Following the release of the Rand Corp. report commissioned by the NYPD, much attention has been given to Tasers, the ballistic electrode-firing weapons meant as a less violent alternative than gunfire when dealing with life-threatening situations. Immediately, there are concerns the police will use Tasers as compliance tools. Just this past week, a Brooklyn man died after being shot with a Taser by a Long Island cop while trying to swallow a bag of cocaine.......

The New York Police Department intends to begin arming sergeants with Taser stun guns, which shoot a pair of electrodes at an intended target and disburses a disabling electric charge. The expressed purpose of the move is to try to prevent life-ending incidents where police are forced to shoot non-compliant citizens with bullets. Tasers have been available to NYPD sergeants since 1984, but their bulky design required that the non-lethal weapons be stored in the......