Aust: Stun guns kill, shouldn't be for riot police

Stun guns kill and should not be in the hands of riot police

Premier Iemma should call off a planned trial of electric stun guns by NSW riot police because far from being 'non lethal' Amnesty reports 103 people have been killed by them in North America, says Greens MP and Justice spokesperson Lee Rhiannon.

"There is no independent research showing Tasers are safe but a lot of hard evidence that they kill," says Ms Rhiannon.

"Wires which discharge 50,000 volts of electric current through copper probes in a person's skin are obviously dangerous.

"Stun guns have been shown to be particularly lethal for people with pre-existing heart conditions.

"Taser guns will not make our streets safer. This is just further evidence of Iemma's law and order approach.

"NSW Police introduced capsicum spray as a self defence tool but before long it was turned into another police weapon.

"We don't want a repeat of that trend. The government should ban Tasers from our streets, not expand their use," Ms Rhiannon said.

The Amnesty report is available at

http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=1E588837194B6F6385256FD60068C20A

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