statism watch

So basically, the cops in Chicago accept there’s going to be some collateral damage when using TASERs – but they keep you safe. By euthanizing cokeheads? TASER International makes this huge announcement by acknowledging the moving the target area of the TASER away from the heart is a good thing, it gets spun as being all we can really do, you know, and then the TASER rollout continues.

Flashback: RCMP to test Taser cameras | RCMP plans dramatic changes to Taser policy | RCMP plans dramatic changes to Taser policy | Canadian police adopt new TASER directive | US: Ruling allowing Taser use to get DNA may be nation’s first | RCMP halts use of malfunctioning Tasers after B.C. decision | RCMP still uses Tasers too often, watchdog finds | RCMP softened Taser-use restrictions | Ban Tasers if RCMP doesn’t curb use by year’s end: Commons committee | U.S. jury shocks Taser, investors, with rare loss in court

Annie Sweeney, Kristen Schorsc, Chicago Tribune
March 11, 2010

Announcement comes as man dies in suburbs after police use stun gun

The Chicago Police Department is dramatically expanding its use of Tasers, adding several hundred more and putting them in the hands of patrol officers for the first time, officials said Wednesday.

The “stun guns” will go in every squad car to give front-line beat officers a more effective way to protect themselves and calm a disturbance.

But the electrical devices have caused controversy nationwide, with debates about their safety and lawsuits filed on behalf of dozens of people, some in the Chicago area, who have died after being “Tased.”

Chicago police laid out their plans just hours after a 31-year-old south suburban man was pronounced dead after Midlothian police used a Taser to subdue him. Jaesun Ingles, of Riverdale, who was on parole, was stunned with the Taser after he tried to swallow a plastic bag that police believed contained drugs, resisted arrest and ran from officers, Midlothian police said. An autopsy by the Cook County medical examiner’s office Wednesday was inconclusive, pending further investigation.

Chicago police officials and instructors insisted that Tasers are far within acceptable safety guidelines and are a better option to subdue offenders.

“It’s a level of force that I want to authorize to use before the situation escalates,” Police Superintendent Jody Weis said. “We want to use every other option before we use lethal force.” [Ed. Note: You don't usually shoot someone when you have them in a headlock on the ground, do you?]

Currently, 280 Tasers are in use by Chicago police, although just sergeants and field training officers are allowed to carry them. Now 380 of the devices will be added, including one for each of the department’s 281 beats and additional ones for special teams.

One Taser will be assigned to each squad car. When officers check out the vehicle, they will also take a Taser.

To carry the weapons, officers must undergo eight hours of training. The training division is also devising follow-up courses.

Officers are instructed to use the Tasers when they are being attacked or if an offender is resisting arrest or trying to flee.

Officers are trained in drills that require moving about to simulate stressful events that might occur on the street, Sgt. Michael Partipilo said.

The electrical charge that the weapon carries not only causes pain but also forces the muscles of the target to stiffen. A trigger pull delivers the current for five seconds, giving officers time to handcuff the offender.

The pain is still far less than what could be caused if an officer used a baton, Partipilo said.

But whether a Taser strike can kill a person by causing their heart to go out of rhythm has been a controversial question for years.

John Webster, professor emeritus of biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, said there is “no doubt” that Tasers save lives by reducing the number of people shot. But at the same time, it would be “controversial” to say they are not lethal, he said.

“Taser is a good thing over all,” he said. ” (But) our studies on pigs show that (it) can cause ventricular fibrillation and death.”

Still, Webster said such cases are rare. One study he performed showed that six people out of 1 million might die.

Taser International on Wednesday released details, as it has in the past, from studies that found that use of the devices reduced the risk of injury to officers. It also said that studies have found that Tasers are “generally safe and effective and cannot directly cause a fatal outcome in humans.”

Yet in October, the company changed its guidelines, recommending that users aim below a target’s chest to increase “effectiveness” and to “minimize controversy.”

Abiding by those changes, Chicago police are instructing that police officers aim below the chest and away from the heart if shooting a Taser at the target’s front. Officers are also trained not to shoot at the head and should, if possible, aim at the back.

Department officials acknowledged that some data has shown a potential to affect the heart.

“It’s a small amount, but it’s part of the reason why we adopted their change in the target area,” said department spokesman Roderick Drew.

