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Bernard Kerik, President Bush's first choice to lead the Homeland Security Department, exercised stock options of $6.2 million he received from Taser International, which sold stun guns to the department - and seeks more business with it. It’s all about the money. Maybe the rush to get the newest technology on the streets is outpacing the ability of public officials to put in place the safeguards necessary to protect the public. Maybe it’s all about the money. The public, who is paying for these items, is being told that TASERs will be used as a safe, non-lethal alternative to guns. But in reality, they are being used in situations where police would never use lethal force. In fact, according to Amnesty International, the data shows that TASERs are used on unarmed suspects in 80% of the cases, including verbal non-compliance (36%), and only 3% of the time in cases involving potential “deadly assault". Their report details 74 TASER-related deaths that have occurred in the United States and Canada since June 2001. Amnesty International USA will also release information documenting more than 80 TASER-related deaths since 1999. More shocking is the fact that more than 60 percent of these deaths have happened in the last year, from November 2003 to November 2004. TASERs have become the most prevalent enforcement tool in some departments. They have been used against unruly schoolchildren, mentally disturbed patients, intoxicated individuals; unarmed suspects in misdemeanor crimes and people who simply fail to comply immediately with a “command." [more]