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.
Nonsensical bullshit has everything to do with what you post.
I understand your point about the difficulty of mistaking the weapons, but I can’t tell if you are saying you think it shouldn’t happen or probably didn’t happen. So… a few quick questions:
-Do you think she knew she was holding a pistol while shouting “Taser! Taser! Taser!”?
-If so, do you have a theory as to why she shouted “Taser!” while knowingly holding a pistol?
-And finally, do you think that she intentionally fired or that it was an accidental discharge?
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Either way it’s bad. She meant to shoot him and covered it up by shouting taser.
She doesn’t know her weapons or where they are and should not be allowed to carry a gun.
Manslaughter
Manslaughter, the only difference is 1 or 2 - they picked 2.
How convenient for the human authority figures…
Well, I also alluded to her likely convincing herself in the midst of an irrational-fear panic moment that she had grabbed her taser, so when she shouted “Taser!” a few times, she further deepened what is now a full-on delusional episode. She’s probably not even visually confirming at this point. By now she can only see/believe it’s a Taser. And so she pulled the trigger expecting a snap, not a bang… or so we say, if we accept her account. It was not an accidental discharge. She maintains she intended to shoot, just not that weapon.
And if she knew good and well it was a gun? That’s probably not possible to prove. She declared she thought it was a taser, and we can’t prove otherwise. We can only hold her accountable for her actions. In this case, apparently, a tragic and deadly failure of… whatever you’d call it. Judgement? Competency? Temperament?
She now stands rightly accused of manslaughter. Whether that leads to a conviction or not remains to be seen, but that same excuse of “I thought it was the taser” has been used more than a few times successfully as a defense, so… it remains to be seen.
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I won’t disagree with that at all. I’d fully support it. Only bring guns when they’re needed, and in a limited role. I’m truly weary of extrajudicial summary execution becoming so normalized. Even beyond the racial considerations. That anyone could have the authority to end my life (without consequence) at the slightest provocation? That rankles, for sure… when they’re always packing, it goes that way too easily.
It’s also easier to depend more on de-escalation when you’re not armed with lethal weapons. It kind of forces one’s hand.
It depends so much on local policies and training. Here in Boise I’ve only had two encounters with the police, and they were exceptionally polite, non-threatening and helpful on both occasions. In one case, I had a car breakdown and the cops got out and helped me push it out of traffic. I wasn’t cited. The other time I had some kids messing about on the property late one night, and called for backup… ;). They were there in minutes, and didn’t grief the kids too badly. Just sent them on their way with a mild scolding. Those weren’t white kids either, by the way…
For general policing here, they really take a more community-centric approach. They are generally non-threatening. We have a couple of tough neighborhoods though, and a problem with methamphetamine, and those cops are tough as hell. But again, they don’t treat the perps harshly. They tend to treat the citizenry with respect, regardless… they realize it’s an illness more than a crime. Of course, that’s not 100% but it’s far better than most places in the US I’ve lived… almost entirely the result of good policy, I suspect.
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Certainly not beyond a reasonable doubt.
“I thought it was the taser” is basically the predicate to the manslaughter 2 charge. If prosecutors thought they could make a case that she used her service weapon deliberately, she would be charged with murder. Per the manslaughter statute, the questions at her trial are going to be:
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Whether she acted with “culpable negligence” in pulling and firing her gun instead of her taser;
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Whether in doing so, she consciously took “chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another.”
I would answer yes to both of those.
I think we’re in pretty close agreement on this. I’ve had a hard time reconciling the suggestion (in the press and elsewhere) that she knew it was her pistol with the fact that she shouted “Taser!”
That just didn’t make sense to me – she would be intentionally ending her career for no apparent gain.