Make Taser use safer by adopting better rules

As the stun guns have come into much wider use, it was inevitable that police would need to refine guidelines for officers equipped with Tasers. Police chiefs in Palm Beach County, learning from experience, have recommended a good set of rules.

Initially, police may have assumed Tasers have virtually no permanent effect even when used repeatedly on the same person. It is safer to assume, as the guidelines suggest, that repeated shocks can cause breathing difficulty. The manufacturer, in a recent bulletin, admits as much. There is no prohibition on repeated shocks, but the caution should cut down on unnecessary use -- which can occur in the heat of a struggle -- by reminding officers to check the suspect's breathing and condition. It often will be possible, as the chiefs note, to quickly subdue the Tasered individual after just one shock.

"Some officers are hitting a suspect repeatedly, and the suspect may not be able to recover," said Boca Raton Police Chief Andrew Scott, who led the committee that proposed the Taser guidelines.

Tasers often are used on suspects high on drugs. For that reason alone, the suggestion that officers call paramedics, if possible, whenever they use a Taser could end up saving lives. In fact, paramedics are at least as likely to be necessary to treat symptoms of overdose as complications from a Taser shock. Although two Palm Beach County men have died recently after being Tasered multiple times, the Taser is not believed to be the cause of death.

Other rules proposed by the committee of the Law Enforcement Planning Council are equally a matter of common sense, yet are necessary for what is a relatively new device. For example, officers should not use a Taser on someone who appears to be 12 or younger. At the other end of the spectrum, elderly and disabled people should give the officer pause. Pregnant women are another special category. Again, using Tasers on such individuals is not prohibited. If a child or elderly person poses a threat to himself or others, the Taser often will remain a better choice than options such as attempting to wrestle a combative person to the ground. Guidelines, used correctly, will preserve Tasers for such situations while helping to prevent abuses that could lead to pressure to take the devices away from officers.

The full Law Enforcement Planning Council, made up of 32 police chiefs and representatives from various state and federal agencies, will be asked in September to endorse the Taser recommendations. Some officials, such as Chief Scott and Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, already plan to implement the rules and retrain officers on Taser use.

Rather than react defensively to Taser deaths, Palm Beach County chiefs are reacting responsibly. The new guidelines, once adopted, will help officers on the front lines and better protect the public -- even those whose behavior earns them a shock.