By ROMA KHANNA
Houston Chronicle
More than two dozen Houston police officers have shocked five or more people with Tasers — including two officers who have used the weapon at least 10 times — though none of those officers has faced disciplinary action for using the stun gun unjustifiably, according to a Houston Chronicle review.
In fact, no officer has ever been reprimanded for discharging the 50,000-volt Taser at a suspect, even though many of the suspects were never charged with a crime, according to the Chronicle’'s review of more than 1,000 Taser incidents since December 2004.
Of the top users, nine HPD officers have used their Taser more than any other, discharging the stun guns on at least six people in the first two years they carried them. Together they shocked 74 people during incidents that primarily stemmed from disturbances and traffic stops but also included some violent assaults. In one-third of the cases, a Chronicle review found, no one was convicted of a crime.
One such case involves 31-year-old Jerome Forney, who watched a judge dismiss all charges against him after he was shocked in December 2004 by officer Ruben M. Dabila, who used his Taser on 12 occasions in two years.
“He said I was dealing drugs, but I had nothing on me,” Forney said. “So, he said I was resisting arrest, but the judge did not buy it. You would think that would make someone think twice about whether what he did was right.”
Dabila did not respond to phone calls or a written request for comment, nor did most of the other top Taser users.
Police Chief Harold Hurtt maintains the department closely monitors Taser use, pointing to policies requiring a supervisor to go to the scene when an officer uses a Taser.
“We review these incidents with a very critical eye because we know the public is going to hold us accountable,” Hurtt said. “With Tasers we had added a tool that has assisted us in preventing injury and death to both officers and to citizens.”
Deadly force still used
Officer Mark Jenkins, a 22-year HPD veteran, shocked seven people in two years. He said that if he didn’'t have the option of a Taser, he might have resorted to his firearm in two of those cases.
“I had just cause to use deadly force but was able to immobilize those suspects without them or any officers getting injured,” Jenkins said. “Since I have had this Taser I have not had to report any injuries on duty, but before patrolmen were always getting injured.”
The Houston City Council approved $4.7 million to buy Tasers in November 2004, one year after the shooting deaths of two unarmed Hispanic teens, with the hope that the alternative weapons would reduce the number of shootings by officers.
In the first two years officers had Tasers, they shocked 40 people who wielded weapons and whom officers would likely have been justified in shooting. But a Chronicle report in January found officers still shot, wounded and killed as many people as before the availability of Tasers.
In fact, 95 percent of the Taser discharges were not used to defuse situations in which deadly force clearly would have been justified, according to a Chronicle analysis of the first 900 police Taser incidents. The majority of instances began as traffic stops, disturbances or suspicious-persons complaints, and in more than 350 cases no one was charged with a crime or the case was dropped by prosecutors or dismissed by judges and grand juries.
The dismissal of charges last year against Houston Texans football player Fred Weary, whom an officer shocked during a traffic stop, and HPD’'s admission that the majority of people officers shocked are minorities has stirred controversy over Tasers. Elected officials and activists have questioned police policies about Taser use, and Mayor Bill White called for a study of how officers have used the devices.
Every time an officer shocks someone, HPD reviews the incident, but it does not track whether charges are filed or whether they result in a conviction, officials acknowledge.
Tracks trends
HPD has an early warning system designed to identify officers who within a 12-month period have several internal affairs or administrative allegations, including shootings. But multiple Taser incidents are not noted.
HPD policy does require a supervisor to go to the scene each time an officer deploys a Taser, and every incident is reviewed by Executive Assistant Chief Charles McClelland, who reports directly to Hurtt.
McClelland tracks a number of trends among the Taser incidents and has counseled some officers about their actions, he said. He tracks the reason for discharging the stun gun and the number of officers who have used Tasers multiple times.
McClelland defended officers who have used their Tasers repeatedly as those who make many arrests and work demanding assignments that require frequent interactions that can escalate into confrontations.
The nine officers who have shocked more than five people each work in patrol units in different parts of the city. Among the 74 people they shocked, 18 never were charged with a crime and cases against five others were dismissed.
Disciplinary records the Chronicle reviewed show the nine officers have varied histories: Five have wounded or killed at least one person during their careers. One has never been disciplined at all; others received minor reprimands for not completing paperwork or failing to appear in court.
