcement agencies, intersperses footage of protesters at various demonstrations with instruction on how Taser stun gun probes can be used “to separate linked protesters.”

The CD explains that probes delivering the 50,000 volts can be taped to the backs of “subjects,” ostensibly to prevent removal by the protesters. The stun guns can also be used directly against pressure points on the skin (in “drive mode”) to “gain access to hands when subjects are not linked to others.”

The materials also include suggestions on how to shape department policy if your local police department is currently prohibited from using Tasers on passive resisters. The “factors for affecting policy changes” include working on the “perception” of the stun guns; “defensibility” of the use of the weapons; and seeking “supervisory approval.”

• subscribe to print magazine

  First Name Last Name Home Address City State Zip Code Email

  2-year, 24-issues, $44.95 1-year, 12-issue, $24.95

• stay in touch with our email newsletter

  Subscribe to our regular weekly e-mail newsletter. It's packed with updates on recent and upcoming stories, events, campaigns and things every progressive should be informed about.

   

• email this article to a friend

  Your Name Your Email Recipient Email

  Personal message Thought you might be interested in this article from In These Times.

   

  Please help us prevent spam by verifying the word you see in the image above

  Send to multiple recipients. Just separate each email address with a comma.

• Reader Comments

  There are no comments on this article yet. Start the discussion below.

• register a new account »Posting Security

  To participate in our forums, please register for a free account.

  Username Password

    Remember me
  

  Retreive lost password »

Member Login

Also by Silja J.A. Talvi

• Reporting From The Ground Up
  The power of street reporting
• Seattle Battles the Homeless
  
• Women Behind Bars
  War on drugs leads to explosion of female incarcerations
• Tupperware and Tasers
  
• Suffering Secondary Trauma
  Finding Iris Chang: Friendship, Ambition and the Loss of an Extraordinary Mind explores the complexity of Chang's psychology as it formed around the demands of her profession and her personal struggles stemming from her writing about The Rape of Nanking
• Justice Denied
  One man stands between Flozelle Woodmore and the "free" world--California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger