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Police work to inform about Tasers
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Also by Rebecca Collora:
- Mayor hosts health summit (April 19, 2005)
- Establishment receives liquor license approval (March 17, 2005)
- Vilas Zoo to open new 'Arctic' exhibit (March 16, 2005)
- Cieslewicz finishes funding excursion (March 11, 2005)
- Police work to inform about Tasers (March 3, 2005)
Related Stories:
- Police discuss Tasers (February 18, 2005)
- State to appoint Taser committee (February 24, 2005)
- MPD: Tasers safe, effective police tool (April 5, 2005)
- Council approves adding more Tasers for city cops (November 15, 2007)
- UW professor to test Tasers on pigs (February 23, 2005)
by Rebecca Collora
Thursday, March 3, 2005
The Madison Police Department held a community forum Wednesday night in an effort not only to educate and dispel rumors about the department’s use of Tasers, but also to hear feedback and concerns from the community.
A Taser is an electrical device used by police departments across the nation to restrain individuals. They typically fire two probes attached to thin wires, used within a 21-foot range, and are meant to interfere with the brain’s ability to control voluntary muscles. They are used with the utmost discretion, according to Eric Anderson, a Madison police officer.
“The purpose is to gain control of the subject,” Anderson said. “An officer must decide whether a suspect poses a threat to the safety of the officers or other citizens.”
Anderson provided information about the process an officer goes through in making responsible decisions in different situations. Officers were invited up on stage to act out a series of scenarios where different levels of force were applied, from bare fists to a baton. They also showed videos displaying volunteers getting shot by Tasers by the Madison Police Department last year.
Lt. Victor Wahl showed videos where Tasers could have been used effectively but were not. He also showed the audience various local and national statistics on the use of Tasers.
“The Taser allows a non-deadly force to be delivered from a safe distance,” Wahl said.
Wahl said Tasers do not cause pain or injury. While nationwide suspects are reportedly injured 38 percent of the times they are shot by Tasers, in Madison it has been 5 percent.
Many University of Wisconsin students agreed that a Taser is not the worst form of force that could be applied.
“I think that sometimes a Taser is the best thing to use, if used with discretion,” Kade Lindquist, a third-year law student said. “I’ve been pepper sprayed and I think that hurts a lot more than what I’ve heard about the Taser.”
Other community members, who were invited to register and speak upon entrance to the community forum, disagreed.
“What if the person does have a problem with drug use? Does someone on drugs deserve the death sentence? I haven’t seen enough evidence to say it’s safe,” Madison resident Eric Robson said.
Robson is referring to the risk involved when a suspect’s heart rate is up to an abnormal degree due to excessive drug use or severe mental conditions. This state is called “excited delirium” and Wahl said these instances are rare.
UW Law School professor Mike Scott, the moderator, said when a new force is introduced, such as hollow point bullets, pepper spray and vehicle pursuits, they are debated and often controversial.
“We seem to be searching for that magic wand,” Scott said. “Some seem to think that the Taser could be it, others have reasonable doubts.”
Madison deployed the use of Tasers a year and a half ago in an effort to expand the non-lethal-use-of force options to Madison Police Officers. A full report can be found on the Madison Police department website, www.ci.madison.wi.us/police/.
Anonymous (March 3, 2005 @ 4:15pm):
Yeah, non-lethal but only when necessary, right?
Cops taser man accused of pilfering salad at Chuck E. Cheese
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3584226,00.html
