[inafield]

Why a taser? Couldn't they just slap her in handcuffs and escort her out of the store?

Protocol. It took awhile before the second officer arrived. She resisted arrest for 15 minutes. The alternative at that point is to either use a club or hand-to-hand combat.

Legally (depending on the jurisdiction), and IANAL, only the taser is considered to be less-than-lethal. Clubs are lethal. Hand-to-hand combat is often considered lethal force and undesirable because of the risks to both the officers and the uncooperative subject.

I have two relatives working as either guards or wardens in maximum security prisons. By law they use tasers first. Any usage of hand-to-hand or extendable batons is treated the same as if it were a gun. Less paperwork and investigation with tasers. Maybe it is the same in Boston.

[greenyoda]

Another, less violent alternative would have been to step back and wait for the second cop to show up. This woman wasn't being a danger to anyone, so waiting another five minutes to arrest her wouldn't have been a problem. If she would have left the store before the second cop showed up, the problem would have been solved (the store owners wanted her to leave the store).

Tasers can definitely be lethal. People have died of heart attacks after being shot with tasers. And maybe different protocols are called for when dealing with a woman in a store as opposed to inmates in a maximum security prison.