Back in June, I whined about the increasing use of police tasers. While the police taser is a useful, less than lethal alternative to using a firearm, it is increasingly being used for people that are simply uncooperative. Now the ACLU is calling on police departments to restrict their use.

"The Taser is just a cleaner, safer way to do business," Detective Bill Veteran, Fremont police spokesman, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "I've been in all kinds of wrestling matches, I've been pepper-sprayed, I've been hit by a baton, I've seen people get bit by a police dog."

But civil rights groups are alarmed that some agencies allow officers liberal use of Tasers rather than limiting their use to situations where a life is in danger.

Over the past five years, more than 70 suspects nationwide have died after being shocked by Tasers, including 10 in August, according the American Civil Liberties Union.

There is no question that policemen should have the tools with which to defend themselves. But they lowered the threshold from using tasers when their life is in danger, to people who are simply uncooperative but pose no real danger. I think that some policemen are ignorant to the dangers that tasers pose, and view them as 'non-lethal' rather than 'less than lethal'. Once you convince yourself that a taser isn't likely to cause any permanent damage, you're more than likely to whip it out when someone's rude to you.