Ask questions now, avoid buyer’s remorse later

Ask questions now, avoid
buyer’s remorse later

Before Youngstown spends $50,000 on Tasers, city council’s Safety Committee should demand that the police and law departments draft proposals that would clearly define the circumstances under which Tasers should be used. Otherwise, there is a likelihood that some day the misuse of a $1,000 Taser will result in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit.

Tasers were initially described — and to some extent still are — as an alternative to deadly force. And as such, Tasers are effective law enforcement tools.

But based on recent video evidence, Tasers are evolving into a weapon of convenience rather than an alternative to deadly force. And when misused, Tasers can place a police department in an unfavorable light in the community and can open the city to legal liability.

Put it in writing

As such, it is incumbent on Youngstown Police Chief Jimmy Hughes to tell city council in advance what the department’s policy for use of Tasers would be, what the penalties for misuse would be and whether those policies can be unilaterally enacted by the department or whether they would have to be negotiated with police unions.

Fewer than half or the nation’s 18,000 law enforcement agencies have Tasers or similar Conducted Energy Devices in their arsenals. Policies adopted by those departments for use of CEDs range from a few paragraphs to several pages.

Almost universal among those policies, however, is an admonition that Tasers not be used on passive subjects or as a come-along tool.

Some departments also have regulations that require formal documentation whenever a Taser is used, require that Taser contacts be removed from subjects only by medical personnel or that any subject who has been subdued by electrical shock be given a medical exam before being booked into jail.

In addition, officers must undergo physical and written tests, certification and annual recertification, and be responsible for assuring that their CEDS are properly maintained.

Look for hidden costs

In short, there are substantial costs that go well beyond the initial purchase price and there are liabilities that must be part of a city’s cost-benefit analysis.

A recent study of two years of Taser use by the Houston Police Department, conducted by the Houston Chronicle, found that officers used Tasers more than 1,000 times, but in 95 percent of the cases they were not used to defuse situations in which suspects wielded weapons. Houston police continued to use deadly force and they wounded or killed as many suspects in dangerous situations as they did before the Taser was introduced.

In more than 350 cases, Tasers were used when no crime was committed. The vast majority of those charged with crimes faced misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies.

Numbers such as those raise serious questions that must be answered before any police department begins buying Tasers.

Youngstown City Council was right to balk when legislation came before it that would have authorized Taser purchases. The Safety Committee should demand answers to a lot of questions before reporting the legislation out of committee.