News: Barnstable police take shocking step

Reporter Hilary Russ of the Cape Cod Times wrote this article on Barnstable police use and testing of Tasers -- on themselves.

In a way, that's admirable, but the fact remains that there are serious concerns about the safety of Tasers. As the article says, there have been no deaths from Tasers in Massachusetts, but there have been deaths elsewhere, and concerns that the "non-lethality" of Tasers encourages their use.

News: Gardner sold on Tasers

The Worcester Telegram quotes Ron Madnick, director of our Worcester County chapter, in a story about plans to equip police in Gardner with Tasers by Nov. 1.

Madnick took issue with the safety of this supposedly "non-lethal" weapon: between 1999 and 2004, there were 71 deaths associated with Taser use.