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Taser Policies May Get Supreme Court Review
The U.S. Supreme Court may change the way stun guns are used, after the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida petitioned the court on behalf of a north Florida man claiming a law enforcement officer was excessive with the device.
A representative from Taser International fires the companies latest X26 stun gun. The Taser's which stun a person with up to 50,000 volts have some under harsh criticism from Amnesty International who claim more than 70 deaths in Canada and America have been linked to the weapon.(Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) According to officials from the ACLU, this is the first time the issue of stun gun abuse will be heard by the Supreme Court and could change the way officers are allowed to use these devices on the job. The court was petitioned on Tuesday and will send a response within 30 days.
In the petition the ACLU alleges the officer violated the victim's Fourth Amendment rights - the right of the people to be secure in their person and a ban against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Maria Kayanan, associate legal director for ACLU in Florida, said this case is presenting a very narrow question on the use of stun guns.
"For law enforcement agencies around the country, this has become the instrument of choice. We are hoping the court takes the case," said Kayanan. "We don't condone the use of Tasers, but this is a narrow issue of what reasonable force could be used."
The Eleventh Circuit Court ruled that the use of stun guns in all circumstances was reasonable and constitutional, said Kayanan. The federal district court held that the officer wasn't entitled to full immunity, but that opinion was reversed by the circuit court and any further appeals were denied.
Thousands of police departments across the country issue stun guns to their officers. According to Taser, the largest international supplier of stun guns, there are 13,400 law enforcement and military agencies across the country which use the devices.
According to Connie Baron, spokesperson for the City of Cape Coral, local officers use two stun gun models, the M26 and the X26. Both are interchangeable and deploy small cartridges up to 35 feet.
Stun gun technology depends on a phenomenon called neuromuscular incapacitation (NMI) which temporarily shuts down the neurological and muscular controls of the body. The brief NMI allows an officer to subdue and take a suspect into custody.
"These Tasers have about 50,000 volts, although voltage is not the main contributor to the NMI," said Baron. "In fact, it is the amps delivered, not the voltage, which causes NMI."
While a stun gun's voltage ensures that the current will pass through a person's clothing it's the amount of amps emitted that will cause damage. According to Baron, the devices used by the Cape Coral Police Department emit 0.0021 amps while the common household electrical outlet carries 13 amps.
One bulb on a string of Christmas tree lights, for example, has only 1 amp, according to the All American Christmas Company.
The incident at the core of the ACLU's petition involved Florida resident Jesse Buckley who was arrested on March 17 for refusing to sign a traffic citation. Deputy Jonathan Rackard processed Buckley, placed him in handcuffs and sat him on the ground near the trunk of his car.
Deputy Rackard attempted to have Buckley - weeping emotionally on the ground - accompany him to his patrol car asking multiple times "Mr. Buckley stand up." When he didn't comply the officer warned Buckley that he would use his stun gun - a Taser.
Moments after Buckley replied "I don't care anymore," Rackard used the 50,000 volt Taser three times on his skin. The entire incident was captured on Rackard's dashboard camera mounted in his patrol car and was later uploaded onto You Tube by Buckley's attorney James Cook.
Stun guns are perceived as a non-lethal alternative for officers, yet a 2009 study by two cardiologists at the University of California at San Francisco found the number of in-custody deaths increased six-fold after a number of police departments began using stun guns. Researchers sent out surveys to police departments across California asking the rates of in-custody sudden deaths in the absence of lethal force.
"Physicians and law enforcement agencies need real-world knowledge of the effects of Taser use so that risks can be weighed in establishing appropriate policies and techniques," said Dr. Zian H. Tseng, author of the study, in a news release.
Researchers at the university also pointed to studies showing that stun guns make a person more vulnerable to death when used in a struggle, when a person is on narcotics or has increased adrenaline.
"There have been a number of animal and controlled human studies, but none that test how Tasers are used in the real world, where subjects may have pre-existing medical conditions or be under the influence of narcotics," added Tseng.
A PDF of the petition can be downloaded at: http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/BuckleyCert-final.pdf
12 Comments so far
Show AllGood luck, but I'm not sanguine about the prospect of our compromised SCOTUS placing restrictions on TASER use-- at least on Constitutional grounds.
Generally speaking, even given the requisites of judicial dispassion, impartiality, and probity, the current Court seems utterly devoid of empathy or compassion for ordinary citizens.
And I presume that they will hear testimony from law enforcement administrators and industry experts putting the most positive spin possible on the design and use of this "valuable non-lethal law-enforcement tool". After all, it was introduced as an enlightened step up from the unfortunate circumstance of police having to use their guns to subdue or restrain violent and resisting parties.
Scalia probably thinks it's just a glorified joy-buzzer. Or, more likely, the majority will rule that TASER use is not in and of itself unconstitutional, provided that law enforcement is appropriately circumspect in such usage.
· Yr Obd't Servant
Here is a sample - why we need more say over tasers:
1. Judge awards $1.4M to lawyers in Taser lawsuit (80%)
02/05/2009 - SAN JOSE, Calif—A federal judge has ordered Taser International to pay $1.4 million to lawyers for the family of a Salinas man who died after police officers repeatedly shocked him with stun guns. similar results
The Associated Press
2. Taser company to pay $1.4 million in attorney's fees in Salinas man's death (75%)
02/06/2009 - A federal judge on Thursday ordered Taser International Inc. to pay more than $1.4 million in fees to the lawyers for the family of Robert C. similar results
By Virginia Hennessey Monterey Herald
3. Canada cops won't face charges in Taser death case (72%)
12/12/2008 - Vancouver, British Columbia—Four federal police officers will not face charges for using a Taser gun on an agitated Polish traveler in a confrontation that ended with the man dying at a Canadian airport, prosecutors said Friday. similar results
The Associated Press
4. San Jose to pay $70K in Taser death settlement (72%)
12/17/2008 - SAN JOSE, Calif.—The city of San Jose will pay $70,000 to the family of a man who died after police used a Taser stun gun on him. similar results
The Associated Press
5. Vegas police officers sue makers of Taser weapons (70%)
11/23/2008 - LAS VEGAS—Two Las Vegas police officers who were seriously hurt after being shocked by Taser weapons in 2003 have sued its makers, saying the company failed to properly warn the department about the potential for injury. similar results
The Associated Press
But I could be wrong !
