Caution with Tasers

Regarding “Nonlethal force” (Editorial, June 22): This editorial, in advocating that San Francisco police officers be equipped with stun guns, glosses over several issues. The “shock to the body” that a Taser delivers is 50,000 volts of electricity. In 2014, when a Taser was used on a Kansas City, Mo., teenager during a traffic stop, it caused him to go into cardiac arrest and also suffer traumatic brain injury.

These “stun guns” also don’t always operate correctly, and need to be used within a distance of 15 to 25 feet (not exactly at “close quarters”) to be most effective. If the Taser is used too closely of course, this “nonlethal force” can indeed be as lethal as a gun. Herman Rivera, San Jose