Arming campus police with tasers would be a monumental mistake. In November of 2007, a United Nations committee said that the use of taser weapons can be a form of torture, in violation of the U.N. Convention Against Torture. According to Amnesty International, since June 2001, more than 320 individuals in the United States have died after being shocked by police tasers. Most of those individuals were not carrying a weapon.

Tasers are increasingly being used as a tool of routine force, rather than as an alternative to firearms. Police use tasers to subdue non-compliant or disturbed individuals who do not pose a serious danger to themselves or others. Amnesty International reports have documented that there are many cases where tasers have been used in violation of international standards which require that police use force only when strictly necessary, in proportion to the threat posed, only for as long as the threat exists and in a manner designed to minimize pain or injury. There are numerous documented and extremely disturbing instances where taser use has amounted to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. Tasers have also been put into the hands of police without comprehensive testing of their safety and their potential health risks.

I hope none of us will forget the incident in Gainesville, FL, on September 17, 2007, when Andrew Meyer questioned Senator John Kerry at a university forum. University of Florida police tried to escort him from the auditorium and later struck him with a taser for resisting arrest. Thankfully, Meyer survived his brush with the so-called "non-lethal" taser. I don't think that officials at the university will soon forget the national spotlight they were thrust into after the incident.

It is essential that anyone involved in this debate see actual footage of someone being tortured by a taser. I see no way that a reasonable person would put tasers in the hands of our campus police after witnessing this type of violence.

Here is a link to a video of Meyer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8ndctwAJmU.

This is a link to a video of a man, who dies as a result of this incident, being tased in an airport: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqdUhotL6Fw.

These are not isolated incidents. Log on to youtube, search for the word taser, and you will find all the evidence a reasonable person should need to condemn the use of tasers. I sincerely hope that PSU isn't seriously considering tasers as an option for campus police officers. Arming campus police with tasers would be a grave mistake on the part of university officials. Please do not put all of your students, faculty, staff, and police officers at risk.