In the Midlothian case, police stopped the car that Ingles was driving about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 14600 block of Pulaski Road for several traffic violations, police said in a news release. An officer smelled marijuana and found a small amount of the drug after a search of Ingles, police said.

While officers tried to arrest Ingles, he ran behind a local business and tried to swallow a plastic bag believed to contain drugs, police said.

After a foot chase, Ingles continued to resist and was stunned with a Taser, Lt. Harold Kaufman said. Ingles began to have trouble breathing and emergency responders came to the scene, police said.

Kaufman said he did not know how many times a Taser was used on Ingles. He would not detail the department’s protocol on when a Taser can be used. The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force is investigating the death.

Several officers were injured trying to subdue Ingles. One received treatment for a sprained wrist and an injured shoulder, another for a knee injury and a third for an injury to his right hand, Kaufman said.

There have been other deaths associated with Tasers in the Chicago area. A 47-year-old Park Forest man died after he was stunned during a fight with police. Police later said he suffered cardiac distress. In 2008, a 37-year-old man died after Chicago police used a Taser to subdue him.

Use of the Tasers by Chicago officers is monitored by the department. The weapon automatically records certain details, including when it is discharged. Officers must file a report whenever they discharge the weapon. The Independent Police Review Authority then investigates whether the officer complied with department rules.

In 2008, there were 166 people hit with Tasers in Chicago. The number jumped to 228 in 2009.

“If they are going to be used and adopted as a less lethal approach, it really does become imperative that oversight be put in place,” said Ed Yohnka, a spokesman for the ACLU of Illinois,” … so that the community and citizens can know that these weapons and these really highly dangerous (confrontations) are being monitored adequately by supervising personnel.”

