manslaughter 2, but even that is huge.
Which is why they carry them on their off side, makes a special effort to take them out of the holster. Part of the blame has to go on the lack of training - many hours every year for a gun and almost nothing for everything else they carry.
Cops have been known to deliberately act like there was danger, as in shouting “he’s attacking me” then shooting someone and the “available evidence” shows there was no attack. Easy to go from that to “taser”. Cops murder black men every day so yes, it’s likely. Especially in that town which has one of the highest incidents of black death by cop.
Deliberately.
So you’re saying we should work hard to change the SC decision to make it legal to shoot a fleeing suspect when you decide they should? Now that’s the defemination of silly. Are they supposed to call you first?
for your reading pleasure…warning, includes actual facts.
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Here’s the link to access the warrant. It’s not for a traffic ticket. It’s for carrying a pistol and fleeing.
“CARRY/POSSESS PISTOL W/OUT PERMIT - PUBLIC PLACE - GROSS MISDEMEANOR; FLEEING A PEACE OFFICER BY A MEANS OTHER THAN A MOTOR VEHICLE” (go to state records at https://publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us/documentsearch and search for 27-CR-21-4400)
I’m not sure why you think it is a traffic warrant, but that’s just not true.
Not important, but equally wrong. Frank Herbert wrote that, not Asimov.
The Litany Against Fear (from Dune)
“I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
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Obviously.
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That could be a true sentence for any situation. Humans often screw up under pressure. Especially when they’re not properly trained for high pressure situations. Which cops are supposed to be trained for. So it’s not a very good excuse in my view.
Right out of the gate, this might be a good time to standardize the chest-mounted taser holster. There’s no mistaking that location for your gun holster. And maybe make sure that tasers have at least a few brightly colored parts to help differentiate them? Oh wait, they already have that! 
I still maintain this though… no matter how similar you try to make them seem, they are not alike. I’ve used both tasers and handguns. I’ve worn both. I could never imagine myself aiming down the barrel of a GUN long enough to shout “Taser!” three times, and still somehow mistake that GUN for the wide, plastic, multi-pronged tip of a Taser. Just frickin’ never… and if officers are actually getting so wound up they fuck up like that then a) they simply don’t have the temperament, and need to find a different job and/or b) their training is ridiculously inadequate.
I suppose if you operate from a state of high-anxiety and irrational fear on a daily basis, and the shit actually hits the fan, it’s possible to fuck up all over the place. If that’s how it is, then we really need to revisit the whole mess and find some reforms that make a difference… probably major reforms in how we view and practice policing altogether.
btw, here’s what a taser should look like. If LEOs are carrying models that are easily confused with a gun, then that’s the #1 problem, and it’s easily solved…
If it’s impossible to mistake a handgun for a taser, then I guess we don’t need to train the cops on the difference or take any precautions against them getting mixed up.
Well it would be sad if I did by mistake, like confusing a taser with a gun.
I didn’t say it’s impossible. Especially if, as you say, they are nearly indistinguishable in a high-pressure situation…
I edited my post to add a picture of a taser, and a solution to the entire problem. If they look like guns, that is the problem. Period. Easy solve.
The bright yellow patch on the side is supposed to help clue the user in as to what weapon they’re holding. Guns don’t have those brightly colored bits. If your “weapon” doesn’t have the bright yellow side feature then it’s NOT A TASER.
And seriously, imagine yourself now aiming down a 9mmm Glock sight, and mistaking it for this chunky-looking thing. I just can’t see myself making that mistake, ever.
I accept that humans make mistakes. I have a really hard time accepting this one at face value.
And seriously, imagine aiming down the sight of the barrell when your target is 2 ft. in front of you.
She had time to shout Taser! three times… many seconds between drawing and shooting.
Picture above vs this…? Everything about it is different when you’re aiming it. Everything.
As I’ve agreed, peeps can make mistakes under pressure. But this is a bridge too far for me. Don’t look a the similarities. Look at the differences. Holding and aiming those are night and day experiences. You should try it sometime. You’ll end up agreeing with me 
That’s probably why she’s facing a manslaughter charge, no?
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Yep…
On the broader topic, it is pretty stupid to make them so close in design that anyone could ever make that mistake…
Time for serious upgrades. All-yellow tasers from now on, yes?
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Well I’d rather make step 1 to just go ahead and take away their firearms except upon special need, but yeah – make the tasers 100% day-glo yellow and go back to the original design that was like a flashlight instead of a pistol.
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You said this. Either defend it or don’t.
Don’t post nonsensical bullshit lying that has nothing to do with what I posted.
Fascinating. Why are you addressing this to me as if I was disputing or arguing something? Perhaps you’re still upset over being shamed again.