San Francisco Police Consider New Taser Policy

The San Francisco Police Department may decide to follow the recent trend in other cities and arm its officers with Taser stun guns, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Currently, San Francisco, Detroit, and Memphis are the last remaining large cities in the United States where the police departments do not use Tasers. San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon has been pushing for Tasers, arguing that cops who carry them are less likely to have to resort to using guns. According to some studies, using Tasers may reduce police-involved shootings and save lives.

Tasers still face significant criticism in the city of San Francisco, a place known for liberal-mindedness. At a meeting of the San Francisco Police Commission, representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union voiced their concerns that Tasers are not actually non-lethal weapons. The ACLU says that more research needs to be conducted to determine exactly what role Tasers played in 400 in-custody deaths that have occurred since 2001. At the present time, all that is known is that all of those 400 deaths were associated with the use of Tasers.

A policy on Taser use by San Francisco police officers would take 90 days to develop; deployment could take at least a year.

Taser stun guns work by shooting 50,000 watts of voltage into the body, disrupting muscle control. Typically, people who are shot with a Taser fall to the ground. It is not uncommon for someone who has been tasered to incur head injuries, bruises on the face, or broken noses or teeth. Additionally, in some cases, fatalities have occurred.

Ex-Cop on Trial for Homicide After Taser Death

Police departments across the country have increasingly issued Taser stun guns to officers with the idea that these weapons can be used in emergency circumstances, rather than resorting to the use of a real gun. In theory, if an officer feels he is being threatened, firing a Taser is a good alternative to firing a gun, since a Taser is less likely than a gun to cause serious injury or death.

Unfortunately, cops’ increased use of Tasers in recent years has demonstrated that this theory is deeply flawed.

For one thing, Tasers do, and have, caused deaths. In fact, since 2001, about 400 deaths have been attributed to the use of Tasers. Lawsuits have arisen throughout the United States as families seek justice for the loss of their loved ones.

Secondly, it has become increasingly clear that law enforcement officers are taking their use of Tasers beyond situations where it would be a substitute for a gun. There is concern that police may be more likely to use Tasers on a suspect, thinking they are safer than handguns. Yet, every time a Taser is used, there is a possibility of causing a death. (Taser’s own representative acknowledged the potential for fatalities when he referred to the stun guns as “less-lethal weapons.”)

Furthermore, a handful of officers have used their Tasers in completely inappropriate situations, such as where there is no real threat to safety. This is frightening territory. In January 2008 in Winnfield, Louisiana, for example, a police officer named Scott Nugent used his Taser to stun a 21-year-old man who was already detained in handcuffs. Nugent shot the Taser nine times, killing the young man. Now an ex-cop, Nugent will stand trial in June on charges of manslaughter and malfeasance, according to The Associated Press.