Greetings. Here's yet another example of cops who just love their Tasers. At a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Colorado, police tased a man in front of his children when his was supposedly uncooperative after being accused of not paying at the salad bar.

As you might imagine, this caused quite a reaction among the other patrons and children at the supposedly family-friendly establishment.

This is but another in a seemingly endless series of inappropriate Taser incidents (some involving children being tased). At least in this case, unlike some others, the victim didn't die.

The basic problem is that the presence of the Taser has encouraged police to use the potentially dangerous weapon in situations where they easily could have managed without the use of any weapons at all. Yes, the Taser is usually less lethal than a gun. But then again, we'd like to assume that nobody would be shot to death as an accused buffet thief.

The Taser has become a convenient "shortcut" for cops to inappropriately use in a wide variety of situations, where the results are sometimes both tragic and unnecessary. Combined with the ways in which some of these devices can also be used as convenient torture instruments (with care, they won't even leave marks), it's time for broad legislation controlling their use.

Tasers can kill. They are weapons, not toys.

--Lauren--