Police departments the world over are asking for tasers so as to reduce the number of police shootings. They say that tasers are less dangerous than using their guns. They say it will lessen the number of times officers shoot people.
Then when they get them they use them at the drop of a hat in situations where they would be suspended and charged if they pulled their guns.
If the officer is the story above had pulled his gun and shot the handcuffed, seated motorist 3 times people would be outraged. So how come this "gun replacement" is suddenly ok to use in this case.
If police want tasers then they should have to justify using it the same as if it was a gun and only in situations where it would be acceptable to use a gun. Not against unarmed, handcuffed members of the public. Not as punishment or to make someone co operate. Only when there is a clear and present danger to life should it be acceptable to give someone a very painful, potentially lethal electric shock.
"There have been a number of animal and controlled human studies, but none that test how Tasers are used in the real world, where subjects may have pre-existing medical conditions or be under the influence of narcotics," added Tseng.
**humans are animals dimwit.
I hope this isnt the same guy who was torturing pigs for a research grant.
Now he is saying we need real world examples. Yes obviously. using the torture of non humans to try to divine if tasers are good and bad is unethical and counterproductive(since the mad scientists will just say we need another study to confirm-and they will say the opposite--i.e. coffee is good for you this week. Coffee is bad for you next week.). Dont torture and kill the innocent to try and determine if tasers are bad for the guilty.
Humans and their twisted understanding of applied ethics.
"To be humane is to be cruel, vicious and unrestrained, like humans.
To be inhumane is to be compassionate, restrained, moderate, like non humans."
Sandy
Regarding the number of American citizen related deaths since 2000, I refer readers to Lawanddisorder.org for the statistics...close to 400 dead by these non-lethal devices. Last year I phoned a senator's office expressing outrage. I also informed her office that Taser Int'l had warned Drs against signing death certificates with tasers as the cause of death. Also, look at how this co. has ingratiated itself with law enforcement across the country. And where does the funding for these weapons originate? Homeland Security!
A taser in the hands of a government representative (police) is torture, and cruel and unusual punishment.
It is illegal and against the supreme law of the land.
All officers who use it should be subject to same treatment.
TJ
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson
"ThomasJefferson" - You obviously have no idea about the training involved with tasers. Only CERTIFIED officers are allowed to carry tasers. To pass certification, the officer has to get shocked by a taser, just like officers have to get sprayed in the eyes with pepper spray before they can pass the academy.
And on the torture issue - I know several people who have been tasered (willingly) and they are all completely fine, and experienced no pain as the result of it.
Getting a pinprick in training is not the same thing as being held down and getting the well documented "Rodney King Treatment".
All citizens have seen the abuse on the police sponsored show "Cops", where non-resisting citizens where punched and kicked by cops with unnecessary arm twisting to even the score with someone who stood up for his first amendment rights.
A taser in the hands of such cowboys is a threat to everyone and is unnecessary. You like it because it gives you an ability to met out justice with no hearing.
Shame on you.
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson
If it looks like a gun and kills like a gun, it is a gun.
The ignition system on many internal combustion engines deliver about the same energy to fire the spark plugs as tasers do to stun the victim. The manufacturers of the tasers repeat over and over that they do not cause death. My friend has a Mercury outboard motor that has a sticker on it that warns the user not to mess with the ignition system because messing with it may result in "injury or death!"
The TASER has saved countless lives by difusing situations that deadly force may have been used. The number of officer involved shootings has dropped in every agency that has deployed the TASER to it's street level officers. It is like any other tool in that if it is misused, there will be problems. Why not hold those misusing the tool accountable for thier actions instead of taking a very valuable tool out of the hands of responsible officers. The ACLU tried the same thing with pepper spray when it came out citing people dying after being sprayed. What they don't cite is that the majority of the deaths were attributed to other causes not the pepper spray. As a police officer, I have been pepper sprayed numerous times over the years and as a TASER certified instructor I have been Tased two times(both times with dart applications) and I have no adverse side effects from either. As a instructor, I have Tased in the neighborhood of 100 fellow officers with no lasting effects to the officers. On the street, I have deployed the TASER numerous times without serious unjury to the suspects. In at least two of those cases, I would have been legally justified in using deadly force and taking the suspects life. I know I speak for every professional peace officer when I say that I would much rather shoot someone with a TASER that with my firearms. I pray that the Supreme Court does not handicap the police by taking this tool from us. By the way, Sandy, Homeland Security funds can not be used to purchase any kind of weapon.
Sandy
You are correct swet158; the City Council accepts money offered by Homeland Security. Democracy Now! had a news story of a black man in cuffs tasered many many times- after death...stated the Coroner. Louisiana of course. Charges against Police? None. Guess his family is supposed to just deal with it. Surviving Katrina was just a tragic joke to this family. Democracy Now!.org if anyone is interested in the truth. Amy Goodman knows of no other way to deal with facts! I'm not interested in opinions or excuses- plenty of those to go around. And all these people have a mom and dad that had other plans for their child when they were born.