The fact that Taser shots failed to subdue a mentally ill man who was subsequently fatally shot by police has caused his department to “reevaluate the trust we place in the instrument,” del Pozo said during an interview Wednesday.
Nationwide, departments have stocked up on these stun guns, which are touted as a way to avoid drawing an actual gun. As part of a reform package announced after Chicago police shot and killed Laquan McDonald, Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently ordered nearly 800 of them.
Tasers work in two different ways. From a distance, they can shoot barbs into people, which have wires that attach to the device. With this method, an electric shock temporarily makes people lose muscular control. Tasers can also be applied directly to people’s skin, incapacitating them simply by causing intense pain.
Despite their popularity among law enforcement professionals, Tasers have long been controversial. Vermont revisited its policies after a Thetford man who had been recovering from a brain seizure died after police Tased him.
Del Pozo, however, is calling attention to a different issue: what happens when Tasers don’t work.
He explained that people are sometimes able to pull out the barbs. Baggy clothing can prevent the barbs from attaching in the first place. And people who are using drugs or are in the throes of a mental health crisis may be less susceptible to the Taser-induced pain.
Last month, police used a Taser on a mentally ill Burlington resident named Ralph “Phil” Grenon, with no apparent effect. Del Pozo said that Grenon continued to advance toward the officers with knives. He said his officers did have a back-up plan — to back out of the room — and were doing so when two officers got cornered. Ultimately Grenon was shot multiple times and killed.
Less than two weeks after that incident, the Los Angeles Times published a story that added to the Vermont chief’s concern. It concluded that “nearly a quarter of the people shot by on-duty LAPD officers last year — at least eight of 36 — were wounded or killed during encounters in which officers said they tried to use a Taser without success.”
Citing LAPD data, the story notes that of the 1,100 times cops fired Tasers last year, the “devices had the desired outcome — causing someone to submit to arrest — only 53% of the time.”
Particularly when responding to people experiencing a mental health crisis, del Pozo said he now believes that “something with that type of failure rate can’t be a reliable part of the plan.”
Still, don’t expect del Pozo to ditch Tasers anytime soon. Noting that, “all techniques have failure rates,” he maintains that “in rapidly evolving situations, it’s still better than a gun.”
He suggested other “de-escalation” tools — protective body suits for officers; shields; high-pressure water devices similar to fire extinguishers; and a U-shaped piece of wrought iron called a shepherd’s crook, which can help police subdue somebody — could supplant Tasers in certain situations. The catch, he said: “Although they sound simple, they require a level of specialized training and coordination that doesn’t exist [locally].”
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Your story highlights the need for mandatory measurement of Tasers and other Conducted Energy Weapons, which were introduced prematurely 18 years ago with virtually no government oversight. CEWs are prone to ‘output variance’, which essentially means some perform above or below safety parameters chosen by manufacturers. Recently the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) along with safety standards bodies like the IEC, UL, CSA and others have tried to play catchup, by developing the first international measurement standard for CEWs, in the hopes of eventually developing full safety standards. There is also a portable device available now (Aexos Waveform Analyzer) which accurately measures the output of CEWs, so that at least officers would know if their weapons are performing within those unverified company specs. Close to 1,000 North American citizens have died after being shocked by police armed with unmeasured CEWs.
How about a net….. mentally unstable used to be handled by guys in white coats using nets
Don’t laugh– as there is another non-lethal device on the market called the Wraptor. It is a big velcro-type blanket that two officers can deploy in two seconds that literally envelopes a person. It would be especially beneficial when used on a mentally-ill assailant armed with a knife. Quick, relatively safe takedown, with none of the ill effects of electricity.
Unfortunately CTV reporter (Peter) is uneducated & grinding his ax. He’s 1 of 5 reporters ever cut off by me as spokesman in 22 years.
Our TASER X2 & X26P CEW outputs are controlled by firmware, making them “smart.” Unlike their predecessors, our Smart Weapons are built on an all-digital platform & have the ability to regulate charge output, perform health checks, update firmware over the web & provide analytics displaying how & when someone uses a device.
NIST has been trying to develop something, but hasn’t done so yet.
As to the deaths, Peter how many autopsies have declared the TASER the official cause of death?
Wouldn’t a taser have been better in this situation?
~http://digital.vpr.net/post/burlington-pol…
~http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-…