Selected quotes:
Police say Tasers are valuable tools for avoiding hand-to-hand struggles that can injure officers and citizens. Small, portable and often effective even when merely brandished, Tasers — which fire tiny, tethered cartridges that transmit electrical currents — have become common in law enforcement in recent years, with some 11,500 police agencies using them.
But critics say Tasers are being used as a weapon of first resort, sometimes on frail or mentally ill people.
“What’s at issue is whether the level of force being used is appropriate for arresting somebody,” said Allen Gilbert, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Vermont. “The Fourth Amendment protects you from unreasonable seizures, which means police can’t use excessive force when they’re taking you into custody.”
Supporters of Tasers say they reduce workers’ compensation and lost time claims by police by preventing physical confrontations.
“We went over an entire year without a single lost hour of employee time or officer injury relating to wrestling or struggling to get a prisoner into custody, which is virtually unheard of,” said Deputy Chief Walt Decker of the Burlington, Vt., Police Department.
His department, which got Tasers last year, spent more than $150,000 on lost time the year before for officers sidelined by on-the-job injuries suffered subduing suspects, he said.
To many, the issue isn’t whether Tasers should be used, it’s how.
