By Matt Hawk
The Eureka Times-Standard
EUREKA, Calif. — Eureka Police Lt. Antonio Zanotti said he can think of a few instances where a Taser saved an officer’s life and a suspect’s.
On one occasion, a man who was suspected of stealing from the Broadway Mall was brandishing a handgun while walking down Broadway. When officers came into contact with the man, he turned the gun on himself, Zanotti said. The officers had to Taser the man, he said.
“He immediately stiffened up and dropped the gun,” Zanotti said.
While law enforcement officers often see the Taser as a powerful tool in defusing potentially deadly encounters, others — including various chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union — have raised questions about its use and whether the risks outweigh the advantages.
On paper, the statistics run in the Taser’s favor, according to at least one study.
In 2007, Wake Forest University School of Medicine researchers who reviewed nearly 1,000 Taser incidents reported finding mild or no injuries in 99.75 percent of the cases. Deaths are rare, according to the study.
Two have occurred in recent months, including the June 22 death of Daniel Sylvester in Crescent City and the death of a man near the Mexican border with San Diego in May. How being Tased may have contributed to the men’s deaths is still under investigation.
In the Crescent City case, Sylvester eventually stopped resisting arrest enough to be handcuffed after being Tased by Del Norte Sheriff’s Office deputies, then he began having trouble breathing, according to a statement by the office. Sylvester later died in the Sutter Coast Hospital emergency room. No cause of death has been officially released and a toxicology report is still pending.
Tasers have not led to any deaths in Humboldt County, according to authorities.
Local police said there would be more injuries to officers and suspects if Tasers didn’t exist. Eureka Police Sgt. Steve Watson, who has worked for the city for a little over five years, said the gadget is a valuable tool in keeping officers safe.
“A lot of times a situation can be ended quickly (by a Taser) before it turns into a knock-down, drag-out,” Watson said.
Verbena Lea, a member of the Redwood Curtain CopWatch, said Tasers are lethal and should be banned.
“I don’t believe that police use Tasers to protect themselves,” she said. “They use them as a form of intimidation and punishment.”
Greg Allen, chair of the Redwood Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the Taser issue is complicated. He acknowledges that Tasers can help protect officers and provide a valuable option to brute force, but wonders if the benefits outweigh the risks.
“Even though to most it is ‘non-lethal force,’ it’s obvious that people are dying,” Allen said, adding that officers do have a difficult job when they are forced to make difficult decisions in the face of danger.
The common model used by police in Humboldt County is the X26 made by Taser International, a company located in Scottsdale, Ariz. Corrections officers at the county jail use the M26, a slightly heavier model.
The X26 looks similar to a handgun and can perform as a handheld Taser, or propel two small probes up to 35 feet. The 1,200 volts, 7 watts, and average of 2 milliamperes contained in the shock can penetrate up to two inches of clothing and shut down a person’s muscular system, making them immobile.
According to Arcata Police Chief Tom Chapman, Arcata officers have Tased around 17 people in about 2,000 arrests in the past 18 months.
In the same time period, Eureka officers have Tased around 30 suspects in more than 6,000 arrests, Watson said. Brenda Godsey, the public information officer for the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies have Tased four people so far this year.
It’s been over one year since Arcata police Tased Humboldt native John Turney, but the shock still leaves a bad taste in his mouth. The incident took place on the shoulder of the Highway 101 corridor after an APD officer pulled Turney’s green Geo over for tailgating.
“He wouldn’t talk to me like a human, so I told him I wasn’t going to sign the ticket,” Turney said, remembering the altercation.
The officer told Turney if he refused to sign the ticket he would have to go to jail. Not wanting to have his children see him arrested, he steadfastly held to his wheel and refused to step out of the car until he was allowed to phone his wife to pick up the children.
Turney said the officer refused to let him use his phone, and warned him that he would have to use the Taser if Turney didn’t get out of the car.
“Before I knew it he was reaching into the car and Tasering the crap out of me,” he said. “It definitely hurt.”
Turney said looking back now, he believes both he and the officer were wrong. In hindsight, Turney said he realizes he should have just signed the ticket, but the incident has changed his view of law enforcement.
Many — not all — local officers carry the X26, but can only do so after passing a certified training course that is four to eight hours long. Chapman said his department also requires officers to recertify annually.
All police are taught to use the Taser only when a person becomes violent or physically resistant, officials said. But the officers may also use the device if they feel that someone may become physically violent. “They’re definitely not a toy,” Watson said.
The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and Eureka police also follow the same basic policy.
APD conducts monthly training sessions designed to help officers by presenting different real world situations that they might have to respond to.
“You have to keep reinforcing training,” Chapman said.
Police follow what is called “Use of force guidelines,” and every department’s is slightly different. APD’s states that officers will use the minimal amount of force necessary to bring a situation under control.
Like pepper spray, there are a lot of variables involved when using a Taser. Chapman said officers need to give extra consideration to children, women who are pregnant, someone who is already detained or pepper sprayed, someone near a flammable device, and someone who could be hurt by being Tased — such as a suspect climbing a fence and who might fall.
The Arcata Police Department always completes a review after an officer uses a Taser, Chapman said. The review involves two levels of scrutiny by a supervisor and a manager into an officer’s Taser Use Report and the Dataport connected to the Taser. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and the Eureka Police Department also download the report from the Dataport.
Chapman said he pays close attention to Taser cases, and is closely following the incident in Crescent City.
According to Lea, more than 400 people have died from Taser-related deaths since its widespread use began in 1999. Many of the deaths involve people who were on illegal substances or suffered from pre-existing heart conditions or mental illness.
Taser International maintains the X26, and other devices like it, save more lives than the devices end, by reducing harm to officers and suspects.
Chapman and Watson agree Tasers are such a powerful tool for officers that just the sight of it coming out of its holster can deter a potentially violent person. “When the Taser comes out, it makes people comply,” Chapman said.
In the first year of use at the Chico Police Department, Tasers brought down the number of injured suspects by 16 percent and the number of injured officers by 51 percent, even though use of force cases increased 53 percent. Numbers were not available for local law enforcement.
Studying injuries related to Taser use, physicians at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine looked at 1,201 uses of a Taser in 962 cases over a 36-month period. Researchers reviewed cases in six locations across the country and found mild or no injuries in 99.75 percent of the incidents.
Allen said he believes that Tasers are a better option for police than nightsticks or guns, but thinks there needs to be more research and training for Tasers to continue to make the positive impacts that the Wake Forest statistics indicate.
“I suppose, when it’s all said and done, people would rather be Tased than beaten with a nightstick,” Allen said. “It is very clear, however, that if Tasers are going to be used there needs to be proper training. We also need to find out why certain people are more affected than others.”
Copyright 2010 Times - Standard