Cleveland Plain Dealer: Police say shock devices didn't work

A story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer illustrates why non-lethal sidearms are not adequate substitutes for the exercise of Ohioans' constitutional right to carry a firearm for their defense & security.

02/04/03
Karen Farkas
Plain Dealer Reporter

Akron - Police are trying to find out why Taser weapons did not disable suspects in two recent cases. One suspect was subsequently shot and killed, and the other escaped before being caught.

Police plan to send one of the Tasers back to the manufacturer after failing to determine why the non-lethal weapon, which stuns a person with 50,000 volts of electricity, had no effect on a man threatening to injure a woman. Officers said the wires made contact with Jackson, but there was no incapacitation.

When the weapon did not subdue Ronald Jackson, police said, he ran into a bedroom with a butcher knife and was shot and killed by police when he tried to stab the woman.

Three weeks later, on Jan. 29, another Taser had no effect on a woman who began fighting with police after they told her that her car would be towed because she had a suspended driver's license. Cathy Crosier drove away, but she was arrested as she pulled into the driveway of her East Avenue home.

Commentary by Chad D. Baus:
Stun guns are often suggested by CCW opponents as a replacement for the use of a firearm when a citizen feels they need to defend themself. These are just two examples why a stun gun is never an adequate replacement for a firearm in a potentially lethal confrontation with someone who means you harm.

Click here for the full story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.