Source | See also under Tasers: RCMP to test Taser cameras | RCMP plans dramatic changes to Taser policy | Regina police probe RCMP torture claims | Taser inquiry can rule on RCMP misconduct | U.S. ruling limits how police can use Tasers | RCMP had no grounds to use Taser on N.W.T. girl: report | Scathing report concludes RCMP used TASERs prematurely in Vancouver airport death | U.S. police taser 10-year-old | Death linked to ‘excited delirium’: coroner | US Cop Tasers and Arrests a 10-Year Old Girl For Throwing a Fit | RCMP defend Taser use on girl, 16 | Taser inquiry wraps up in Vancouver with legal squabbles | Canadian police adopt new TASER directive | PQ wants probe after Taser used on mentally challenged man | RCMP actions ‘gratuitous, ‘violent,’ BC needs own police lawyer tells inquiry | RCMP tests Tasers that record video | Braidwood inquiry reopens, RCMP bickers over preplanned TASER use | Merced police used TASER on unarmed, legless man in a wheelchair | UK: Police may be issued with new high-power Taser | TASER files court motion to quash Braidwood probe’s findings | Pregnant mother tasered at baptism party | TASER introduces 3-shot semiauto | Mounties have no choice but to comply with TASER ruling | Justice says changes needed in Taser use | US Lawsuit: Cops tasered 3 kids in shelter, threatened one with sodomy | Officer denies uttering sexual threat before lethal TASERing | Latest TASER victim looked ’scared’ as officer approached with knife | Safety Tests MIA for Taser’s Shocking New Shotgun | Mounties discussed Tasing Dziekanski prior to altercation | UK Police watchdog to investigate Taser arrest, beating posted on YouTube | Judge: B.C. taser probe can rule on Mountie misconduct issue | New video shows officer shove, then taser 72-year-old great grandmother | Mounties want to bar Taser inquiry from finding misconduct | US: Ruling allowing Taser use to get DNA may be nation’s first | RCMP halts use of malfunctioning Tasers after B.C. decision | Taser inquiry into Dziekanski’s death hears last witness | Dziekanski’s death following Taser jolts no coincidence: expert | Dziekanski ‘would not have died’ if spared Taser, expert tells inquiry | TASER’s medical expert says weapon didn’t cause Dziekanski’s death | RCMP didn’t tell pathologist Dziekanski suffered multiple TASER stuns, inquiry hears | RCMP spokesman told to hold off correcting false details of Dziekanski incident, inquiry hears | RCMP ’sorry’ for errors in taser briefings | MPs grill top Mountie on tasers | RCMP shocked 16 people five times or more last year | RCMP still uses Tasers too often, watchdog finds | RCMP credibility battered by TASER inquiry | Quebec orders police to turn in Tasers | RCMP softened Taser-use restrictions | RCMP supervising officer contradicts earlier testimony in Dziekanski inquiry | Boys, 15, Tasered by police, stats show | Toronto police used Tasers 367 times in 2008: statistics | Stun gun shock to head may cause seizures, doctors warn | TASER launches new headcam for police – with ‘privacy mode’ | TASERed immigrant ‘had the stapler open… he was in a combative stance’ | Dziekanski’s ‘combative behaviour’ justified Taser jolt: Mountie | Witness alters story but maintains Dziekanski attempted to staple RCMP | Airport refused help from Polish-speaking employee before Taser death | Dziekanski didn’t wield stapler before RCMP fired Taser, inquiry hears | Selkirk teen sues RCMP over stun gun allegations | Ban stun gun use on young people, Ontario child advocate urges | Emergency call taken out of context: airport Taser death witness | RCMP destroyed evidence, charges dismissed in second torture case for officers | U.S. study raises more questions about TASER safety | Second phase of Taser inquiry begins in Vancouver | RCMP watchdog launches new Taser probe around deaths | Police forces withhold information on Taser use from public: audit | US police could get ‘pain beam’ weapons | No charges to be laid against RCMP officers in airport Taser death | RCMP to face no charges in case of TASERed Polish immigrant: Report | Taser International disputes CBC/Radio-Canada testing as ‘flawed’ | Red Deer man shot by Taser had pre-existing heart condition: doctor | Cops Taser Drowned Dad’s Distraught Son | Amnesty urges moratorium on Taser use after CBC/Radio-Canada probe | Some tested Tasers fire stronger current than company says: CBC/Radio-Canada probe | RCMP Investigates, Clears Self of Wrongdoing in Case of TASERed Inuvik Girl | US Cops Tase 54 Year Old Woman For Sitting In Wrong Seat At Football Game | Prison service ices TASER pilot project | B.C. man dies after Taser used during Calgary arrest | Mountie involved in fatal crash was supervisor at time of airport Taser death | Drug abuser executed by TASER blasts – TASER toll stands at 25 | Mountie arrested in fatal crash present at airport Taser death | Inquiry into Vancouver airport Taser death put off 2nd time | Tasers being used for pain compliance during interrogation, suit alleges | Family sues police claiming Taser raid on autistic son in own bedroom | Naked Langley, B.C., robbery suspect dies after Taser jolt | Tasering of mom with baby ‘necessary’ in order to take child, police say | Brampton man is 23rd Canadian TASER death; police duly investigate themselves | RCMP didn’t study Taser use enough: Report | Probe into tasering of teenaged girl reopened | Police Taser and abuse suspect, lie on stand, man still convicted | RCMP should end use of Tasers: Zaccardelli | Police delay report on Taser until 2009 | Mounties pinned me down in cell and tasered me, Manitoba girl says | 21st Canadian TASER death occurs in Winnipeg alleyway | RCMP e-mails throw Dziekanski Taser probe into question, critics say | TASER bracelets considered for airline passengers | Taser use could put police under fire | Inquiry says ‘insidious’ TASERs being used as tool of convenience, should be reclassified, restricted under criminal code | Man dies in custody after Taser incident involving Ontario police | Ban Tasers if RCMP doesn’t curb use by year’s end: Commons committee | One-third of people shot by Taser need medical attention: probe | RCMP firing Tasers multiple times at subjects, probe reveals | U.S. jury shocks Taser, investors, with rare loss in court | Youth Worker Subjected to Warrantless Raid on Secret Evidence | Tasering violated suspect’s rights, judge rules | RCMP willing to change Taser policy, inquiry told | Tasers pose risk to heart, MDs testify | ‘Peel and Stick’ Tasers Electrify Riot Control | Canadian police have been brainwashed, Taser inquiry told | Mounties censor Taser report | Taser group’s chair to defend stun guns at public inquiry | RCMP release heavily censored incident report about Dziekanski | Inquiry examining Taser use, Dziekanski’s death begins Monday | Chicago study calls Taser’s safety claims into question | Tasers: the next generation | Witness blames RCMP, Vancouver airport for death of Tasered man | Officer injured in Taser demonstration

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