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4-23-05

 

Taser type weapons have been in use by law enforcement for some time in Lake County, with their initial introduction taking place at the county jail ten years ago. The Tasers in use at the jail are somewhat different than the devices fielded by beat cops, as the Correctional officers are equipped with direct-contact and hand-held shield style weapons, which generally are of a lower voltage and meant to repel rather than incapacitate. Beat cops in the city of Clearlake (and Sheriff‚s deputies in the near future) carry a true stun-gun, the popular Taser International X-26, which can be used as a direct contact weapon and also has the ability to fire it‚s two electrode darts up to 21 feet away. Just this last week the Sheriffs department bought 76 of the X-26 Tasers (at around $1,000 apiece), which means that local Taser usage is bound to increase dramatically in the near future. While there are clear benefits to giving officers another generally non-lethal tool to use in order to gain compliance from suspects, there are serious downsides to their use that many, including our local law enforcement agencies, have been slow to acknowledge. Instead, police departments tend to focus primarily on the potential for reduced injuries to their officers and to a lesser degree harm to suspects they Taser, and the reduced costs associated with fewer workmen‚s comp claims and possibility of less lawsuits from suspects roughed-up during their arrests using more physical means.

 

According to a recently issued report from Amnesty International, 103 deaths in the United States and Canada have been linked to the use of Taser-type weapons since June 2001. Also, in at least nine cases coroners have ruled that Tasers are the cause of death, according to a recent story in the Arizona Republic. So while Taser International still claims their stun guns are non-lethal (a position so dubious that it‚s triggered a recent federal investigation by the SEC), a growing body of evidence strongly suggests they aren‚t, and fatal reactions are not the only concern regarding their use. It has been found by some police departments deploying the devices that officers are sometimes tempted to use them as an alternative to spending time verbally persuading a suspect into compliance. In fact, some departments are so concerned with the overuse issue that they make every officer authorized to carry the weapon endure a jolt from it, in order that they more fully understand what it means to be on the receiving end of the device. The 50,000 volts from the Tasers don‚t always do the job either, as was evidenced by the recent event in the city of Clearlake, where after three jolts from the Taser the suspect was still capable of taking the weapon away from the officers and then attempted to use it against them. The suspect (who died minutes after his multiple Taserings), was a textbook case of an inappropriate use of the weapon, since the he had two major risk factors that should have precluded a single stun-gun use-let alone risking the multiple stuns.

 

One risk factor was his acute level of methamphetamine intoxication (which was likely rather apparent, especially to those who deal with bingeing tweakers on a regular basis), the other being his moderate level of heart disease, which of course was something the arresting officers could not have known about . Other probable risk factors include old age and obesity, central nervous system disorders, pregnancies and youth. Suspects around the country as young as six years old have been Tasered by Police in the United States, and persons as old as 82 have been zapped as well. These are indications that at times some poor judgment has been shown by officers in the field, which isn‚t surprising considering the sometimes spotty guidelines their departments have provided them with. The city of Clearlake has it‚s own eight point list of restrictions, which is as follows (in an edited format).

 

#1. Suspects must be within the 21 foot range of the weapon.

 

#2. Users must be trained and follow department policy.

 

#3. The Taser is not a substitute for deadly force.

 

#4. Use a Taser or firearm-but not both at the same time.

 

#5. Don‚t intentionally fire at the head, neck or genitals.

 

#6. Don‚t use a Taser around flammable substances (like crank labs and some types of pepper spray).

 

#7. No Taser use on handcuffed suspects, unless they are endangering others.

 

#8. No use of Tasers on passive demonstrators, or as means of intimidation.

 

There are no restrictions on Clearlake officers Tasering old folks, children, pregnant women, the obese, multiple Taserings (the single most dangerous risk factor), those under the influence of drugs, or using the Tasers on misdemeanor suspects fleeing arrest. The Sheriffs department is still developing it‚s guidelines at this point, but has already made the same mistake as the Clearlake PD by repeatedly referring to the devices as „non-lethal‰ in itŒs official references and public statements regarding the weapons. With judicious use of the devices injuries can almost certainly be reduced to both deputies and suspects, but until police departments acknowledge the limitations of Tasers there are certain to be more tragic consequences associated with their use by law enforcement. There is also a liability issue as well, because so many departments use policies and training programs that don‚t reflect the most current data, and as Taser use mushrooms the legal issues are bound to increase proportionally .

 

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