In North Carolina,road deputies in70 counties carry TASERs. Policiesrange from noneat all in four counties to somewith comprehensive guidelines.
1200 volts in electrical pulses at a rate of 19 pulses per second.
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After the first shock,which usually lasts five seconds, the device iscontrolled manually and can be activated for any amount of time. Law enforcement mod-els also enable an officer to remove the car-tridge and hold the device directly against anindividual’s body to produce the charge; thisis commonly known as the TASER’s “drivestun” mode.The TASER was initially marketed ascompletely safe but within the first decade of its use there were multiple injuries, deathsand lawsuits stemming from real-world TA-SER applications.
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In a 2003 investigationof the Miami Police Department, the UnitedStates Department of Justice evaluated theTASER for its place on the continuum of force and suggested it be located just belowdeadly force and described as a “less lethal”instead of a non-lethal weapon.
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As a result,the company produced additional warnings;one cautioned that the risk of death to an in-dividual – especially one who is under theinfluence of drugs – is greater if shockedmultiple times with a TASER.
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The original TASER used gunpowder to propel the electrodes and was thus regulated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, To- bacco and Firearms (ATF). However the1990s overhaul of the weapon replaced gun- powder with nitrogen cartridges, at whichtime the agency certified that the TASER was no longer a firearm, rendering it exemptfrom ATF regulation. This shifted the re-sponsibility of TASER regulation to theagencies that deploy the weapon. Policiesand procedures now vary widely across thestate and the nation.In North Carolina, road deputies in 70counties carry TASERs. Two additionalcounties use TASERs only in county jails,and 28 counties reported that TASERs arenot currently in use.
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County guidelinesregarding TASER use range from no policyat all in four counties
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to a few counties withcomprehensive policies that provide guidancefor a multitude of situations. In general,however, North Carolina trails significantly behind the national averages with respect toTASER regulation.the survey with sheriffs’ offices statewide hasled to productive dialogue with many membersof law enforcement as well as amended policiesin several counties. This project, with its publi-cation of survey results and policy recommen-dations, is intended to lead local advocates,organizations, and individuals to use the infor-mation provided to begin building bridges withlaw enforcement in local towns, cities andcounties, resulting in better TASER policies in North Carolina.This report is divided into three sections:Section I provides an overview of TASER tech-nology and the weapons’ use in North Carolina.Section II offers a description of populationsespecially vulnerable to the effects of TASERsand sets forth the results of our coalition’s sur-vey of all 100 North Carolina sheriffs’ offices,comparing the policies and procedures of of-fices that use TASERs with guidelines nation-wide, with a special spotlight series on issuesthrough stories. Section III concludes the re- port with a summary and suggests opportunitiesfor continued action.
SECTION I: A Brief Overviewof the TASER
The TASER, invented in 1969, works bydelivering a high-voltage, low-current electricalshock to temporarily paralyze a person by caus-ing electrical interruption of the body’s normalenergy pulses. TASER stands for “Thomas A.Swift’s Electric Rifle” – a nod to inventor andadventure hero Tom Swift, the central character in several series of young adult science fictionnovels.
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In the 1990s the TASER was mademore powerful and marketed to law enforce-ment by Air Taser, a company that later changed its name to Taser International.
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TASERs designed for use by law enforcementnow cost between $800 to $1300 per weapon
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and are increasingly popular. Other models,which cost around $350.00
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and are designedfor the public, are also currently on the market.The TASER is shaped like a gun and isloaded with cartridges that shoot two smallhooked metal electrodes capable of reaching atarget up to 35 feet away in law enforcementmodels, and up to 15 feet away in models cre-ated for the general public. When fired, theelectrodes hook into the skin or clothing to pre-vent removal and distribute a charge of about
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