By Becky Purser, The Macon Telegraph
Warner Robins, Ga. -- One Middle Georgia law enforcement agency has suspended the use of Taser stun guns, and another is taking a wait-and-see approach before using them, following the death of a second person shocked by Houston County sheriff’s deputies.
Tasers, which can temporarily incapacitate someone by delivering a 50,000-volt shock, are normally used to stun and gain control of people who are not cooperating with officers. The manufacturer says the guns are safe, and many law enforcement officers say they are effective.
But others have their doubts.
There have been more than 40 in-custody inmate deaths in which a Taser was used since it was first introduced to law enforcement in 1998, but none has been attributed to the device, says the Taser manufacturer. Taser International also says its studies have found that the gun’s shock, which temporarily overrides the central nervous system, cannot cause a heart attack.
But Amnesty International USA says there have been no independent studies on the medical effects, and that use of the Taser should be suspended until such studies are done. The human rights organization also says there’s a potential for abuse, mistreatment and even torture.
On April 16, a 38-year-old inmate of the Houston County jail died after he was shocked three times with a Taser. Melvin Samuel of Savannah was being held on a Houston County probation violation for failing to pay $700 in fines. An autopsy by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found no obvious cause of death, though toxicological and pathological test results are pending.
It was the second death in six months involving the use of a Taser by a Houston County deputy. A GBI medical examiner attributed the Dec. 9 death of Curtis Lawson, 40, of Unadilla, to a cocaine overdose, and not the Taser.
Houston County Sheriff Cullen Talton has defended the Taser’s use. Although the Samuel tests aren’t yet complete, Talton said he does not believe the device caused Samuel’s death.
Talton noted that deputies and jail administrators receive eight hours of training on how to use the device and that each must be shocked with the Taser to experience its effects before being allowed to carry it. In all, about 75 sheriff’s deputies and jail administrators are trained to carry a Taser, he said.
Centerville Police Chief Ernie Pardo said he is a firm believer in the Taser as a non-lethal and life-saving law enforcement tool. All but two of 16 full- and part-time officers at the Centerville Police Department have received eight hours of Taser training, and each of the 14 of those trained have taken a hit from the Taser, he said.
Pardo said he’s seen a 90 percent reduction in the number of officer injuries since the seven Tasers were deployed among his officers in February 2003.
Pardo said the Taser is a much safer alternative than the use of a police baton or a gun, while pepper spray is less effective because it can also get into the eyes of officers and bystanders. For instance, a knife-wielding suspect who recently threatened to turn the knife on himself was shocked once with a Taser and the knife taken away, which Pardo said probably saved the man’s life.
Choosing to use Tasers
The Taser, which comes in two models, one for $400 and the other for $800, looks much like a gun, has a cartridge at the end of the barrel that shoots two No. 8 fish hooks into the body. Wires attached to the fish hooks deliver an electric shock in five-second intervals. The cartridge also is removable, and the same shock can be delivered through two prongs revealed at the end of the barrel.
If the fish hooks are still attached to the body or the Taser tongs are pressed against the skin, repeated shocks may be administered by holding down the trigger.
The Taser manufacturer says a feature of the device is a computer chip that stamps the time, date and duration of each shock. Pardo said a report is done every time a Taser is used and the device checked to ensure what the officer writes in the report matches what’s recorded on the chip.
But the Taser is not used everywhere in Middle Georgia:
• The Macon Police Department suspended the use of Tasers, which were assigned only to its Special Weapons Assault Team, on April 19 in light of the Houston County incidents, said Macon police spokeswoman Melanie Hofmann. The suspension is indefinite, pending the outcome of the GBI investigation of the most recent death, she said.
• The Fort Valley Police Department had considered the use of Tasers but backed off because of the numbers of deaths nationally, said Police Chief Jan Cary.
“We’re waiting until the smoke clears to get a definitive answer on what’s going on,” Cary said.
The manufacturer says that, through March, there have been 42 in-custody deaths in which a Taser was used. Although that’s only a small percentage of what the manufacturer says is 70,000 total Taser shocks, it still raises concern, said Cary. “The jury is still out in my mind whether we are going to use them or not,” he said.
• Warner Robins Police Chief Brett Evans said eight Tasers were purchased under the previous administration and some officers have been trained in their use. However, before the Tasers are deployed, a policy for their use must be developed. The policy is now in the works, he said.
• The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office has two Tasers, with deputies undergoing training, but the devices have not yet been deployed as a departmental policy is still being developed, said Lt. David Davis, sheriff’s spokesman.
• The Perry Police Department has fewer than a dozen Tasers, with a policy in place and officers in training, but the devices are not yet in use, said Police Chief George Potter.
• The Peach County Sheriff’s Office has none. “I’m not knocking the Tasers,” said Sheriff Johnnie Becham. “We just don’t have any and we don’t use them. ... We depend on pepper spray.”
About 4,400 of the nation’s 18,000 law enforcement agencies use Tasers, according to Taser International. Company spokesman Steve Tuttle said that in all of the 42 deaths, the Taser was found not to have caused the deaths. Most of the deaths were attributed to drug overdoses and/or heart failures, said Tuttle.
But while the Taser may not have been named as the cause of the death, the medical examiner’s findings were inconclusive or unavailable on the cause of death in three of the 42 deaths, and no autopsy reports were available on eight of the 42 deaths, according to summaries of the deaths and Taser use provided by Taser International.
In a Taser International study, the hearts of animals were shocked directly by the Taser and there were no deaths, Tuttle said. Also, before the animals were shocked, the animals were given drugs that simulated an adrenaline rush, mimicked the cardiac effects of PCP and enhanced the heart’s sensitivity to electrical stimulation, Tuttle said. He argued that the Taser can actually save lives because the device is less harmful than the use of police batons and guns to bring someone under control.
But Edward Jackson, media director for Amnesty International USA, said there are no independent studies to support the Taser studies and questioned whether the electric shocks induce, or are a catalyst to, the drug overdose.
He contends that dog hearts used in the Taser study may not react the same way as would a human heart. Jackson said he’s dubious whether medical examiners are even looking to see if the Taser could have contributed to the deaths. And he said he believes there’s potential for abuse of the device, which could result in the ill treatment and torture of persons in custody.
Jackson also said there’s no outside or independent monitoring to determine whether the Taser is being administered in only potentially life-threatening situations, or instead whenever an inmate doesn’t move fast enough for a guard or smarts off.
Tuttle points to the computer chip as a way to monitor the Taser’s use and safeguard it from abuse. But Jackson doubts most law enforcement agencies actually monitor Taser use or even have the computer capabilities to do so.
At least one of the inmate deaths in which a Taser was used was attributed by a medical examiner to “positional asphyxiation” in which a person suffocates to death from being placed in a prone position while restrained in custody, according to the summary of deaths and Taser use from Taser International.
In the recent Houston County inmate death, Samuel was restrained by at least two belly chains and a set of leg irons, according to the sheriff’s incident report. Samuel was breathing heavily when he was placed face down in a holding cell. The report noted that the restraints were positioned to provide him the use of his hands if he needed to reposition himself.
Gary Rothwell, special agent in charge of the GBI Perry Office, declined to speculate on Samuel’s death. Rothwell said the final report from a GBI medical examiner was still out.