Most of us have a certain level of decency that keeps us from saying things that shouldn’t be said in the wake of a tragedy.

When the crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin died I remember a badly timed (but hilarious) routine by comedian Norm MacDonald on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, in which Norm discusses the reaction of the crocodiles who were most likely bitter that Irwin was killed by a “fruity fish” and not one of them.

But while his routine was humorous, although making light of a tragedy only a few days after it happened, Taser International Inc., the company that makes stun guns for police use including the one that was used in the Robert Dziekanski incident, has released a product that made me seriously question the integrity of their business plan.

Taser International released a stun gun yesterday that can shoot three times instead of having to be re-charged after each use like older models, in the same week that an inquiry into Dziekanski’s death decided that stun guns should have stricter limits.

What are they thinking? As far as I know about the Dziekanski case, the fact that he was shot multiple times with the “conducted energy weapon” most likely contributed to his death.

I have to say, shame on you Taser International. I feel like the timing of the release of this product is horribly disrespectful to the memory of Mr. Dziekanski, not to mention his surviving family. Your company must be aware of the issue, and I would assume you were asked to participate in the B.C. inquiry; if not, you were surely informed that one of your products was involved in the death of a man.

This man’s death was a tragedy, and his family will forever be affected by the decision those police officers made on the day Mr. Dziekanski died. While the inquiry is still going, Taser should hold off on the release of its weapons out of respect for the family and the victim, even if the guns are eventually found to be perfectly fine, acceptable instruments in policing.

What do you think? See our website, at www.dailytownsman.com to comment.