Routine call shouldn't end in a stun-gun shooting

 A few things to remember about the "less lethal" force of a Taser:

It works by incapacitating a person with pain that is temporary but quite real.

It hurls electricity and small metal barbs into human flesh.

While the stun effect is quickly shaken off by most people, dozens of individuals -- often intoxicated or with an underlying medical problem -- have died as a result.

Though much safer than a gun, Tasers are far from benign. In the hands of a law enforcement officer, they should be used only when necessary to prevent violence.

With that threshold in mind, it's hard to imagine how a Sarasota man came to be shot with a Taser last July at his own home.

As Todd Ruger reported in the Herald-Tribune last week, a deputy had gone to the home to check out a complaint of loud music. The homeowner quickly corrected the problem, but the deputy used his Taser on him in the tense aftermath.

Because the man is suing, the Sheriff's Department won't comment beyond the deputy's written report, which said the homeowner "took an aggressive tone and a fighting stance," closing his fists. But witness accounts suggest that the deputy was unreasonably confrontational.

Exactly what the truth is remains to be seen. But something is wrong when a minor call -- which could and should have been resolved peacefully -- ends like this one.

The 50,000-volt Taser is supposed to defuse danger. Law enforcement officers should reserve its use for situations far more volatile than a midsummer evening's noise complaint.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007701230515