Tasers are a lethal weapon, just like guns. Police should not have tasers if they are supposed to be non-lethal means of taking down a suspect.

I would imagine being violently electrocuted is an awful way to die. This is especially sad because the man was a patient at a mental health facility, not a dangerous criminal.

Also, I have never heard of "dehydration due to diabetes." That sounds like nonsense to me.

Rhiannon Maynard

* * *

If you have never heard of this, don’t just dismiss it because of
such. How about doing some research for your answers instead of
jumping the gun? It’s called Diabetes insipidus. Look it up; you will
be amazed at what you find.

Curtis Penney

* * *

Even a cursory Google search of "dehydration" and "diabetes" reveals that there is indeed a connection. The Merck Manuals site, for instance,
states, "Certain disorders such as diabetes mellitus, diabetes
insipidus, and Addison's disease can increase the excretion of urine
and thereby lead to dehydration." Other reputable websites provide
further connections and diabetes-related causes of dehydration.

It's a common requirement of law enforcement agencies that every
officer who carries a taser must himself be tased. That's certainly
true of the Chattanooga Police Department; I've seen the video of my
husband, two other supervisors, and Chief Cooper being tased. They're
all still alive and not even remotely "violently electrocuted," so
apparently Ms. Maynard's assertion that "tasers are a lethal weapon"
is flawed at best.

Patty Streip

* * *

In response to Ms. Maynard's opinion about diabetic dehydration, she either is not a diabetic or if she is she controls her blood sugar very well. Ms. Maynard, one of the first signs of diabetes is increased thirst and urine output. When one's blood sugar is high, the body starts using fluid to try and remove the excess sugar, thus becoming dehydrated. The longer this goes on the worse things become. If left untreated the fluid must be replaced, usually by an IV.

I should know; I am a diabetic and take 6-8 shots a day just to keep my blood sugar under control. I have become dehydrated and needed to be taken to the emergency room for fluid replacement. Next time please don't spout off about something you know absolutly nothing about.

Craig Collier

* * *

I think that all of the responses to Ms. Maynard opinion are absolutely ridiculous and off subject. Her opinion is that the tasers played a part in the death of the mental patient. There must have been other ways to subdue the patient without using a taser on a man that clearly has a medical condition. Just because you have a device such as taser doesn't mean you have to use it.

I believe the that the ones that tased the patient did not intend to cause his death, but it appears that it may have, pending an autopsy. I would also suspect that the ones that tased the patient feel awful and regretful that the patient died after being tased.

But everyone that has responded is beating up on Mrs. Maynard for her lack of knowledge about diabetes, when everyone should be trying to understand that maybe some other efforts to subdue someone who is disorderly could be done without the use of tasers. Just because officers have to be tased and live through the experience doesn't mean someone with poor health will.

Also Ms. Maynard's opinion that tasers are lethal is not flawed at best; otherwise the mental patient would still be alive.

Donald Carroll
Soddy Daisy

* * *

For all the armchair quarterbacks,
I would recommend applying for the police department, successfully
passing the rigorous 20 week academy (which includes being tasered and
maced), getting sworn in by the city and state officials, and then
working the streets of this town. Only then can one provide an
educated and experienced opinion on the "other ways to subdue a
combative mental patient." I guarantee the first time you get
punched, kicked, bit or spit on by someone you will change your mind.

Jay Stoll
Hixson

* * *

Regarding the diabetic mental patient who died after being subdued with a taser, ask yourself this one overriding question: what's the big deal? I'm not saying he didn't love his family, and I'm sure he had someone who loved him and now mourn him as well. But the cold hard fact is that here's a crazy guy who obviously couldn't function in society in a productive and additive way. Let's face it: he was a drain on our precious resources and a wasteful use of our tax dollars. Logically, we're all better off without him.

The mental patient who died isn't a lot different from other sick people in our country. I wonder if all the outrage concerning this issue would arise a few years from now. Or would the outrage be that he was allowed to live for so long before someone put him out of society's misery?

Look at it from the perspective of the societal issue. As a non-functional citizen, he wasn't different from Terry Schiavo, and the press and liberals in general supported her murder as food and water were withheld from her on orders from her husband, who had moved in with and had kids with another woman at the time. And certainly it would have been better if this poor man had never been born.

A lot of fuss could have been avoided if he'd just been aborted, which is another form of murder at an earlier stage of development. Unrestricted abortion is a good thing, right? Here's another example.

This entire issue really calls into question the health care insurance reform debate before the country at the present time. In a system of socialized medicine, which reform would produce in the way of the "public option" with rationed care a la reducing coverage for mammograms and pap smears, surely mentally ill people (drastic drains on society) have no reason to live other than to vote Democratic.

Look at the British system for guidance. Unless you meet certain criteria, you don't get renal dialysis, meaning you die. Unless you meet criteria, you don't get certain treatments for liver or breast cancer, so you die. Logically, we can expect the same here. If your child has autism or Down's Syndrome, why should precious medical resources be wasted on him? If your mother needs a hip replacement at age 80, is that really a good use of tax dollars? If your elderly father has Alzheimer's disease, wouldn't it be wiser to just withhold care since he doesn't know what's going on anyway and will never get better?

The interest in the tragic death of this man is an excellent example of the conflicting ideals we have concerning health care. We need to decide if every life is precious or if some are less precious and not worthy of all care at all expense. This seems to be what health care reform is about. To ration and withhold care from some, or not. That's the question.

Jim Nichols

* * *

To quote Mr. Beck.....I believe his statement is "silly and dangerous"
regarding tasers.

While I do not know the size of the pupils fighting, most of the high
school students are very large,and in some cases are twice the size of
an adult. What recourse do the SRO's have?

1. They had been asked to break it up, stop, etc. and they refused.
2. It would be dangerous to step between the two and heaven forbid if
you touched one of them. (law suit)
3. Do you pull a gun on them and ask them to stop? (law suit)
4. Do you just let them fight it out and suffer the consequences? (what?
you just stood there and did nothing?)

The teachers, principals, and SRO's still have their hands tied. I am not
in favor of tasers, but before I made a statement about it being silly
I think I would be offering help.
Maybe Mr. Beck would like to fill in for a while; then lets see what he
has to say.

E.A. Genter
genter1134@aol.com