One officer, James M. Garris, on the force nine years, has used his Taser six times and has a significant disciplinary history that includes two suspensions for failing “to use sound judgment,” according to documents in his personnel file.
In a 2001 case, Garris saw a man speeding down a northeast Houston street, weaving between lanes. Moments before, the man witnessed someone assault a police officer and flagged down firefighters to help. He was leading them back to the accosted officer when Garris pulled him over, according to a suspension letter.
Garris ignored the man’'s explanation, documents say, and arrested him despite firefighters’’ efforts to explain the situation.
“Officer Garris acted in a disrespectful manner to both HFD members (saying their) efforts were a waste of time,” says a letter notifying Garris of a three-day suspension. A panel later rejected his appeal. Garris could not be reached for comment.
Last year, Garris served a five-day suspension for shooting his firearm into a car driven by a drug suspect, in violation of HPD policy barring officers from shooting into a moving vehicle unless someone in it threatens the officer with something other than the vehicle.
“Although this was a uniquely dangerous situation, there was sufficient room for Officer Garris to move out of the vehicle’'s path without firing his weapon,” his suspension letter states. “Additionally, Officer Garris fired two more rounds at the vehicle as it passed him.”
HPD has opened internal investigations into 22 Taser incidents, two of which resulted in officers being suspended.
But in neither incident did the officer actually deploy his Taser on a suspect.
According to police officials, officer Song Kim inappropriately taunted a shoplifter with his Taser, but never fired the stun gun, while working an extra job, according to police.
HPD fired Kim for his actions, but an arbitrator reduced his punishment to a five-day suspension.
Another officer, Dong Hoang, test fired his Taser several times without documenting the incidents. HPD suspended Hoang for three days in 2005.
Neither officer could be reached for comment.
Chaotic struggle
Two internal investigations into officers’’ Taser use remain open, but police officials declined to release details. In 18 of the 22 cases, internal investigators ruled that officers’’ actions were justified.
The department initiated nine of the 22 internal Taser investigations, and citizen complaints prompted the others.
One complaint stemmed from a melee on the banks of White Oak Bayou, where a group of people had gathered after a neighbor accidentally drove her car into the water in July 2005. Several of them spoke limited English.
Things became tense when officers arrived, and a chaotic struggle broke out. Officer W. Fitzgerald said he was taunted by an “outraged” onlooker and shocked three people, including Nubia Perez, 27, who stands less than 5 feet tall.
“Her brother heard the pop, saw her shaking and thought she was dead,” said Jose Romero, a lawyer for the family.
All three of the people shocked by Fitzgerald were charged with felony assault of a public servant. In court, however, the case against one was dismissed, and the others accepted misdemeanor plea deals.
“Upon further examination, it was clear that the officer’'s actions were over the top,” Romero said.
Fitzgerald could not be reached for comment.
“We filed a complaint but police told my clients there was nothing they could do because they could not determine who had done what during the struggle.” Romero added.
Jenkins, one of the top Taser users, deployed his stun gun twice in a single day and shocked someone seven times in a separate incident. In each case, the suspects were arrested, charged and convicted.
The officer, whose disciplinary record includes nothing more than traffic violations and reprimands for not appearing in court, used his Taser twice July 9, 2006.
About 6 a.m. Jenkins responded to a disturbance in north Houston and discovered one of the suspects was wanted on a parole violation. Jenkins attempted to arrest the man, who became combative, according to police reports, and shocked him to gain control.
Eight hours later, Jenkins again turned to his Taser when a car-theft suspect resisted arrest at a motel north of downtown. The suspect, who police say was high on drugs, was shocked four times before Jenkins was able to control him.
Other options
Nine months earlier, Jenkins and another officer approached a suspicious homeless man on whom they found crack. The other officer shocked the man twice but could not control him.
“He was very stocky and refused to comply with any of our commands,” Jenkins said. “When we tried to handcuff him, he escaped from the patrol car and started fighting.”
Jenkins pulled his Taser and shocked the man seven times, according to a police report. The man was later convicted of possessing a controlled substance and attempted escape.
Officers are trained to consider other options when a Taser does not bring a suspect under control, McClelland said.
“There is no weapon that an officer carries, other than a firearm, that gets the kind of scrutiny we give Tasers,” McClelland said. “We believe it is a good tool and want to ensure it is used correctly.”
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle