Pennsylvania town plans to arm school police with Tasers

What are these people thinking, given the evidence out there that grown adults are getting Tased to death by trigger-happy, poorly trained law enforcement who electrocute first and ask questions later?

Uniontown school officials intend to draft a Taser policy for their school police officers that might be discussed as soon as the school board's Aug. 18 meeting and could be considered for adoption next month.

The school's director of security says giving the district's three officers the option of using a Taser is more about providing the safest possible conditions for children, staff and visitors than as a weapon "directed at the students."

Concerned parents and residents questioned the necessity of the devices at a public meeting Wednesday night, but a Cleveland consultant said in an interview Thursday that a Taser can be a "useful extra tool" for authorities as an alternative to a firearm in gaining control in a tense situation.

Well-known forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht gave a thumbs-up to sizzling teens into submission:

"Once you have the Taser and it's been accepted and legitimized ... I see nothing wrong with officers being able to use it on teenager."

The problem here is that over and over as we've seen in so many posts on the matter, is that situations that used to be contained by deft negotiation now result in a Tasing; officers simply whip out the stun gun to order compliance, not to stop a truly dangerous situation where a gun might have been used. Imagine school police responding to anti-LGBT bullying in the halls of a school out in Red State America; who do you think is going to be on the receiving end of the electro-shock?

Let's go to the videotape of one of the latest egregious situations, a teen with a broken back Tased 19 times by police:

Related:

* The Blend Taser files

* Cops taser bride and groom at wedding

* NC: More freestyle law enforcement death-by-Taser

* 17-year-old killed by Taser over shoplifted Hot Pockets

* Florida: Wheelchair-bound woman Tased to death; Vermont: man Tased during seizure