erm...
Not that you can see it very well but here's a picture of me on duty posted online by my force! So they're not that worried about publishing images etc...
http://www.southyorks.police.uk/workforus/specials/history
Posts by McFlurry
13 publicly visible posts • joined 26 Feb 2009
Police, Cameras, Pixellation
O2 data fails, again
O2 coughs to data failure
Oz cops in Taser fatality
Friday 12th June 2009 12:15 GMT 
appropriate
Sounds more like the bloke died of shock in which case being dealt with by the police at all could have caused it. Don't forget that here in the UK our main methods of compliance are hands (holding, punching etc), PAVA/CS Gas or Baton each of which has some very nasty effects. It's quite easy to severely injure people by punching them, PAVA/CS/Captor etc can trigger alergic reactions in people (if someone suffers from severe asthma for example which is a damned site more common than people with pacemakers or implanted AED's) and baton's can break bones and cause internal bleeding without realising it, let alone having to stike someone in a red area which could kill on impact.
People die when they come into contact with the police because there is 'safe' way of subdueing people, there isn't a magic spiders web you can eject on someone. When faced with arrest people struggle, people play very dirty to avoid arrest, which gets much worse when they are drunk, on drugs, have learning difficulties, are built like the proverbial outside WC or are female (women are the worst!). We have techniques for dealing with people who've been gassed but still won't give up, causing more danger to us and them.
Taser is a relitively 'safe' method as it's visual impact is huge, people know that that red dot on there chest is going to turn into pain followed by hitting the deck and in the vast majority of cases thats as far as it goes (here in the UK at least). Where an officer has to then fire the weapon in the majority (99+%) the effect is a positive one, dropping the detained person long enough for them to be restrained. If two or three people worldwide have a bad outcome then maybe it's something that has to be lived with.
If confronted with a taser equiped police officer, comply!
Mines the day-glow one...
Scientists: Tasers work, but we don't know how
Tuesday 26th May 2009 09:25 GMT
I don't get this...
Tasers are lower on the scale than CS Gas or a baton, both of which UK police forces carry and use on a daily basis. People who are very well built or are high on adrenalin or drugs often don't feel the baton strike so you're forced to go for riskier areas, people often take a CS/Pava hit and still go for you and with CS there is always the chance that it'll effect you and all your collegues. Tazer's just seem like a sensible option.
But because the taser fires projectiles it's seen as the scariest thing since a 9mm, it's less likely to give you broken bones than a baton, it's less likely to make you go blind/have a reaction than gas, it's less likely to break your cheek bone than a well placed punch and when you're dealing with firearms officers it's less likely to give you broken ribs (they don't use hands just kick, they can't let go of their weapons) or even less likely to get you shot.
It is just another tool and it works. Tazer drawn, red dot on... "look at your chest, if you don't get down now I will shock you there with 50000volts" ... subject hits deck quickly. That's generally how it works, without even having to pull the trigger because people know what it does.
The only downside I've seen so far is the likelyhood to set people on fire. The propelants for the CS and Pava used by law enforcement is alcohol based, combined with taser can give a nice toasted subject. Pava2 soon to be taken up by some forces uses a non-combustable material.
Women coppers eager to drop trousers
Friday 22nd May 2009 15:34 GMT 
here here...
... I know lots of female officers who just do not get on with womens trousers. One friend tried some on and it made her look like she was wearing trousers far too big for her. In the end she got some mens trousers and the tayloress took some length out of them.
What is more worrying is our force (oh it's my part time job by the way) has done away with male and female stabbies. Now they all get unisex ones which are too short for the blokes and don't give enough room for the women. I'm worried I might end up with one when I reach the use by dates on the plates in my one.
Paris doesn't want saggy pants...
Biting the hand that feeds IT
