Hi 71 / Lo 47
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Volume 72, Issue 103,
Thursday, March 1, 2007
News UHPD puts in Taser request Department says weapons provide
non-lethal option;
by JARED BARNES
UH Police Department chief Malcolm Davis has submitted a proposal to equip UHPD officers with Tasers, and a decision on the request is expected to be made within two weeks. Vice President for Administration and Finance John Rudley will decide if UHPD will get the Tasers after reviewing Davis' presentation, which includes Taser information, statistics and a video of Davis being shot with a Taser. "I can promise you it hurts more than I've ever been hurt before," Davis said. "There was no way I was going to use (a Taser) on anyone else before I knew it was safe by using it on myself." The Taser that Davis volunteered to be stunned with is the same model UHPD has requested. The Taser X26 is a 50,000-volt, pistol-shaped weapon that uses compressed nitrogen gas to fire sharp, electricity-charged darts up to 21 feet. The darts can penetrate up to two inches of clothing. The electrical pulses induce skeletal muscle spasms that cause a person to fall to the ground. The X26 may also be used as a close-range stun weapon by pressing its barrel against a person's body. UHPD officers' current options when using force include a baton, pepper spray and firearms. Adding the option of using a Taser will give the officers another non-lethal choice when in a confrontation, Davis said. "If we have to use force against someone, I would prefer to do anything than shoot someone with a firearm," he said. Tasers provide an option with fewer aftereffects than batons and pepper spray, Davis said. Batons can leave bruises and in some instances break bones, and pepper spray affects vision and sinuses for 20 minutes to an hour. Being shot with a Taser makes a person feel like he or she has been through the equivalent of a 30-minute workout, UHPD Sgt. Richard Brenner said, adding that some might experience lightheadedness. According to TASER International's Web site, police departments that have begun using Tasers have reported lethal force is down by 78 percent, officer injuries are down by 80 percent and suspect injuries are down by 67 percent. But there is still controversy surrounding the use of Tasers. The Amnesty International report "Amnesty International's Continuing Concerns about Taser Use" details its concerns about Taser use in the U.S., and says more than 150 people have died in the U.S. and Canada after being shot with the weapons. The report called for all U.S. police departments to suspend their use of Tasers pending a rigorous, independent inquiry into their effects. More agencies have moved to adopt Tasers, arguing they are safer than many other types of force, according to Amnesty International. More than 7,000 out of a total of 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. now equip officers with Tasers. The report outlined the deaths of the 152 people who had died after being shot by Tasers, and most of those who died were under the influence of drugs. "(The Taser), by itself, is not going to kill somebody," Brenner said. "It's going to be other physical problems that are usually caused by drugs. It's even been tested to be safe for people who have had heart conditions." Anti-Taser groups argue that research and studies on Tasers have been done by or funded by TASER International and cannot be trusted. John Webster of the University of Wisconsin is currently
conducting the first independent Taser study, but the research methodology
has been criticized for its use of lethal experimentation on pigs.
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