New York police shoot woman dead after taser fails

The limits of the taser: shot after three shocks

Three shocks from an electrical device were the New York police's first response. They were not enough to subdue the woman, who according to reports had previously stabbed two people, one of them fatally. The subsequent shooting with a service weapon has peine the debate over the effectiveness of so-called less-lethal weapons and over protocols for dealing with individuals whose body build reduces the effect of the current.

Why didn't the taser stop the woman?

The woman received up to three shocks before officers opted to fire. The most widely circulated explanation points to a layer of body fat that can neutralize the electromuscular shock, preventing the motor system from locking up. It is not a phenomenon documented in the manuals, but similar cases have been reported in the United States involving people with very large body mass. The question is not trivial: if a taser fails to do its job, the officer is left without an intermediate tool between words and the gun.

Criticism of the protocol and defense of the shooting

Two readings have dominated the analysis of the incident. Those who question the police response argue that the officers could have called for backup or used tranquilizer darts before resorting to lethal force. The opposing position holds that, since the woman had already caused one death, the threat was real enough to justify firing. The case comes alongside other recent incidents of people killed by gunfire during police interventions in New York, which increases pressure on the police department to review its procedures.

The autopsy and the internal investigation will determine whether the response could have been avoided. Meanwhile, one uncomfortable fact remains: three electrical shocks, zero effect. That image, of a less-lethal weapon that is not so for every body, is the one the political and policing debate has long refused to fully confront.