It allows use against handcuffed suspects but calls for discretion with children and pregnant women
By Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian
The Portland Police Bureau will continue to allow officers to fire the Taser stun gun at handcuffed suspects but will instruct police to consider other methods of control before stunning children, pregnant women or the elderly.
The bureau released a draft of a revised Taser policy at the Chief’s Forum on Monday, along with a study by the training division of the 595 Portland police Taser deployments from July 1, 2002, to March 26.
Of the 595 incidents, the bureau found only one that did not fall within bureau guidelines: the firing of a stun gun at someone who was lying beneath a bundle of blankets, not resisting police.
Of the 138 Portland police officers who carry Taser guns, women were more likely to use them than men were, though officials said they are unable to explain why. Some law enforcement officers said they suspect women would use the Taser more frequently to avoid physical struggles with male suspects, but Portland police said they could not conclude that.
There have been 136 firings of the Taser gun by 23 East Precinct officers, the precinct with the most officers trained in their use. North Precinct, which has the fewest number of Taser officers, recorded 72 firings from 10 officers during the same period.
Current policy has no restrictions
Until now, the Portland Police Bureau’s written policy contained no restrictions. Under the draft revision, Portland police would be prohibited from firing the Taser at someone’s head or face, at demonstrators without an incident commander’s permission, or at someone who offers no physical resistance to arrest.
It could not be used for “horseplay,” “practical jokes” or to “harass” a person. Its use also would be prohibited near flammables. Portland police must not use the Taser when other police agencies’ pepper spray, which may be alcohol-based and flammable, is used.
The draft says officers should consider other methods before firing the stun gun at children, pregnant women, elderly people or anyone near a dangerous height and at risk of falling.
The use of the Taser is at the same level as pepper spray on the bureau’s “Levels of Control” in incidents in which someone engages in, or intends to engage in, “violent, aggressive” actions, suicidal behavior or physical resistance to lawful police action. Sergeants would also be trained in their use and called to the scene each time a Taser is fired.
Training Capt. Mike Crebs studied nine other police agencies’ policies on use of the Taser, and found that several forbid firing the Taser on handcuffed suspects, or restrict the groin as a target area. But the Portland training division did not think these restrictions were warranted.
“We feel that there could be circumstances where the Taser could be used in a groin. It’s a viable, effective target. When you’re in a fight, that might be the only place that you have to hit,” Crebs said.
Draft draws questions
If Portland police restricted the use of the Taser on handcuffed suspects, Crebs said it would increase injuries. “Handcuffed subjects can kick, bite, head butt and grab (obtain officer’s firearm),” Crebs wrote in his report.
Robert Brown, a Chief’s Forum member, said the training division failed to examine why the bureau, which has 52 Tasers and is ordering 150 more, uses it more frequently than some major metropolitan police agencies that have far more Tasers deployed on their streets. Brown also questioned why it takes so long to adopt policy changes.
Dan Handelman, of the police watchdog group Copwatch, said the criteria for using the Taser should not be on par with the pepper spray, but at a higher level of force, aligned with the use of the beanbag shotgun or baton. Police contend the beanbag shotgun and baton cause more serious injuries than the Taser.
Police Chief Derrick Foxworth said he’ll continue to seek feedback from the community and adopt a new policy by July 1, before the bureau puts the new 150 Tasers on the street.
“I could be a dictator and say, ‘Effective today, this is what we’re going to do,’ ” Foxworth said, “but that doesn’t respect the process.”