A Shocking Controversy
The state should establish clear legal guidelines and training requirements for the use of Taser stun guns.
When consultants hired by the county to do a "cultural assessment" of the jail questioned the use of Tasers on prisoners, Sheriff Steve Oelrich's response, in effect, was: So what?
"The use of Tasers is an agency decision and policy," he retorted. "We will continue to use this management tool with regard to arrestees and inmates within the limits of the Levels of Resistance."
Oelrich's response begs two larger questions.
First, what are the appropriate limits of Taser use?
And second, who should establish those limits? Every sheriff and police chief on a department-by-department basis? Or state lawmakers?
Across the country, law enforcement agencies are having second thoughts about Tasers. Those stun guns - which fire electrified barbs that deliver a 50,000 volt shock - are deemed a non-lethal alternative to the use of firearms. And some 7,000 agencies now use them.
But as officers have come to rely more on Tasers and less on guns, questions about their use - or abuse - have arisen. Nationally, 140 people have died in recent years after being shocked by Tasers. Recent reports of Tasers being used on unruly students in public schools have elicited parental outrage. There is a growing concern that police officers, who hesitate to draw their pistols except in the most extreme situations, will resort to Taser use with much less provocation.
As Pulitzer/Bogard & Associates, the firm hired by the county to do the jail assessment, pointed out: "There is significant controversy throughout the country about this type of weapon . . . Jails throughout the country are either discontinuing the use of Tasers or re-evaluating their policies and procedures in light of published reports of serious injuries and deaths resulting from their use."
The concern is such that some critics are calling for an outright ban on the devices by law enforcement. But a more sensible solution is to combine better training with clear legal guidelines for stun gun use.
Recently, a respected national research group, the Police Executive Research Forum, recommended new limits and restrictions on Taser use. For instance, the group recommends that officers only be authorized to use Tasers when a suspect or prisoner is actively resisting arrest. Conversely, they should not be used on suspects who are passively resisting - say, by sitting on the ground - or refusing to obey orders.
Also, suspects should not be repeatedly shocked. Instead, after one shock, officers should evaluate suspects to determine if another dose is necessary. And all suspects who have been shocked should receive timely follow-up medical evaluation to check for heart problems or other adverse reactions.
The Florida Legislature will consider a bill regulating Taser use in the 2006 session. The Florida Police Benevolent Association has already announced its support of appropriate guidelines while defending Tasers as "an important law enforcement tool." The bill favored by the PBA calls on the state's Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission to set the standards and training requirements.
"By putting these requirements in the law itself, every law enforcement officer in the state - from Pensacola to Key West - would come under the same restrictions and be compelled to get the same training," says the PBA.
Stun gun devices are relatively new to law enforcement, and their use is preferable to firearms. But it's clear that the devices can also be misused and abused. Clear legal standards and training mandates are definitely in order.
http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200551117055&source=email
When consultants hired by the county to do a "cultural assessment" of the jail questioned the use of Tasers on prisoners, Sheriff Steve Oelrich's response, in effect, was: So what?
"The use of Tasers is an agency decision and policy," he retorted. "We will continue to use this management tool with regard to arrestees and inmates within the limits of the Levels of Resistance."
Oelrich's response begs two larger questions.
First, what are the appropriate limits of Taser use?
And second, who should establish those limits? Every sheriff and police chief on a department-by-department basis? Or state lawmakers?
Across the country, law enforcement agencies are having second thoughts about Tasers. Those stun guns - which fire electrified barbs that deliver a 50,000 volt shock - are deemed a non-lethal alternative to the use of firearms. And some 7,000 agencies now use them.
But as officers have come to rely more on Tasers and less on guns, questions about their use - or abuse - have arisen. Nationally, 140 people have died in recent years after being shocked by Tasers. Recent reports of Tasers being used on unruly students in public schools have elicited parental outrage. There is a growing concern that police officers, who hesitate to draw their pistols except in the most extreme situations, will resort to Taser use with much less provocation.
As Pulitzer/Bogard & Associates, the firm hired by the county to do the jail assessment, pointed out: "There is significant controversy throughout the country about this type of weapon . . . Jails throughout the country are either discontinuing the use of Tasers or re-evaluating their policies and procedures in light of published reports of serious injuries and deaths resulting from their use."
The concern is such that some critics are calling for an outright ban on the devices by law enforcement. But a more sensible solution is to combine better training with clear legal guidelines for stun gun use.
Recently, a respected national research group, the Police Executive Research Forum, recommended new limits and restrictions on Taser use. For instance, the group recommends that officers only be authorized to use Tasers when a suspect or prisoner is actively resisting arrest. Conversely, they should not be used on suspects who are passively resisting - say, by sitting on the ground - or refusing to obey orders.
Also, suspects should not be repeatedly shocked. Instead, after one shock, officers should evaluate suspects to determine if another dose is necessary. And all suspects who have been shocked should receive timely follow-up medical evaluation to check for heart problems or other adverse reactions.
The Florida Legislature will consider a bill regulating Taser use in the 2006 session. The Florida Police Benevolent Association has already announced its support of appropriate guidelines while defending Tasers as "an important law enforcement tool." The bill favored by the PBA calls on the state's Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission to set the standards and training requirements.
"By putting these requirements in the law itself, every law enforcement officer in the state - from Pensacola to Key West - would come under the same restrictions and be compelled to get the same training," says the PBA.
Stun gun devices are relatively new to law enforcement, and their use is preferable to firearms. But it's clear that the devices can also be misused and abused. Clear legal standards and training mandates are definitely in order.
http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200551117055&source=email
posted by R7 at 5:00 AM
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