|
|
 |
|
 |
| |
|
Police Praise Taser Option |
|
Police praise Taser option
Officers say lives have been saved, but critics point out that the electric-shock device can be lethal.BY MARA H. GOTTFRIED
Pioneer Press
Two police officers pointed their weapons at a man in St. Paul who was shouting at them, "Shoot me, kill me, I want to die."
One officer aimed a gun, the other a Taser. The officer with the Taser shot, sending 50,000 volts of electricity into the man, knocking him over and enabling his arrest.
It marked the first of four lives that St. Paul police believe were saved since they started using Tasers more than 10 months ago. In total, officers shot Tasers 151 times from the first use Feb. 22 to the end of the year.
Police say Tasers give them another nonlethal-force option and can save lives.
"We have had many stories of success where officers have not had to use higher levels of force to take people into custody," said officer Joshua Lego, lead Taser instructor for St. Paul police. "What the Taser does is allow us to take a great big step away from a threat and still be able to get rid of the threat."
The weapons, which resemble small guns, shoot an electric charge that overrides the nervous system and causes muscles to contract, temporarily immobilizing a person.
St. Paul police started with 100 Tasers in February and bought 46 more during the year. The probes can be shot as far as 21 feet — officers can push the trigger for repeated shocks — or used in direct contact as a stun gun. Though St. Paul police mostly fired the devices once or twice, on two occasions they fired a Taser nine times to control a suspect.
"We have had instances when an officer has said, 'Stop fighting or I'm going to use my Taser,' and people just stop," Lego said.
Around the country, more than 6,000 law enforcement agencies use Tasers, according to Taser International, the Arizona-based manufacturer. In Minnesota, more than 200 law enforcement departments have them.
No police department in the metro area appears to have as many Tasers or deployments as St. Paul. Eagan police have 21 Tasers. They displayed the devices without shooting 18 times in 2004 and shot them six times.
The 82 Tasers at the Minneapolis Police Department are assigned almost exclusively to its critical incident team, though they plan to start shifting them to patrol officers this year, said Lt. Jack Kelly. In 2004, through Dec. 7, officers deployed them 44 times.
Meanwhile, Oakdale police, who have four Tasers, deployed them twice last year.
Taser use, including use on young children, has been criticized nationally. But no complaints have been lodged with the St. Paul department.
In November, an Amnesty International report concluded police departments around the country were using Tasers in instances where batons or lethal force wouldn't be justified.
St. Paul's Amnesty International chapter has requested a meeting with St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington to ask him to follow the national report's recommendation that departments suspend Taser use pending investigation into its medical effects, or at the least use the devices only as an alternative to firearms, said Aaron Tovo, the St. Paul group's coordinator.
Harrington said he would review Tovo's information, but he believes the department's use of Tasers has been going well. "Thus far we've had a number of lethal situations and situations of people out of control resolved so much quicker and safer for everyone," he said. "It's been a very, very good tool so far."
Because Taser use at many departments involves subduing people who are suicidal or mentally ill, mental health groups have taken a particular interest in the issue.
"We would like to see them have alternative forms to help someone in crisis rather than take them down," said Renee Jenson, Ramsey County Mental Health Advisory Council co-chairwoman. She's satisfied with St. Paul Police Department use of Tasers, but believes more training on mental health issues is called for.
The Amnesty International report also found more than 70 people in the United States and Canada died over a three-year period after being struck with a Taser. In at least four cases, coroners ruled the Taser directly contributed to death, the report said.
Taser International responded that the report didn't take into account independent reviews of Tasers, which "clearly indicate that the Taser technology, while not risk-free, is among the safest use-of-force options our law enforcement officers have."
James A. Cobb, 42, died after St. Paul police used a Taser on him in June. He was walking in the middle of the street, tried to stop a woman's car and became combative with officers.
The Ramsey County medical examiner's office determined the cause of death was cocaine delirium, and neither the Taser nor other force used contributed to his death.
In Minneapolis, two people have died after police used Tasers — one in August 2003, the other in February 2004 — but the Hennepin County medical examiner didn't link their deaths to Tasers.
St. Paul police credit Tasers to saving at least four lives, including an officer's. In the case of the man who was screaming at officers to shoot him, police had information he was armed and they couldn't get him to back down, said Paul Schnell, department spokesman.
"If he had continued with the fighting stance and coming at the officers, this is one of the situations that had all the standard kind of ingredients for tragedy, but ended instead with the man being taken into custody," he said.
For more information see:
St. Paul Pioneer Press Article |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
Air Tasers in Action |
|
Oceanside, CA: Air Taser Subdues Attempted Murderer |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Who's Online |
|
We have 4 guests online |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Search